UK – PepsiCo, Inc, in partnership with UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), has opened a new research lab dedicated to testing oats from its innovative R&D agricultural science programs.
The new laboratory is located at the NIAB plant science research organization in Cambridge and will be used by PepsiCo expert crop researchers to test and analyze a pool of oat samples from regenerative agricultural trials for milling and nutritional requirements.
The facility is timely as it will come with solutions to help growers tackle issues like extreme weather and rising costs of materials like fertilizer, which have been making it more difficult for them to grow their crops.
According to Peter Bright, a senior scientist at PepsiCo UK, the new testing facility will support growers by giving them use data and insights that can help optimize their yield and produce the best quality of Quaker Oats, while protecting the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
To achieve its mandate to growers, PepsiCo researchers will use state-of-the-art grain quality testing facilities to collect data which will be fed into PepsiCo research projects.
Among PepsiCo’s research projects is the Opti-Oat Crop Intelligence program, which offers information and insights into how to grow the perfect oat in its Oat Growth Guide.
The Oat Growth Guide is part of the Opti-Oat initiative that seeks to deliver a 5% to 10% increase in yield while contributing to more sustainable crop production.
PepsiCo commits to supporting growers to increase their production to meet the growing customer demand for Quaker Oats sustainably.
Considering the company’s over 100,000 tonnes of oats milled every year in Scotland facility, PepsiCo feels obligated to support growers to meet the increasing demand, said Peter Bright, a senior scientist at PepsiCo UK
“Our dedicated oat quality testing facility is a win for PepsiCo, NIAB, our growers, and ultimately our consumers through producing the best quality Quaker Oats whilst delivering against our PepsiCo Positive goals.”
In addition, NIAB cited that they have benefitted from the setting up of the facility from the exchange of knowledge and experience between the two partners
“PepsiCo’s investment has improved our shared spaces and equipment, generated new ideas for ways of working and staff training opportunities, including better knowledge of the oat crop from field to bowl,” said Helen Appleyard, head of analytical services at the NIAB.
The opening of the laboratory is part of pep+, the Purchase, New York, US-based company’s global strategy that puts health and sustainability at the core of its business.
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