Südzucker R&D - the technology and innovation driver in the Südzucker Group

Our research, development and technology services strive for the highest levels of excellence in new product development, production technology, customer-oriented application technology and support. Our R&D continually evolves to match faster development cycles and the inherent dynamic changes of the food and non-food industries.

The Südzucker Group R&D is operating research and development centers in Germany (Offstein), Austria (Tulln), Belgium (Tienen) providing a broad range of scientific and technological services not only for the Südzucker business units, but in certain domains also to our customers to develop new products based on our sugar ingredients.

Our Südzucker R&D employs an interdisciplinary pool of 260 experts in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology, process engineering, food technology and nutritional sciences.

Südzucker R&D Capabilities

State-of-the art process equipment in lab and pilot scale
Process and product development
Application technology experts and application labs
Sophisticated analytical techniques for product characterization
Experienced team for sensorial evaluation studies
Special hygienic areas for sample preparation under food conditions
Food safety, regulatory & nutrition industry expertise
ISO 9001 and IFS 6 certification

Südzucker Technology Expertise

Upstream and downstream process technologies
Chemical and enzymatic catalysis
Process and sugar technologies
Biotechnology (fermentation and enzymatic processes)
Separation technologies for carbohydrates and proteins
Physical modification of carbohydrates
Food application technology
AgriTech and agricultural R&D
Chemical and physical analyses using state-of-the-art analytical techniques for product characterization and quality control

Our competence - your benefit

Our competences cover the entire Südzucker value chain. In addition to evaluating and further developing our agricultural raw material base, we also focus on advancing our processing technologies and work on providing products with improved properties.

We develop new food products, ingredients, and concepts in product areas such as:

sugar and sugar specialities (B2B and B2C)
functional carbohydrates like isomalt and Palatinose™ (BENEO)
functional fibres like inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), as well as rice-based products and proteins (BENEO)
fruit preparations and fruit juice concentrates (Agrana & Austria Juice)
bioethanol and starch (Crop Energies)

In the highly competitive food and food ingredient markets, customer expectations are always rising. Our portfolio of effective products and innovative solutions for the processing industry and consumers always keeps pace and is built to exceed expectations.

Always striving to stay one step ahead, we’re steadily improving product quality, optimising production processes, expanding lines, and are continuously evaluating and implementing new technologies. Beyond that, our work also involves maximising the potential of animal feed and agricultural raw materials like sugar beets, wheat or corn.

While market environments change, we employ our technology capabilities to strictly maintain Südzucker’s rigorous quality standards when we produce our beet sugar. The Process Engineering and Sugar Technology Department and the Analytical Department of CRDS support all Südzucker Group factories in maintaining the highest quality standards, from northern France to Moldova.

With its versatile team of experts, Südzucker Group’s R&D provides comprehensive scientific and technological support for customer-oriented application technology. Applied to our entire product portfolio, our expertise is the key success factor for developing new and innovative food products.

To maintain our high level of support, we constantly engage with our global partner network of experts and innovators, sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas to stay ahead of the technology curve.

We focus on

optimising production processes

reducing energy consumption, consumables, and supplies

improving plant utilisation through longer beet and thick juice campaigns and by more deeply anchoring sustainability in the Südzucker Group.

Customer-oriented services for sugar and sugar specialities

Our most strategic division is our sugar business unit. It operates in a highly dynamic market in the food and food ingredients industry, where consumer expectations are constantly rising and new challenges are constantly emerging.

Our broad product portfolio includes:

crystalline and liquid sugars
invert sugar
brown products
caramelised sugar syrups
compressed sugar
paste-like products such as fondant and other regional specialities.

For these products and their applications in the food processing industry, our food technologists develop tailor-made products and solutions that help you reach your goals and stand out in a competitive market.