New Innovation Center to accelerate research on breakfast cereals

Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW S.A.), a joint venture between Nestle S.A. and General Mills Inc., recently announced the creation of a new Innovation Center in Orbe, Switzerland. With an investment close to CHF 50 million, the project underlines the partners' strategic focus on nutrition, health and wellness, and will accelerate research on new innovative lines of breakfast cereals.

The announcement was made at a press event earlier this month, attended by Jean-Claude Mermoud, Economic Affairs Minister of the Canton of Vaud; Claude Recordon, Mayor of Orbe; Christi Strauss, President and CEO Cereal Partners Worldwide; John Church, Senior Vice President, Global Operations, General Mills Inc.; and Werner Bauer, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Nestle S.A.

The CPW Innovation Center will bring together expertise from Nestle and General Mills in the field of breakfast cereals. The Center will further build on General Mills' technical strengths and Nestle's 50 years of R&D experience in Orbe, as well as on both partners' know-how in food processing technologies. Part of Nestle's global R&D network, the CPW Innovation Center will work on breakfast cereal solutions to ensure consumer benefits, such as nutritional content, as well as freshness, taste and texture.

Construction on the project started in early 2009, and is due to be completed by mid 2010. (C) 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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