Tetra Pak opens Thailand innovation hub to fast-trackfood and beverage development across Asia Pacific

Tetra Pak has opened a new Product Development Centre in Rayong, Thailand, aimed at helping food and beverage manufacturers across Asia Pacific accelerate product innovation and move more efficiently from concept to commercial production.

• Tetra Pak has opened a 40,000ft2 Product Development Centre in Rayong, Thailand to support food and beverage innovation across Asia Pacific.
• The facility has been designed to support pilot-scale production, recipe validation, and product testing across six liquid-based food and beverage categories.
• The company said the centre forms part of its broader regional expansion, with commercial trials expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

The new centre has been developed to bring pilot production capabilities closer to manufacturers in Southeast Asia, a region that has seen rising demand for new food and beverage formats driven by urbanization, a growing middle class, and increased interest in functional and healthier products.

Tetra Pak reported that launches in the functional beverage category across Southeast Asia have been growing at around 15% year-on-year, reflecting broader shifts in consumer demand. The company said the Rayong facility would help manufacturers respond to this trend by shortening development timelines and improving the efficiency of scaling new products.

“Across Asia Pacific, we are seeing strong demand for higher-value, more differentiated food and beverage products,” said Julia Luscher, Vice President, Marketing at Tetra Pak. “To compete regionally and globally, manufacturers need faster validation cycles, more efficient development, and the ability to scale with confidence. Tetra Pak Product Development Centre's global network provides that platform, bringing together our capabilities in product innovation and processing excellence with a strong regional ecosystem for food innovation. This will help manufacturers accelerate product development and support more sustainable growth across the industry.”

Spanning 40,000ft2, the Rayong facility integrates two core areas: Liquid Food Solutions and the Food Development Facility. It has been equipped with semi-industrial pilot plants designed to replicate full-scale production conditions for both aseptic and non-aseptic applications.

The centre has been built to support six key liquid-based categories, including dairy, beverages such as juice, coffee and tea, plant-based foods, ice cream, food applications including culinary and porridge products, and food supplements and nutrition.

Tetra Pak said the facility would allow manufacturers to test and validate recipes and production processes before committing to full-scale investment, reducing risk and improving product quality. Companies will also be able to trial high-value or sensitive ingredients under conditions that closely mirror commercial production environments.

The site has been designed to support end-to-end product development, from early-stage formulation through to pilot-scale trials and process optimization. On-site capabilities include sensory testing, nutritional analysis, shelf-life studies, and consumer research, providing manufacturers with a more complete validation process prior to launch.

A team of food scientists, bioprocess engineers, and process specialists will support trials at the facility, with the aim of providing technical guidance and ensuring that product development is grounded in both scientific and industrial expertise.

The centre has also been positioned as a way to broaden access to advanced development infrastructure. Tetra Pak said the facility would enable companies of all sizes to access pilot production capabilities that would otherwise require significant capital investment.

The Rayong site forms part of Tetra Pak’s wider network of Product Development Centres, bringing the total number globally to 12. The company said each centre in the network has been designed to focus on specific product categories while offering access to shared expertise and capabilities across regions.

Marcelo Perazzo, Managing Director for Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia, said the new facility had been designed to provide practical, hands-on support for manufacturers across Southeast Asia.

“The PDC in Rayong is designed to support manufacturers across the region with hands-on product development, helping them bring to market innovations that are not only technically sound, but also relevant, differentiated and scalable in today's competitive landscape,” he said. “This reflects Tetra Pak's commitment to enabling customers across Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia to innovate with confidence, backed by our Product Development Centres' global network.”

The investment also builds on Tetra Pak’s broader expansion in the region, including the development of its packaging material production plant in Binh Duong, Vietnam. Together, these moves reflect the company’s efforts to strengthen its presence in Asia Pacific and align its capabilities with growing regional demand for food and beverage innovation.

The Rayong Product Development Centre is now operational, with commercial trials for customers expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

(From left to right, main photo shows Julia Luscher, Anna Hammargren and Kanchai Thepvorachai)