EUROPE – Mondelēz International has said that it has invested a further US$5 million in its Global Technical Center in Wroclaw, Poland to serve as an R&D centre for both local and global brands.
The company said the new investment expands its research and development activities beyond Chocolate and Bakery and serve Gum and Candy innovation.
The R&D hub will expand its expertise in product development including for Oreo, belVita biscuit brands, Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone chocolates, and Trident, Hollywood, Stimorol and Dirol which form part of its gum and candy categories.
Mondelez had initially invested US$17 million in the state-of-the-art facility to host food experts and new developments for its known brands such as Milka, Alpen Gold and Oreo.
The investments are part of the company’s previously announced US$65 million investment in large R&D centers, spread around the world.
“The Wroclaw Technical Center is unique not only for its diverse and talented scientists and engineers but also for its fluency across Chocolate, Biscuits and Gum and Candy technologies.
With this new investment, we will be able to surprise and delight our consumers and shoppers with exciting new combinations of technologies, formats, fillings and much more,” said Kevin Powell, Vice President RDQ Biscuits and Gum & Candy.
The Wroclaw Center is home to over 200 experts; scientists, engineers and other specialists from around the world of 28 different nationalities.
The site is equipped with a large pilot plant for Chocolate and Biscuits, a brand new dedicated pilot plant for Gum and Candy, analytical and sensory labs, in total a creative space of 12,500 m2 for new ideas and experimentation.
The Wroclaw center will closely collaborate on innovations with more than 40 sites in Mondelez’s manufacturing network across Europe.
The chocolate giant has ten other Technical Centers already in operation around the world, including the United States, Brazil, the UK, India, Singapore, China, France and Germany.
“Our mission at Mondelēz International is simple, to offer consumers the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way and our global Technical Center network is crucial to support this,” said Rob Hargrove, Executive Vice President Research, Development & Quality.
“Poland is one of our most important markets in Central Europe, with an impressive manufacturing network, and Wroclaw is a modern city that’s open to investments. Embedding one of our largest Technical Centers here clearly signals the importance of Poland and Europe within our global R&D network.
It is also home to leading technical universities and top-notch specialists.
Now, with the exciting extension to Gum and Candy, we are creating approximately 50 new jobs here.”
