Blommer Chocolate Company, a cocoa processor and ingredient chocolate supplier in North America, is expanding its lab capabilities and opening a new R&D Center located in downtown Chicago, IL in the Merchandise Mart. The R&D Center will focus on future development, concept testing, processing and ingredient research, and application creation.   

Mark Okita, COO and president, conveys, "The R&D Center is a place where anyone can discuss new chocolate ideas with Blommer members, regardless of scale. Establishing this Center in the Mart, located in downtown Chicago, a city known for its candy culture, holds significant  value. Blommer’s R&D Center will be a sweet destination for anyone with a sweet tooth." This 5,000 ft² expansion, resulting in a 10,000 ft² R&D Center, comes two years after Blommer moved their HQ offices to the Merchandise Mart, and one year after the historic Chicago manufacturing plant closed.   

The R&D Center is intentionally designed to showcase the rich history of Blommer and advance the company’s mission to enhance research and development research and elevate creative solutions in compound and chocolate technology. “Blommer Chocolate Company's new R&D Center is a hub of innovation for future chocolate technology. It brings together scientists' passion and creativity, allowing customers to participate in developing new ideas. This center honors Blommer's history and paves the way for next-generation chocolate products, inspiring the industry's future,” says Tomoki Matsumoto, CEO and chairman.   

The R&D Center’s curated spaces, equipment, and strategic staffing allows for the full scope of development, from innovative concepts to application, for Blommer Chocolate customers. The space is also built to be super collaborative, enabling on-site customer and partner engagements, plus hosting industry community experiences. The new development labs are outfitted to enable end-to-end processing from chocolate liquor to finished  product  application. The equipment replicates Blommer’s manufacturing production capabilities to aid in product customer sample development, innovation, and new business development, plus adds analytical instrument capability. Additionally, the expansion allows for more focused customer hospitality and supports employees’ workplace wellbeing with ample room for staffing expansion needs. The new expansion footprint complements the existing application areas including the hot kitchen, chocolate kitchen, sensory analysis, and ideation spaces.   

“This R&D Center was designed with purpose, by scientists, to involve customers in our creative approach to critical thinking and development of novel concepts. The magic happens when the ideas come together and their output becomes inspirations for the future,” says Melissa Tisoncik, VP, R&D. "This expansion will continue to highlight the Blommer & Fuji experience and will help elevate the brand as well as realize the Blommer R&D vision: through thoughtful and proactive collaboration, we will deliver advanced innovation, impactful technical support, and generate meaningful, creative solutions to help unlock the full potential of our customers."

Related: Blommer Chocolate debuts cocoa butter equivalent