Roquette opens new Asia Pacific Headquarters and an Innovation Centre in Singapore.
These new facilities will be focused on Food, Nutrition and Pharma to better address eating habits and health concerns of Asian consumers.
Singapore, 26 October 2017 – Roquette, a global leader in innovative plant-based ingredients, today opened new offices and an innovation center in Singapore, increasing its focus on Asia’s nutrition and health challenges.
The state-of-the-art facilities, which include a research laboratory, customer technical services as well as the new regional headquarters, will allow Roquette to tailor its products and address the specific health and dietary challenges of the region such as obesity or diabetes.
The new facilities will complement Roquette’s existing research and application centers in the Americas, Asia and Europe and will allow the company to partner with customers, universities and research institutions, such as Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) or the National University of Singapore. They will reinforce Roquette’s deep expertise to support customer innovations in food, nutrition and pharma.
Jean-Marc Gilson, CEO of Roquette, said: “As a global business leader, we know that we need to adapt our solutions to the specific needs of the different markets. By expanding our international research capability, we can ensure our products contribute to improving health and well-being of millions of consumers around the world. Our facilities in Singapore will allow us to explore new ways to address specific health and nutrition needs of Asian customers and consumers through plant-based ingredients such as sugar alternatives, vegetal proteins or pharmaceutical excipients, among many others.”
The more than 1,100 square meter innovation center is located in Biopolis, an international research and development hub in Asia Pacific for fast-growing sectors such as food and nutrition, biomedical sciences, bioengineering, and medical technology. It adds to Roquette’s existing presence in Asia, which includes today a large commercial presence in many countries and several sites in China, India and South Korea.
Talking about the choice of this location, Jean-Marc Gilson added: “Singapore’s connectivity with countries throughout Asia makes it the perfect place to locate these new facilities, which will be a key part of our global network. The talent and skills of Singapore professionals are impressive, and our local team will make a big impact. We are looking forward to foster closer collaboration with our customers and partners as well as further develop our business activities in the region and continue to invest in Asia over the next few years.”
Mr. Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, said: “I am delighted to witness the official opening of Roquette’s Innovation Centre in Biopolis. Having developed a strong base of public R&D capabilities and infrastructure, Singapore is currently home to the R&D centres of some of the world’s largest food, nutrition and pharmaceutical companies to drive innovation for Asia and beyond. The strategic expansion by leading companies like Roquette is testament to Singapore’s reputation as a world class Research, Innovation and Enterprise hub and A*STAR’s strategy of public-private partnerships under the Open Innovation Framework to create value and good jobs in Singapore.”
Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of Economic Development Board, said: “Roquette’s Asia Pacific Headquarters and Innovation Centre is a welcome addition to our vibrant ecosystem for Consumer Businesses. This investment also reflects Singapore’s position as the leading Food and Nutrition and Healthcare Hub for global businesses to execute their growth strategies in the Asia Pacific region.”
The burgeoning middle class throughout Asia and their distinct tastes and requirements underpin Roquette’s decision to continue growing its presence in the area. At the same time, rising health consciousness and consumer concerns over sustainability across the region create an increased demand for Roquette’s plant-based products, such as new protein sources.
This announcement in Asia, the world’s fastest growing region, follows a series of recent global investments by Roquette into North America, Latin America and Europe, and will help propel the future growth of the company’s food and pharmaceutical businesses.
About Roquette: “Improving well-being by offering the best of nature”
A family-owned Group serving customers globally, Roquette is a leader in specialty food ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients. The products and solutions developed by the Group deliver proven technological, nutritional and health benefits precisely tailored to the pharma, nutrition, food and selected industry markets. Roquette’s offer is produced from plant-based raw materials such as corn, wheat, potatoes and peas. Since its foundation over 80 years ago, the Group’s growth has been based on innovation, a passion for the job and a commitment to achieve. Roquette operates in over 100 countries, has a turnover of around 3.2 billion euros and currently employs 8,300 people worldwide.
Media contacts
Roquette
Roquette Corporate
Carole Petitjean
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+ 33 (0) 3 21 63 36 00
Roquette Asia Pacific
Carolyn Lo
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+65 6416 3377
Brunswick
Singapore: Darragh Ooi
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+ 65 6426 8188
Tristan Bourassin
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+ 33 (0) 1 53 96 83 83