The Hershey Company has announced the official opening of a new Research & Development Center located in Johor, Malaysia. The 10,400-sq-ft facility, one of Hershey’s largest R&D facilities outside the U.S., will house R&D laboratories, a packaging development facility, and a sensory area, which will enable the company to partner with various innovation teams to taste-test and shortlist iconic products known and loved by consumers across the globe.
The center also will serve as Hershey’s AEMEA (Asia Pacific, including India and China, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) hub for innovation and technology. As such, it will help enable Hershey to quickly develop, test, and launch new products customized to consumers’ tastes across the region. The investment is a core part of the company’s strategy to drive international growth through innovation.
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“This investment is just one example of how Hershey is continuing to reinvent the science of confectionery through internal and external innovation,” says Philippe Zehnder, Hershey senior director R&D, international. “The new facility will allow our talented teams to gain deeper insights into consumers by enabling them to conceptualize, test, and develop some of the most innovative products across the region.”
“The facility will act as a central hub for the company’s operations across the AEMEA region within countries in the Asia Pacific, including India and China, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa,” adds Herjit Bhalla, vice president, AEMEA & India, The Hershey Company. “Our new R&D Center reflects our ongoing commitment to understanding the preferences of consumers across the markets.”
