NEWS
IFF expands innovation centre in Singapore with new immersive experience hub
IFF, a global leader in flavours, fragrances, food ingredients and health and biosciences, unveiled its new Immersive Experience Hub located within its Singapore Innovation Centre. The multisensory facility enables IFF to work alongside customers to conceptualise, test and refine product ideas in simulated realworld environments, enhancing decision-making, shortening development timelines and improving go-to-market success.
“ The new space builds on IFF’ s US $ 30 million investment in Singapore in 2022, strengthening our position as a strategic innovation hub for Asia,” said Ramon Brentan, Site Leader of the IFF Singapore Innovation Centre and Vice President, Regional General Manager for Greater Asia, Scent.“ The immersive space transforms how we engage with customers and supports our broader innovation strategy in a region expected to drive 60 % of global economic growth by 2030.” and boosting customer confidence through lifelike, emotionally engaging experiences.
The new facility complements IFF’ s largest dairy and beverage pilot plant in Southeast Asia, located in the same building, creating a fully integrated ecosystem that connects consumer insights to concept development, application and small-scale commercialisation. Combined with IFF’ s proprietary trend foresight tools and consumer panels, the experience empowers customers to respond more quickly to Asia’ s diverse landscape and evolving consumer demands with greater precision and creativity.
IFF’ s Immersive Experience Hub integrates 360-degree video technology with scent, taste, sound and touch to simulate real-world environments. It enables virtual tours, contextual tastings, fragrance immersion and real-time co-creation, accelerating product design alignment, reducing time-to-market
Payment outages threaten £ 1.6 billion in UK retail and hospitality sales
Anew study reveals the staggering cost of payment system failures to UK retail and hospitality businesses, estimating losses of £ 1.6 billion annually.
The research, conducted by FreedomPay and Dynatrace in partnership with Retail Economics, highlights the increasing frequency and impact of these disruptions on day-to-day trading, with consumers exhibiting low tolerance for delays. Adding to the concern, the study finds that one in five retail and hospitality businesses lack a secure digital backup when systems fail, exacerbating the potential for lost revenue. businesses are reporting an average of over five major outages each year, with 61 % occurring during peak trading periods, amplifying the financial impact.
“ Consumer-facing businesses are operating in increasingly unpredictable conditions,” said Chris Kronenthal, President,
FreedomPay.“ From extreme weather and power failures to cyberattacks and system outages, disruption is no longer the exception, it’ s becoming the norm. The lack of planning by businesses, coupled with the fragility of existing infrastructure, is creating a perfect storm for revenue loss and reputational damage.”
The study indicates that these failures are not isolated incidents but a recurring operational challenge that disrupts service, damages customer trust and negatively impacts revenue. UK
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