Barry Callebaut has opened a base at Gastronomica, the food and drink hub at Bedford’s Colworth Science Park dedicated to shaping the future of food. The move places the chocolate specialist alongside businesses and research organisations working across food and beverage industry trends, food manufacturing trends and food and drink industry innovation.
Unilever and life sciences and technology-focused property investor Pioneer launched the incubator last year. Gastronomica gives emerging businesses the opportunity to work with the FMCG major and connect with other organisations based at Colworth, including The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), as well as nearby academic partners Cranfield University and the University of Northampton.
Barry Callebaut has maintained a strategic relationship with TMICC for more than 10 years. During that time, the companies have developed premium chocolate and non-chocolate solutions for ice cream, including the distinctive crackable chocolate shell associated with the Magnum brand.
With Barry Callebaut now operating from the site, the two businesses intend to expand their joint development programme. Their work will support progress in food processing technology and respond to evolving food and drink consumer trends, while also exploring opportunities in food and drink packaging, food and drink sustainability and new product development.
“Gastronomica offers the ideal environment for strengthening our long-standing partnership with The Magnum Ice Cream Company, allowing us to work side by side with its teams and accelerate collaboration, innovation, and decision-making,” commented Valeria Gutierrez, R&D director at Barry Callebaut.
“Our teams are already collaborating on several exciting projects, leveraging Barry Callebaut’s expertise in chocolate and beyond-chocolate solutions to explore new textures, flavours and ingredient technologies. Combined with TMICC’s deep expertise in ice cream and consumer understanding, these complementary capabilities create exciting opportunities to accelerate innovation and deliver new experiences for consumers.”
Gutierrez said Barry Callebaut’s arrival at Gastronomica represents “an important step” in advancing its “customer-centric approach”. She added that the presence reinforces the company’s focus on co-innovation, speed and the creation of solutions designed for future consumers. These priorities also align with wider food and drink marketing strategies and changing food distribution trends.
Nicky Purser, tenant relations manager at Colworth Science Park, said: “Gastronomica brings together organisations with complementary expertise in food science, consumer research, sustainability and innovation. It gives tenant companies opportunities to exchange ideas, form partnerships and collaborate on projects that advance food innovation and create value for consumers.
“We are delighted to welcome Barry Callebaut to our growing Gastronomica community. The company has taken dedicated workspace for its on-site team, alongside collaborative meeting spaces for joint project work with The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Our flexible facilities will help the teams accelerate product development and co-create the ice cream innovations of tomorrow. We look forward to supporting this exciting new journey.”
The partnership also gives both companies a collaborative setting in which to monitor developments in food and drink regulations and respond quickly to emerging commercial and consumer priorities.
