Kraft Foods has opened the first stage of Australia’s largest food research and development centre in a move aimed at expanding the food giant’s market to 1.6 billion consumers across the Asia-Pacific region.
The Kraft Foods Asia-Pacific Confectionery Centre of Excellence is in the east Melbourne suburb of Ringwood.
Kraft Foods Australia is headquartered in Melbourne, where the Australian Government recently announced it will base a food precinct (cluster), part of a $500 million plan to develop Industry Innovation Precincts.
The precincts are aimed at joining the nation’s universities and research institutions with business expertise to bring more new ideas to market.
Kraft will work with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), with a focus on chocolate and confectionery innovation.
“We will be developing our next generation of food innovators with local universities and working with CSIRO on problems too big to solve alone,” Kraft Foods President for Australia and New Zealand Rebecca Dee-Bradbury said.
“In doing so, we aim to help create a new generation of Australian food entrepreneurs who will both understand and be able to access the 1.6 billion Asian middle-class consumers at our doorstep,” she said.
This investment means that Victoria is now home to the largest and most significant Kraft R&D Centre in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We’ll have more than 100 food scientists, technologists, and graduates – all food innovators looking at both Australian and Asian markets," said Dee-Bradbury. [Kraft recruitment information.]
"The benefits extend beyond Kraft Foods. We are creating an open innovation centre which will connect with food SMEs across Victoria to build capability across the industry.”
The Australian Food and Grocery Council CEO, Gary Dawson, said the centre provides a model for food manufacturing innovation that will enhance industry competitiveness and bolster manufacturers’ capacity to take advantage of export opportunities, particularly in Asia.