The chairman of the R&D Center is Professor Nam-Hai Chua, a world-famous plant molecular biologist and tenured professor of Rockefeller University as well as a Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Currently, the R&D Center has over 300 researchers, in which above 70% hold a master or doctorate degree and are educated from all over the world. Among them, a great number of experienced R&D project managers are built up with excellent and broad knowledge of the market.

The 40000 square meters state-of -the-art R&D building has more than 100 laboratories and more than 1000 scientific research devices including gas chromatographs (GC), liquid chromatographs (LC), GC-MS, ICP-MS, Q-TOF-MS/MS, and NIR/MIR spectrometers, with a combined value of nearly 100 million RMB. To fulfill the requirement for industrialized transformation of R&D products, Yihai Kerry has also established several pilot plants in Shanghai, Qinhuangdao, Kunshan, Qingdao, and Fangchenggan. With these facilities, the product and production innovation can be carried through effectively and efficiently to meet the market needs.

Since its founding, the R&D Center focuses on grain & oil technology research and product development, product and technology innovation, and product customer technical service. Furthermore, a big effort is made to engage in the communication and cooperation with field scientists, related offices and organizations, as well as upstream and downstream companies. These efforts include the scientific/technical communication, improvement of field practice, and open innovation. For the last, talents training and incubation are also central for the efforts. These support us to be in the leading position in innovation and R&D performance in the fields of culinary oils & fats, specialty fats, cereals, food, and oleochemicals. The R&D Center devotes itself to improve the present processing technologies and product quality of oils, grains & foodstuffs and to make big efforts to develop green and white biotechnologies, as well as leads the advanced consumption concept and for a healthier life. Meanwhile. The R&D work also focuses on providing transformation and upgrading solutions for grain & oil enterprises, consequently optimizing resources and reducing energy consumption to achieve the goal of environmentally friendly and sustainable development.

The R&D Center keeps close collaboration and communication with governmental research institutes，such as the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Academy of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, as well as industrial associations such as the American Oil Chemists' Society, Chinese Cereals and Oils Association, Chinese Nutrition Society, in addition to well-known universities local and foreign. The R&D Center also promotes the development and progress of China's grain and oil industry through a series of initiatives, like the Food Nutrition Innovation Platform and Nutrition Innovation Fund, to name a few.

The R&D Center has been accredited by the International Olive Council (IOC) as a certified olive oil testing laboratory. This is prestigious, as it is the first confirmed laboratory in Asia and the only IOC certified laboratory in China at present. The R&D Center has won numerous honors including "Shanghai High-Tech Corporation", "Shanghai Patent Demonstration Enterprise" and three times in a row "National Cereals and Oils Outstanding Scientific Innovation Enterprise". Furthermore, our R&D Center has won several provincial awards, like the "First Prize in Science and Technology Award" by Hubei Provincial Peoples Government, the "Grand Prize in Science and Technology Award" by the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association, and the "Science and Technology Award" by Shanghai Municipal Peoples Government.