Bakers and manufacturers gain edge as CSM Ingredients unveils £3m UK innovation hub
Far left to the back Massimo Ambanelli, Chief Sales Officer Americas, second from the left more towards the front Diego Meneghetti, Chief Financial Officer, third from the left more towards the back Miriam Bernhart, Head of Global Strategic Marketing, at the front Christian Sobolta Chief Executive Officer and Emanuele Pizzigalli, Chief Innovation Officer.
CSM Ingredients Group has officially opened its new, state-of-the-art £3 million product development centre in Cheshire, UK.
This investment marks a significant commitment to strengthening customer-centric innovation and future-proofing R&D capabilities for the global food and beverage industry, particularly within the bakery sector.
Designed as a future-proofed centre of excellence, the facility consolidates the company’s next-generation test bakery, UK head office, and customer experience centre into a single, fully integrated, two-tiered site. The expansion capacity ensures the Group is positioned to meet the evolving needs of food manufacturers and the wider industry for decades to come.
The product development centre is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and a bespoke, temperature-controlled test bakery. This environment is specifically calibrated to accelerate new product development and support realistic mock production environments, making it ideal for line trials and collaborative innovation projects with manufacturers.
Crucially, the facility features a dedicated allergen-free area, built explicitly to service the rising market demand for specialist solutions and complex free-from formulations. Furthermore, the centre includes a training and presentation hub capable of hosting both large-scale and intimate sessions, fostering closer collaboration between CSM Ingredients’ experts and its global partners.
Gabriele Del Torchio, chief executive officer of Nexture, commented on the strategic importance of the location: “Our investment in the UK and Ireland clearly signifies the importance of the area not only for CSM Ingredients, but for the entire Nexture platform. This new facility in Cheshire embodies our collective ambition to bring together craftmanship, innovation and partnerships to deliver meaningful progress for our customers and the industry at large.”
The design reflects a forward-looking vision for the food creation process, integrating modern equipment and a customer-focused test production environment.
Christian Sobolta, chief executive officer of CSM Ingredients Group, explained: “This new site represents far more than a facility: it embodies our vision for the future of food. The modern equipment and the sustainable design of the workspaces will enable us to accelerate product development and customer proximity across several food segments, allowing us to work even closer with our partners to shape the next generation of food experiences.”
Sustainability was a core pillar of the design. The facility is equipped with solar panels covering 15% of the site’s energy needs and features EV charging points, fully aligning with the Group’s corporate commitment to renewable energy sourcing.
The Cheshire site is now fully operational and ready to welcome customers from November 2025, initiating a new chapter in ingredients innovation and joint development partnerships across the food manufacturing supply chain.
