Food and drink innovation centre launched at Colworth Science Park
Gastronomica, the state-of-the-art food and drink incubator, officially launched at Pioneer Group’s Colworth Science Park on 5 March.
Guests from across the food and drink industry attended the exclusive opening event to view the newly refurbished space as well as demonstrations showcasing the cutting-edge food innovations at Colworth Science Park.
Gastronomica’s official launch was marked by the unveiling of The Herbarium, a herb and seed library that recognises the creators and pioneers who will shape the future of food and drink innovation. Stakeholders involved in curating, investing, and building the space were invited to sign the jars of herbs and spices, making up the letters of the alphabet on a symbolic wall display.
Guests were treated to a live cooking spectacle led by Dominique Woolf, Sunday Times Bestselling Author and founder of Woolf’s Kitchen, as well as an array of tastings from trailblazing businesses and iconic brands based at Colworth including Pepsi-Lipton, dsm-firmenich, Magnum and Symrise. The day concluded with a sustainable, curated lunch designed to foster meaningful connections among the brightest minds in food, drink, business, and sustainability.
Colworth Science Park is home to one of Unilever’s Global R&D Innovation Centres. As the latest development on the park, Gastronomica has been created through a cooperation between Pioneer and Unilever and is designed to foster collaboration and innovation in food and drink.
Speaking at the launch event, Simon Hoad, director of Pioneer Group, said: “It is a pleasure to be officially opening Gastronomica – a space that embodies the innovation, creativity, and collaboration that Pioneer strives to support and curate. We believe that breakthrough ideas don’t happen in isolation – they happen when great minds come together, experiment, and challenge the status quo. That’s exactly what Gastronomica is designed to do. It’s not just a space; it’s a movement towards shaping the future of food and drink.”
Subjit Jassy, Gastronomica asset manager, added:
We are thrilled to unveil this exciting new space for food and drink innovation. Gastronomica has been designed as a hub where culinary creativity meets science, providing a platform for brands, chefs, and businesses to test, create, and collaborate. It provides a cost-efficient, resource-rich environment for food tech ventures to launch, scale, and grow, making it the ideal home for innovators to revolutionise the food industry.
Following its launch, Gastronomica will play host to a schedule of events designed to inspire food and drink innovators of the future. Amongst the star-studded line-up is TV chef and author Jeremy Wang, The Doctor’s Kitchen’s Rupy Aujla, and PACK’D’s Mitch Lee, who will explain why frozen is the ‘hottest’ sustainability focus in 2025.
