Tetra Pak opens customer innovation centre in Singapore
Tetra Pak, a food processing and packaging company, has launched its first Asia-based customer innovation centre in Singapore to address the needs of fast-growing Asian markets.
The centre will help the region’s food and beverage manufacturers uncover growth opportunities, accelerate and enhance product innovation to create winning solutions for their brands, the company said.
Thailand is a key example of Asia’s development through rapid urbanisation, with Thai urban populations representing 52.2 per cent of the total in 2017. This is prompting the demand for packaged food and drinks, with liquid food categories including dairy, soy and juice drinks set to experience 24 per cent growth between 2016 and 2019.
To meet this growth, and discover product innovations for each distinct customer, the CIC, located at the Tetra Pak Singapore Jurong site, was custom-made to bring together Tetra Pak’s infrastructure, expertise and processes to help customers ideate and evaluate products across the entire value chain.
The centre is designed to facilitate brainstorming, prototype product formulations, customise packaging designs and refine the product until its full-scale market launch.
“The Asia region is dynamic and rapidly growing, yet increasingly complex. In the Thai market, we are seeing proliferating consumer segments and need states, new channel development, rapid technological advancements and increasing cross-border trade,” says Ratanasiri Tilokskulchai, marketing director, Tetra Pak (Thailand) Limited “The Singapore CIC was created to partner with our customers in addressing these challenges. Part of Tetra Pak’s Marketing Services, the CIC provides customers the entire innovation journey under one roof, significantly increasing the speed and probability of their success.”
The Marketing Services approach follows a customised, end-to-end journey with brand owners, focusing on a specific market need. Subject matter experts from across the world are involved, leveraging the company’s portfolio of packages, services and automation solutions showcased at the CIC.
The Singapore CIC is the third in Tetra Pak’s expanding global network of CICs, after Denton in the US and Dubai. “The launch of the Singapore facility reaffirms Tetra Pak’s dedication to providing integrated solutions that focus on customization, innovation and speed-to-market to support the success of Thai and Asian customers,” adds Ratanasiri.