SABECO’s research facility a dream for its brewmasters

Lam Du An, deputy general director of Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (SABECO) responsible for technology and production, said such a facility has been a dream for the company for a decade.

“We cannot test beer on a large scale because one tank produces 40,000 barrels of beer. Therefore, for a long time, we have cherished the idea of a small-capacity research centre, producing moderate batches of beer,” An said.

Located at Nguyen Chi Thanh Brewery, the birthplace of Bia Saigon brand since 1875, the research and development centre was built as an automated miniature factory, fully functional to research and test new formulas and processes before transferring to 26 factories in the company system.

Many generations of SABECO technical staff and brewers have aspired to master technology and develop the Vietnamese beverage industry to be on par with other nations. The plans for the facility were ramped up as customer tastes increasingly changed.

An said the company realised that it needed a system at the most in-depth level to innovate technology, research, and apply new materials and new processes to improve and produce new beer lines, suitable for Vietnamese culinary culture and tastes.

To prepare for the scheme, technical staff attended a brewmaster training course in Germany to elevate their knowledge and learn from experience. With the desire to fully master the technology and production process, including the most specialised processes, the staff worked with major domestic and foreign partners for nine months to manufacture machinery and install the entire production line using modern technology.

Consumer expectations about health, nutrition, functionality, sensory qualities, sustainability, and lifestyles have made the dynamics in the food and beverage sector more complicated. Due to pressure from the post-pandemic business environment to speed up product innovation, companies are constantly experimenting.

With a thorough understanding of product design, formulation, raw materials, processing, packaging, storage, distribution, and regulatory constraints, research and testing procedures have evolved to expedite the launch of new products and demonstrate a high probability of success.

An said that SABECO’s brewing experts now have extensive experience, are regularly trained at the world’s leading academies, and have a profound understanding of Vietnamese consumer tastes and market trends, but in the past, they did not have enough space to unleash their creativity.

“The new facility is a place for them to create more new recipes with high processes and efficiency, bringing quality drinks to consumers, thereby realising the dream of developing the Vietnamese beverage industry on par with the world,” An said. “This is also a destination for newly graduated engineers who have a lot of knowledge but lack confidence and practice. At the centre, they are exposed to knowledge every day, which will help train the next generation with solid expertise and good skills.”

An explained that automation from the raw material input stage to the final product will minimise human errors. “We must ensure automation from the raw material input stage to the finished product with the best technology, process, and raw materials,” An said. “From there, beer industries such as those found in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic will look at us and begin to believe that Vietnamese beer can sit alongside theirs. That is what we will do and we will certainly succeed.”

SABECO has many years of experience in building breweries with foreign contractors, specifically from Germany. For this new centre, the team combined that experience with AI applications, thereby minimising common errors in production and ensuring consistent product quality from raw materials to finished products. Monitoring via software and direct remote intervention was also carried out so that anyone can grasp the activities taking place at the centre.

“The centre is a testament to our commitment to continuous innovation and technology application. We promote sustainable growth by effectively managing resources, developing skilled human resources, and creating high-quality products,” said Lester Tan, general director of SABECO.

The centre is expected to create a major turning point because it will specialise in finding the secret to balancing flavours, understanding the tastes of consumers, and the 10,000 quality control documents and skilled personnel will help produce a batch of beer that meets market demand, Tan added.

SABECO is the oldest beer production enterprise in Vietnam with nearly 150 years of development, as well as a distribution network of more than 200,000 sales points nationwide.

SABECO inaugurated the cutting-edge SABECO Beer Research and Development Centre (SRC) on November 20, aspiring to elevate Vietnam’s beverage industry.

Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation last week inaugurated a cutting-edge SABECO Beer Research and Development Centre to help brewers and young engineers attain the best environment for the process of creating quality products.

With its numerous implementations of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives this year, SABECO has been once again named among the top sustainable development enterprises in Vietnam.