UZWIL, SWITZERLAND — Bühler has opened its new Puffing Application Center in Uzwil, providing food and feed producers industrial-scale capabilities to develop innovative, plant-based and affordable products, including pet food.

Puffing is a hydrothermal process that uses heat and pressure to significantly expand the volume of raw materials. The technology is versatile and applicable to a broad range of products – snacks, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, confectionery, bakery items and dairy applications. Their increased volume and porosity make them lighter and crispier. Puffing enhances digestibility by breaking down starches, extends shelf life by reducing moisture, and boosts nutritional value through preserving and easy enrichment with vitamins, minerals,or proteins.

Bühler’s new Puffing Application Center provides a platform for innovation, testing and product development. It builds on the company’s acquisition of Cerex’s puffing technology, announced early this year. 

“With this center, we are ready to support customers worldwide — not only in food, but also in pet food and feed, where demand for crispy, nutritious products is on the rise,” said Christoph Vogel, head of business unit human nutrition at Bühler. “It is an invitation to the industry to innovate sustainably and cost-effectively, amid growing pressure on margins and supply chains.”

Bühler Cerex puffing technology for food and feed is available in three configuration sizes to meet different production needs. The Single system supports throughputs of 350 to 500 kilograms per hour (kg/h), making it ideal for early-stage product development and small-scale production.

The Double system offers capacities ranging from 700 to 1,000 kg/h, enabling mid-scale operations. For high-capacity requirements, the Quattro system delivers between 1,400 and 2,000 kg/h. At the Puffing Application Center, the Single system is available for trials and demonstrations.

Thanks to the new research and training center, customers can rapidly test and optimize puffed products made from a wide variety of grains and pulses, such as quinoa, chickpeas, and ancient grains. The ability to experiment with diverse raw materials helps create products that meet consumer demand for healthier, clean-label options, with lower fat, sugar, and salt, and higher protein and fiber content.

“With Bühler’s technical expertise and advanced equipment, customers can fine-tune recipes and validate product performance at scale, all without the need to invest in their own R&D infrastructure,” said Carol Krech, head of market segment cereals & snacks at Bühler.

The Puffing Application Center is fully integrated into Bühler’s network of research and training centers in Uzwil, which includes facilities such as the Grain Innovation Center, Flavor Creation Center, Food Creation Center, and Protein Application Center. This unique configuration enables customers to develop complete product concepts — from puffed snack pellets to cereal bars and chocolate applications — all within a unified innovation process. Customers can bring pulses to Bühler’s Grain Innovation Center for cleaning and sorting, puff them at the new facility, and finalize products at adjacent centers, streamlining the entire development process.

“This is a rare opportunity for customers to develop and refine entire product concepts in one place, from raw material to finished application,” Krech said. “By combining multiple technologies and expert teams under one roof, we help customers accelerate innovation while reducing complexity, cost, and time to market.”

Read more news from pet food and treat industry suppliers.