Nestle research centers create custom China restaurant products

A skilled chef is hard to find and hire in China's culinary businesses. Nestle's research team has been working on how to simplify and offer standard cooking procedures for Chinese restaurants that enable chefs, even those with less experience, to perform well in the kitchens.

Chinese restaurants that aim for the mass consumers look for more efficient but less costly operations. High-end and luxury dining-out places have suffered from a sharp slowdown as a result of the government austerity campaign.

Nestlé Professional, a business unit in the Nestlé Group, focuses on providing products, solutions and services for the out-of-home industry. It sees the industry's challenges as an opportunity and has opened its second customer engagement center in Shanghai recently, after its first one in Beijing. The new facility serves as a milestone for Nestlé Professional to further explore China's food and beverage market, said Nestle's executive.

Jeroen Pluijmers, regional business head of Nestlé Professional AOA, said these centers have reaffirmed Nestlé's commitment to nutrition, health and wellness, in addition to food safety. Nestlé plans to open two additional centers in the future, extending its culinary innovation and development facilities to customers in other regions in China.

The Customer Engagement Center is a platform for the Nestlé Professional team to engage with the customers and help them bring new food and beverages to the market.

The centers have professional chefs and baristas who will share new cooking skills with their peers in China. Their research team has more than 1,000 consultants and skilled team members.

Pluijmers, who visited the newly launched facility and participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the center, said: "Out-of-home food and beverage consumption is growing each year."

According to statistics from the China Cuisine Association, China's food and beverage market is now valued at 3.2 trillion yuan ($480 billion). With changing consumer demands in terms of variety, quality and health, the demands by customers have grown multifold. Chinese consumers' expectations for premium quality, tastier and healthier food and beverage products are becoming stronger.

Through the creation of Shanghai CEC, Nestlé can help customers respond to consumer demands.

The creation of the Nestlé Professional Shanghai Customer Engagement Center shows how Nestlé Professional continues to be a reliable partner for China's food services companies, Pluijmers said.

The Nestlé Professional Shanghai CEC is based in Caohejing Hi-tech Park of Shanghai. As a fast growing business unit, Nestlé Professional is a key player in China's market. Many renowned food and beverage restaurants, companies and hotels are loyal customers of Nestlé Professional, said the company.