SINGAPORE, October 28, 2024 – Tate & Lyle has unveiled a new state-of-the-art lab in Singapore, marking a significant advancement in food and beverage research with the launch of its Automated Laboratory for Ingredient Experimentation (ALFIE). This groundbreaking facility, integrating robotics for the first time in the sector, is set to redefine the product development process, enhancing speed-to-market capabilities for the company’s customers.
ALFIE, part of Tate & Lyle’s Customer Collaboration and Innovation Centre, employs cutting-edge automated systems that expedite ingredient design and increase testing accuracy. This multi-million-pound investment enables the lab to perform characterisation tests up to ten times faster than traditional methods, backed by advanced predictive modelling. The facility features two fully connected robotic systems to streamline data flow and enable rapid ingredient sampling and modelling, aimed at accelerating customer innovation cycles.
Nick Hampton, Tate & Lyle’s Chief Executive, emphasised the transformative potential of ALFIE: “With this investment, we are revolutionising the product development journey for mouthfeel solutions, enabling our scientists to deliver faster, more innovative solutions. ALFIE’s advanced capabilities will not only improve product performance predictions in food manufacturing but also expand healthier options for consumers and contribute to the future of the food industry.”
Serving as the company’s R&D hub for the Asia-Pacific region, the Singapore lab was developed with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). This facility also benefits from a virtual link to Tate & Lyle’s Innovation Centre in Hoffman Estates, near Chicago, allowing cross-continental collaboration among scientists in Singapore and the US.
Andrew Taylor, Tate & Lyle’s President for Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, commented on ALFIE’s role in redefining industry R&D: “ALFIE’s innovative technology is driven by automation and sophisticated data analytics, which will empower us to meet the most complex customer needs with unprecedented agility. The lab’s unique infrastructure places our Singapore centre as a major global innovation hub and aligns with Singapore’s Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map 2025.”
According to Victoria Spadaro-Grant, President, Innovation and Commercial Development at Tate & Lyle, “The usual lab scenario, in the absence of ALFIE, would have required a regiment of scientists to achieve the same level of research and testing within this time frame. This technology frees up our scientists to focus on higher-value problem-solving and accelerates our delivery of innovative solutions to customers.”
Singapore’s strategic location, with access to 60% of the global population within a five-hour flight radius, further strengthens Tate & Lyle’s influence across the food and nutrition industry. Marcus Dass, Senior Vice President of Global Enterprises at EDB, highlighted Singapore’s role in the initiative, stating, “The establishment of ALFIE reflects Singapore’s status as a trusted hub for food innovation in the region, and we look forward to seeing its impact on Asia’s evolving food ecosystem.”
ALFIE is expected to enable Tate & Lyle to pioneer ingredient solutions that respond to the dynamic needs of the global market, reinforcing Singapore’s position in the vanguard of food innovation.