Inside Cargill’s worldwide innovation center network

Read Time: 4 minutes

June 26, 2025

wo scientists in white lab coats, hair nets and masks closely examine a piece of chocolate.

Key Takeways

Cargill’s global innovation centers help customers stay ahead of evolving consumer demands — blending health, indulgence, novelty and convenience.
Research & Development (R&D) experts across 20-plus centers co-create with customers to solve food challenges and spark growth.
From Singapore to Belgium and Brazil to Colorado, Cargill’s innovation network merges science, culture and sensory insight to shape the future of food.

In Singapore and throughout Asia, consumers are both increasingly adventurous and discerning, desiring convenience and novelty, health and indulgence.

Cargill customers want to grow their business by meeting and staying ahead of these kinds of trends. That’s exactly why they walk through the doors of Cargill’s recently updated Singapore Innovation Center. Here our experts work at the intersections of nature, science, flavor and function to help customers not only address global food challenges, but also delight consumers with novel tastes, formats and textures.

And it’s not just in Singapore: From Sao Paulo to Colorado to Belgium, thousands of Cargill research and development employees support and co-create customer growth.

“Our innovation centers are launch pads of progress,” says Florian Schattenman, Cargill’s Chief Technology Officer. “They let us explore, collaborate with customers and consumers, and perfect food solutions that are grounded in science and guided by culture.”

Step inside the future of food

With more than 20 R&D innovation centers worldwide, Cargill is driving progress to shape the future of food. Take a behind-the-scenes look at how our experts work side-by-side with customers to co-create solutions that delight consumers, help farmers grow resilient crops, and help drive business growth.

Quick serve innovation

At the Cargill Singapore Innovation Center, an expansive culinary suite and test kitchen mimics various quick service restaurants. Here chefs can reimagine staples like chicken strips to meet evolving Asian consumer tastes.

Zooming in on ingredient function

In the advanced core sciences lab in Singapore, Cargill food scientists analyze food ingredient interactions at the molecular level. The result? Sharper insights to guide exact customer product formulations for beverages and beyond.

Co-creation is the main ingredient

Cargill’s House of Chocolate in Mouscron, Belgium, is a 6,200-square-meter co-creation wonderland. Here our chocolate engineers co-create with customers in a state-of-the-art demo kitchen — crafting indulgent, on-trend products consumers love.

From taste test to test run

Using real-time sensory data, Cargill’s chocolate engineers in Belgium co-create trend-driven prototypes and test them in a pilot plant that replicates full-scale manufacturing lines. This allows us to test and refine innovative and exciting products with customers before moving into large-scale production.

Appealing to all the senses

In Campinas, Sao Paulo, Cargill sensory scientists examine how food is experienced by all of our senses - taste, mouth feel, smell and texture. For products like chocolate, all of these factors can shape a consumer’s experience.

From Sao Paulo to the world

Regional insights from centers like São Paulo inspire product innovations with worldwide appeal — whether optimizing a staple like Liza oils or launching something entirely new. Cargill’s innovation centers act as a nexus for regional and global innovation.

Innovating from the ground up

At Cargill’s crop innovation center in Colorado, researchers simulate real-world climate conditions in the greenhouse to develop healthier, more resilient plants to feed the world — helping farmers adapt and thrive as the impacts of climate change continue to expand.

Starting with a seed

In Colorado, Cargill scientists work in the lab to find new ways of making existing plants more resilient and productive — and sometimes develop entirely new varieties. Once a plant proves its potential in the lab, it can move onto the next stage of development and, eventually, into farmers’ fields.

Shaping the future of food

Cargill innovates to help customers bring the future of food and ag to life.

Find out more

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