Inside BENEO’s new pulse plant: pioneering sustainable protein from faba beans
As India’s food and beverage industry accelerates its shift toward functional, convenient, and value-added products, ingredient innovation and technical collaboration are becoming critical. In this interview with NUFFOODS Spectrum, Kenneth Keh, Regional President – Nutrition Asia Pacific at Brenntag Specialties, explains how the company’s new Nutrition Innovation and Application Center in Mumbai aims to support formulation development, faster product validation, and market-ready solutions for the region’s evolving F&B sector. Edited excerpts:
What strategic gap in the Indian and APAC food and beverage ecosystem prompted Brenntag to establish this new Innovation and Application Center in Mumbai?
India’s food and beverage sector is expanding rapidly, yet many manufacturers need stronger local technical, analytical and application expertise to translate evolving market and consumer demands into commercially viable solutions. Brenntag established the Nutrition Innovation and Application Center in Mumbai to strengthen its development capabilities in Asia Pacific and to be closer to customers, enabling deeper collaboration and faster response to market needs.
This initiative forms part of Brenntag’s broader strategic investment in India, complementing the launch of our global Centre of Excellence in Ambala, Haryana, North India, at the end of 2025, focused on distilling, brewing and biofuels. Together, these investments strengthen local innovation, analytical depth and technical partnership across multiple food, beverage, and fermentation-related industries, addressing key ecosystem capability gaps.
Through this expanded innovation platform, Brenntag is well positioned to help customers develop solutions aligned with market trends, regulatory requirements, and evolving consumer expectations, reinforcing our role as a strategic solutions partner in one of the fastest growing markets globally.
How does this Mumbai facility differentiate itself from Brenntag’s other innovation centers globally?
The Nutrition Innovation and Application Center in Mumbai is part of Brenntag’s global Innovation and Application network but is purpose built for the region’s fast-growing and diverse food and beverage sectors. It features dedicated laboratories for dairy, beverages, confectionery, snacks, and convenience foods, enabling more specialised development, faster project turnaround, and deeper technical collaboration. Strong local application expertise helps customers move efficiently from concept to commercialisation.
Its differentiation also lies in how it complements Brenntag’s wider innovation footprint in India. The Mumbai center focuses on formulation, application development, and customer-centric innovation, while the Analytical Center in Ambala, Haryana, North India, launched at the end of 2025, serves as Brenntag’s global Centre of Excellence for distilling and biofuels, advancing analytical capability, fermentation optimisation, and sustainability-focused research.
This complementary structure enables Brenntag to deliver deeper technical insight, faster validation and more holistic solutions across food, beverage, and fermentation-related industries.
Which segments will drive the highest innovation demand in India over the next three to five years?
Brenntag expects strong demand in dairy and beverage applications, including functional and nutraceutical products, as well as convenient and ready-to-eat food categories. Growth is driven by evolving consumer preferences, increasing health awareness, and rising demand for value-added and differentiated products. The center is designed to support innovation across these key segments.
How will UHT systems, aseptic filling lines, and pilot-scale equipment help reduce time to market?
The center integrates advanced processing, formulation, blending and analytical capabilities that allow customers to validate products under real processing conditions. This enables effective validation from concept to commercial readiness, accelerates development cycles, and helps customers bring products to market more efficiently.
How will the center support demand for functional, nutraceutical and clean label products?
The facility supports the development of innovative and complete food and beverage solutions aligned with evolving consumer and regulatory expectations. Through formulation expertise, analytical insight, and application development, Brenntag helps customers create market-ready nutraceutical, functional and clean-label products across multiple food segments.
How does the center strengthen collaboration with suppliers and global partners?
The center serves as a regional hub connecting Brenntag’s customers, partners, and suppliers. By combining technical, formulation and application expertise, it enables closer collaboration and supports joint development of solutions tailored to evolving market needs.
How do you see flavor innovation evolving in India’s alcoholic and low-alcohol beverage segments?
The center provides a platform for developing and optimising flavor applications across alcoholic, low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages. This enables the creation and evaluation of market-ready flavor profiles aligned with regional preferences and global trends, supporting continued innovation in beverage categories.
How will the center help brands navigate FSSAI and export regulations?
With integrated analytical and technical capabilities, the center supports product quality, performance, and compliance. Brenntag works closely with customers to ensure formulations meet regulatory and market requirements, helping facilitate smoother development and commercial readiness for both domestic and export markets.
How will the Mumbai center contribute to sustainable formulation and waste reduction?
Through advanced formulation, process validation and ingredient optimisation, the center enables more efficient product development and improved resource utilisation. These capabilities support customers in creating more sustainable and efficient food and beverage solutions while maintaining product quality and performance.
How significant is India within Brenntag’s long-term Asia Pacific growth strategy?
India is a key market within Brenntag’s Asia Pacific Nutrition strategy and a major driver of future regional growth. Brenntag’s investments in both the Nutrition Innovation and Application Center in Mumbai and the global Centre of Excellence in Ambala, Haryana, North India, launched at the end of 2025, reflect our long-term commitment to strengthening our presence in this strategically important market.
Together, these facilities enhance Brenntag’s technical, analytical and innovation capabilities, enabling stronger customer engagement across food, beverage, distilling and biofuels. This integrated platform reinforces Brenntag’s position as a strategic solutions partner and supports future growth across India and the wider Asia Pacific region.
Mansi Jamsudkar Padvekar