Alamance Foods launches AFI Labs for faster food and beverage commercialization

Alamance Foods has opened AFI Labs, a research, development and commercialization center in Burlington, N.C., to help foodservice, retail and consumer brands move new products from idea to market faster. The lab combines pilot-scale manufacturing, culinary development and commercialization support in one workflow.

Why it matters: - AFI Labs is designed to shorten the path from concept to commercial product for food and beverage brands. - The center targets companies that need faster product cycles, more technical support and a clearer route to scale-up. - The launch expands Alamance Foods' role from manufacturer to development partner.

What happened: - Alamance Foods launched AFI Labs in Burlington, N.C., as a dedicated research, development and commercialization center. - The facility is meant to support foodservice operators, consumer packaged goods companies, retailers, convenience retailers and restaurant brands. - AFI Labs combines scientific expertise, pilot-scale manufacturing, culinary innovation and commercialization support in one collaborative environment. - Corporate Chef Eric Nakata said AFI Labs was created to help customers shorten development timelines while using Alamance Foods' manufacturing expertise to reach commercial success.

The details: - AFI Labs supports product development from early ideation through commercial production. - Customers work with cross-functional experts in research and development, process engineering, commercialization, packaging, culinary development and manufacturing. - The innovation process includes innovation and consumer trend exploration, concept development, rapid prototype formulation, validation and analytical testing, pilot-scale manufacturing trials, and commercial scale-up and production support. - The center focuses on dairy and dairy alternative aerosol whipped toppings, dairy and dairy alternative aerosol cold foams, RTD beverage applications, freezer pops and drinkable yogurt. - AFI Labs serves foodservice, convenience retail, quick-service restaurants, consumer packaged goods and private label programs. - The facility includes laboratory, culinary and pilot plant resources that are designed to mirror real customer environments. - Capabilities include bench-scale product development, pilot-scale processing equipment, product performance evaluation, manufacturing validation and scale-up, sensory testing and competitive benchmarking. - The facility also includes culinary-inspired product applications, coffee, café and beverage equipment, small commercial bakery equipment, and modular plug-and-play kitchens that can accommodate customer equipment and workflows. - AFI Labs offers innovation workshops, consumer and market trend exploration, rapid prototyping, customized formula development, technical troubleshooting, product optimization and long-term co-development partnerships. - Alamance Foods says each engagement is tailored to customer objectives, whether the work involves a new platform or improvements to an existing product. - For more information about AFI Labs or to schedule an innovation workshop, visit Alamance Foods or contact the Alamance Foods Commercialization Team.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader push by food and beverage companies to reduce risk and speed commercialization. - By pairing lab development with pilot production and commercialization planning, Alamance Foods is betting that customers want fewer handoffs between concept, testing and manufacturing. - The company is also positioning AFI Labs to serve both emerging product ideas and ongoing reformulation work.

What's next: - Customers can begin using AFI Labs for innovation workshops and development projects. - Alamance Foods is likely to use the center to build more co-development relationships and move more concepts into scaled production. - The company says AFI Labs will help turn promising concepts into market-ready products with direct access to its manufacturing resources.

The bottom line: - AFI Labs gives Alamance Foods a dedicated platform to help brands develop, test and scale food and beverage products faster.