On October 2, 2025, dsm-firmenich announced the inauguration of the Van Marken Food Innovation Center in Delft, the Netherlands. The new center is designed to help customers develop delicious, nutritious and sustainable food and beverage solutions.
“The future of food is not just a vision, it’s a reality that we’re creating right now together with our customers,” said Patrick Niels, president of the company’s taste, texture and health business unit. “Our commitment to innovation and sustainability is unparalleled. Strategically positioned at the Dutch Biotech Campus Delft - the global food and biotechnology hotspot - the Van Marken Food Innovation Center underlines our ongoing dedication to contributing to the local environment and to the Netherlands, while honoring our 155-year legacy of food and biotechnology innovation in Delft.”
The innovation center will house the headquarters of dsm-firmenich’s taste, texture and health business unit as well as a co-creation kitchen, tasting facilities and application labs for the diary, bakery and brewery industries. The center is named after Jacques van Marken, founder of the Yeast and Spirits Factory and a well-known Delft entrepreneur and social reformer.
According to the company’s press release, the new facility will be equipped with the latest technologies to develop sugar substitutes, lactose-free products and sustainable plant-based alternatives to fish, meat and dairy. Further, it has been designed to prioritize both human and planetary health.
“dsm-firmenich’s Van Marken Food Innovation Center is of great importance to the province of Zuid-Holland,” said Wouter Kolff, the King’s commissioner in the province of South-Holland. “The center is a driving force in strengthening the knowledge ecosystem and economic growth in the region and beyond. dsm-firmenich is an important employer and a magnet for current and future talent, contributing to the attractiveness of the city of Delf, the province and the Netherlands.”
