Kerry expands Southeast Asia footprint with new RD&A facility and co-creation lab in Indonesia

Indonesia – Kerry Group has opened a new office and expanded its Research, Development & Applications (RD&A) facility in RDTX Place, South Jakarta, aimed at supporting product development and food innovation efforts in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets.

Kerry Group, a global food and beverage company specialising in taste and nutrition solutions, supplies ingredients and flavours to companies across the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors.

The newly opened 1,200-square-meter space in South Jakarta includes dedicated flavour creation and application labs for both sweet and savoury products, a sensory suite, and a co-creation lab designed for direct collaboration between Kerry’s scientists, flavorists, and application experts and their customers.

The expansion comes amid rising demand in Indonesia for food solutions that are innovative, nutritious, and tailored to local preferences. The South Jakarta facility also incorporates several sustainability-focused features and is currently under review for LEED Gold certification. These include smart energy systems, daylight-responsive lighting, the use of sustainable materials, and waste management practices implemented during construction.

Siddharth Rastogi, retail, meat, and marketing lead at Kerry Southeast Asia, commented, “Indonesia’s central location enables greater proximity to our key markets—allowing us to be closer to our regional customers to develop solutions together that are agile and relevant to rapidly shifting market dynamics. We’re excited to be a hub of food innovation excellence for the industry, helping to shape the future of food and beverage in the region.”

Kerry’s broader operations in Indonesia include manufacturing sites in Cikarang and Karawang. The latter, a €30 million facility opened in 2023, is the company’s largest greenfield investment in Southeast Asia and supports a wide range of food categories, including beverages, snacks, and bakery—among Kerry’s fastest-growing segments in the region.

Janeley Haryono, general manager for Kerry Indonesia, said, “This facility is a major step forward in our journey as a trusted innovation partner in Indonesia. With customers collaborating directly with us, we’re enabling faster innovation and delivering solutions that are not only healthier but also rooted in local preferences and ingredients. Our investment is in keeping with the Indonesian government’s ‘Making Indonesia 4.0’ initiative that emphasises the importance of the F&B sector in driving the nation towards becoming one of the world’s top 10 economies by 2030.”

Remarked Ambassador of Ireland to Indonesia, H.E. Pádraig Francis, who was present at the opening of the new facility, also commented, “The opening of Kerry’s new RD&A lab marks a significant milestone in Ireland’s economic engagement with Indonesia. It reflects a shared vision of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability. Kerry’s growing presence supports Indonesia’s aspirations in health, nutrition, and industrial development and stands as part of a proud legacy of Irish companies contributing to inclusive, long-term progress in the region.”