Research Partnerships
Afriplex established a partnership with Leading International Universities to facilitate collaborative research and development of products derived from indigenous Southern African plants. In addition to running our high-tech facilities, the company also undertakes joint research projects with a number of highly regarded institutions. Our relationship with these institutions is symbiotic. The exchange of knowledge and skills is mutually beneficial to Afriplex, our clients and the academic community.
Creative Centre
Situated on the banks of the picturesque Berg River in Paarl, the AFF Creative Centre is the ideal environment for innovation. Removed from the everyday manufacturing and quality control issues of the adjacent production facility, the centre is able to focus on product innovation and customer service. The fully equipped R&D laboratory is set up to prepare samples for demonstrating how various plant extracts can be used to maximum benefit in a wide range of food and beverage products. Focused sensory evaluation exercises are carried out in the modern tasting room to determine how the consumers rate our products.
Propagation and Cultivation Centre (Experimental Farm)
Afriplex makes a significant investment in the propagation and cloning of different plant species to produce good quality material for farming units. Plant material destined for transplantation is predominantly propagated by cloning through the rooting of cuttings, tissue culture propagation and seed germination. A fully-automated greenhouse where temperature, humidity and nutrient dosage are set according to specification ensures a controlled environment in which to conduct tests.
Product Development
Afriplex produces a range of unique flavours and active ingredients from various indigenous plant species. This is achieved by utilising engineering and separation technology to develop novel, client-specific products. Our in-house developed technology allows us to tailor products for the fragrance and cosmetic industries. Sophisticated processing and high-vacuum fractionation technology allows us to extract and further fractionate some of our essential oils to produce unique flavours and aroma-isolates. While products are created, applied and tested in our laboratories, research related to components, active ingredients and nutritional value of various plant species is conducted on an on-going basis.