Fonterra's Research and Development Centre celebrates 95 years

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A lot has changed since Fonterra's Research and Development Centre (FRDC) began 95 years ago, the co-op's Director of Strategy and Innovation, Mark Piper says.

"Milk used to come out by horse and cart and milk quality was judged by its smell -
we're a lot more sophisticated now," he told The Country Sport Breakfast's Craig Cumming.

Back then FRDC was known as The Dairy Research Institute and was situated on the Massey University site in Palmerston North, before moving to its own site across the road in the '60s.

The Dairy Research Institute was renamed the Fonterra Research and Development Centre when the co-op was formed in 2001.

FRDC was a really special part of Fonterra and the New Zealand dairy industry, Piper said.

"It's where we've developed everything from spreadable butter, to extra stretch mozzarella and more recently Kowbucha, which is a really exciting probiotic that we're working on to try and reduce methane from cows."

FRDC was integral to the co-op's continued success, Piper said.

"All of our products that you see on the shelf, from our delicious cheeses ... through to our huge range of specialty products globally have come through this innovation centre."

The success of these products was the driving force behind Fonterra's aim to increase its global R&D investment by over 50 per cent by 2030, as part of the co-op's long-term strategy, Piper said.

"A large portion of that investment is specifically going into what we call our Active Living area, which focuses on nutrition supporting healthy and active lifestyles - even including things like sleep, which most people don't associate with active living."

There was also a "really cool" probiotics business that housed more than 40,000 dairy culture strains, in a library built up over the past 95 years, Piper said.

"There's huge potential as we explore these further. Who knows? There could be probiotics to support recovery from cancer hidden in there."

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Ultimately, the secret of FRDC's success came down to its people, Piper said.

"I know everyone says that but for us - we're so fortunate with the range of skill sets, knowledge, backgrounds and even personalities that we have on-site."

FRDC boasted a diverse workforce, with around 350 people representing more than 40 different nationalities from all six major continents around the world.

"We haven't found anyone from Antarctica yet," Piper quipped.

There was also a wide range of experience, he said.

"We've got people who have been involved in the industry for two weeks, to over 50 years. If you add up all those years of dairy experience that we've got - there's over 4000 years of collective experience."

This diverse range of people, along with Fonterra's global partners, really drove FRDC's innovation and creative problem-solving, Piper said.

"For me, that's what's going to keep us at the forefront of dairy innovation for another 95 years."