雀巢在瑞士成立餐饮行业饮料研发中心

Nestle invests in research for beverages boost
By Neil Merrett

摘要：全球最大食品饮料集团瑞士雀巢集团21日在瑞士奥尔布成立专业饮料研发中心，专门针对餐饮行业所需的饮料产品加大投资和研发力度。

   雀巢集团总裁包必达在中心揭幕仪式上说，目前在餐馆等家庭以外的地方就餐已经成为越来越多消费者的选择。餐饮行业对于雀巢集团来说存在巨大的商机。新成立的研发中心将重点研究创新和开发适合餐饮行业的冷热饮料。

　　包必达表示，雀巢已将发展餐饮专业食品和饮料、营养食品和饮料以及针对中低收入消费者的特定产品列为公司未来发展的三大战略重点。雀巢集团的目标是在未来10年中将其专业食品和饮料的销售额翻一番，增加到120亿瑞士法郎(约合110亿美元)。

　　包必达介绍说，目前雀巢在全世界97个国家雇用1万名职员开展专业食品和饮料的开发和销售工作。现在雀巢集团专业食品和饮料部门的年销售额超过60亿瑞士法郎，已经位居世界第一。

22/11/2007-Nestle intends to step up its focus on beverage production with the opening yesterday of its first research and development centre dedicated solely to drink brands destined for the food service industry.

The Nestle Professional Beverage Centre, situated at the company's research and development centre in Orbe, Switzerland, will be the focus for developing new formulations and delivery systems mainly for the group's non-carbonated out-of-home beverage lines.

In an increasingly competitive market place of high commodities and changing consumer demands, companies are coming under pressure to add value to their brands both through functional and health benefits.

Nestle said that with the food service industry becoming an increasingly important area of revenue growth for its operations, requiring a more concerted effort to stay in touch with the market.

Group spokesperson Francois-Xavier Perroud told BeverageDaily.com that the company therefore had decided to focus on pushing its out-of-home coffee, tea and chocolate-based beverage brands, on the back of a company wide shift towards products with health benefits.

"Nutrition, as in all sectors of Nestle, plays an important role in the solutions we want to offer to foodservice operators,"he said.

Brands such as Nescafe, Nesquik, Milo, Nestea and Nescau will all undergo development at the centre, the company said.

Through its location in the group's existing R&D site, the company also expects benefits from synergies with other research segments, as a result of a 1,100 workforce at the centre.  

The beverage centre will be part of a wider shake up of the group's foodservices division, which was rebranded last month as Nestle Professional.

Nestle said that the out-of-home food and beverage segment, in which it is currently market leader, is one of three higher growth areas that it intends to focus on.

The company claims that sales from its food service division currently amount to ?3.6bn, which it hopes will be boosted through a dedicated segment specific research division.

Like a number of its rivals, Nestle has moved to expand it focus towards health and nutrition in a bid to dominate the growing market for added-value products through the acquisition of a number of specialist health and nutrition groups.

In April this year, the company announced a deal to acquire nutrition group Gerber worth $5.5bn (?4bn), following on from the purchase of the Australian cereal business Uncle Toby's, and Novartis Medical Nutrition since 2006.