Nestle opens new Beijing R&D center, Shenzhen tech hub

Nestle China on Monday unveiled a new Research & Development center in Beijing and a system technology hub in Shenzhen to accelerate its trend-based innovation in the country, aiming to get closer to consumers and get products quicker to market.

The new R&D center in Beijing focuses on creating new food and beverage products primarily for Chinese and Asian consumers.

Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said: "We are strengthening our local R&D capacities so that our team can work faster and more efficiently to turn great ideas into the latest must-have products for consumers in China."

Stefan Palzer, executive vice-president and chief technology officer of Nestle, said globally Nestle rolls out 1,500 new products each year. About one-third of them are updated each year and the speed is increasing.

"In the old days, it took us about two to three years to develop a new product. Now it takes a couple of months or even weeks," he said.

Nestle last year invested about 1.7 billion Swiss francs ($1.7 billion) in R&D. It has about 30 R&D centers worldwide. Its R&D expenditures in China have seen changes in the types of investments being made. It has invested in how to get products developed and tested quickly in the Chinese market by locating its facilities in the proximity of markets, top universities, local entrepreneurs and startup environments, as well as suppliers.

The Shenzhen System Technology Hub, with locations near beverage machine and system manufacturers, allows Nestle to rapidly turn new ideas for beverage systems and components into reality.

"The new sites in China will change our way of working," said Palzer. He cited an example of how products can be developed only in two or three days from a new idea and tested in nearby supermarkets, receiving feedback quickly.