Puratos has opened a Flour Competence Centre at its headquarters in Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium, focused on flour analysis, quality variation and application guidance. The facility brings together analytical equipment and R&D expertise, with the aim of translating flour data into workable solutions for industrial bakery producers.

Why flour variability matters now

Flour is not a stable raw material. Shifts in climate, agricultural practices and global supply chains mean that protein content, enzyme activity, water absorption and moisture levels can vary significantly between harvests and even within a single season. These variations affect dough behaviour, fermentation performance and finished product consistency, creating ongoing challenges for manufacturers working to tight quality tolerances.

What the centre will do

Research at the new facility will cover four main areas: tracking how crop evolution affects bakery and patisserie output; identifying ingredients that can stabilise flour quality; assessing how regenerative flour performs in finished products; and developing next-generation analytical methods for flour testing.

Findings from the centre feed directly into Puratos's bakery improvers, sourdoughs and patisserie mixes. The company says the goal is to link flour data to real baking performance across applications including fresh breads, frozen dough and extended shelf-life soft products.

Connected across borders

The Groot-Bijgaarden centre is digitally linked to a network of flour laboratories worldwide. This structure is intended to support both global data aggregation and region-specific insight, accounting for the fact that crop behaviour and flour characteristics vary considerably by geography.

Paul Baisier, Chief R&D Officer at Puratos, notes that the centre uses advanced analytics and generative AI-driven predictive modelling to anticipate flour variability. "This capability becomes critical as the shift toward regenerative agriculture increases raw material variability," he said, "and it enables us to support customers more proactively in adapting processes, maintaining consistent quality, and translating variability into new sources of value."

The centre will also serve as a platform for collaboration across the supply chain, drawing in customers and external partners alongside internal R&D teams.