Reliable partners in innovation
At Puratos we measure our success by how far we can help our customers to create the products and solutions that allow their businesses to thrive. An important way of achieving this success is through our global network of Innovation Centres.
Fringford Innovation Centre
Fringford Innovation Centre based in heart of the countryside near Bicester, Oxon is the Puratos UK hub for innovation and NPD for both Puratos and Puratos customers.
Dating back to the Domesday book was originally a working Mill.
Fringford opened its doors in 1984 as a customer innovation centre and has been a customer favourite ever since.
2016 saw a €1.5 million investment as an important step in demonstrating our commitment for our customers to enhance their business by introducing a new Industrial Bakery Competence Centre (IBCC) in Fringford, focusing on the research of bakery industrial processes, the development of industrial applications and the training of new and existing customers.
The IBCC, which complements Puratos’ existing patisserie & chocolate innovation capabilities, will help customers to reduce product development time thanks to its new industry standard equipment situated in a laboratory environment that enables safe and easy testing of new ingredients and recipes.
Specific capabilities at the Fringford Innovation Centre include:
- Rapid testing and development of bakery solutions tailored to the challenges of large-scale manufacture
- Development of applications and training in patisserie – from concept to finish goods
- Technical, taste and production expertise in chocolate in patisserie
- Sensory analysis - consumer testing to validate new products and applications in bakery, patisserie and chocolate
- Specialist pilot equipment providing a realistic production environment to test new products and trial production
From artisans to industrial manufacturers, and from quick-service restaurants to large supermarkets, each and every one of our customers is welcome.
Innovation for everyone
With a global team of more than 463 technical advisors, our network of 81 Innovation Centres are committed to supporting customers on both a local and regional level, providing them with access to the very latest industry equipment, expertise and training, as well as in-depth research into international trends.
We limit our focus to three core disciplines - bakery, patisserie and chocolate-making – but offer our services to all our customers, no matter how big or small. From artisans to industrial manufacturers, and from quick-service restaurants to large supermarkets, each and every one of our customers is welcome.
Our Centres and you
At our Innovation Centres, we concentrate on providing three main services:
Product development
To help our customers create the best finished goods, we offer specialist training in all aspects of product development. Whether improving a current product range, develop new recipes, or benchmark a products against competitors, we have all the expertise our customers need to work along side by side. Taste, freshness, texture, ingredient interaction, nutrition and food pairing – training, expert advice, and technical seminars on every aspect of product development are available
Category management
Good category management helps to develop a mutually beneficial relationship between retailer and supplier. By booking in time at one of our Innovation Centres, realistic profitability targets can be analysed and set for all product categories, and together with our customers we can work out strategies for meeting those targets.
Product profiling
What are the most important characteristics of each of your products? Is it texture? Is it taste? At our Innovation Centres, we will work towards the taste best suited to your audience by first concentrating on working out your product’s unique characteristics. The products of a variety of manufacturers will then be ranked to find out why some products score better than others. Finally, tailor-made solutions can be developed that will enable to create products that appeal directly to your target market.
Pay us a visit
If you want to discover new ways of boosting your business or if you are interested in visiting our state-of-the-art facilities, please visit our Contacts page.
