Dutch starch producer Avebe announces that its new Innovation Center in Campus Groningen will start working on practical solutions for better starch or protein applications for specific recipes and clean label solutions, including ingredients with unique properties and no e-numbers.
The new premises will be housing the Innovations, Sales and Marketing departments, adding over 100 people. Space will also be made for start-ups in the agrofood sector under the name: Innolab Biobased Economy. Building consortium BAM/Trebbe expects the new building to be completed and transferred in the second quarter of 2018.
Avebe’s choice for the Campus was based in part on the prospect of synergy with Groningen University, Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the entrepreneurs present at Campus Groningen. The know-how, dynamism and favorable climate for innovation provide Avebe with an ideal breeding ground to continue the innovations in this northern region.
“Avebe is driven by knowledge and innovation. We share that motto with Campus Groningen, and this is highlighted by our new establishment. This is a location bursting with dynamism, among young talent and leading companies, and Avebe feels perfectly at home there”, says Gerard ten Bolscher, managing director Innovations.
The center will have a “culinary kitchen”, where the company can introduce customers, distributors and others to new concepts. The Innovation Center’s Atrium (central area) will be used for training courses, events, presentations and workshops for customers, members, students and other stakeholders.
New partnerships
The part of the Innolab Biobased Economy that has been set up specifically to encourage innovation in the Bio-Economy is also continuing to take shape. The first start-ups wishing to establish themselves here have already occupied half of the total space dedicated to the Innolab.
“The R&D branch of Avebe and the community at the Campus are already working together. The first spearheads that can be tackled jointly have already been defined and firmed up. The Innolab Biobased Economy is the ideal landing place for these new partnerships. And we’re also there for new companies that focus on this theme,” says Marnix Pool, managing director of the Innolab Biobased Economy.
Avebe is a cooperative of starch-potato growers. Traditionally, the company only focused on extracting starch from potatoes. However, by developing innovative methods, they now also extract proteins from potatoes that are intended for the food industry.
