September 18, 2025 – Shanghai EasyReal Machinery Co., Ltd. (a global leader in compact food and beverage processing solutions) announces the successful installation, commissioning, and client acceptance of an advanced UHT/HTST-DSI Pilot Plant for Brazil’s premier ingredients innovator, VILAC FOODS. Completed on September 14, 2025, this cutting-edge R&D system empowers VILAC to accelerate product development in dairy, beverage, and functional food innovation with unprecedented precision and efficiency.
EasyReal’s lab-scale UHT/HTST system (left) integrated with a Direct Steam Injection (DSI) module and an aseptic filling isolator (right). This compact pilot plant enables R&D teams to simulate full-scale ultra-high-temperature processing and sterile packaging in small batches. The unit’s design mirrors industrial sterilization conditions, allowing precise experimentation with new dairy and beverage formulations.
Project Overview
VILAC FOODS – renowned for its 20-year legacy in premium dairy ingredients – selected EasyReal’s pilot plant to revolutionize its R&D capabilities and speed up innovation. The system integrates several advanced technologies to simulate industrial-scale processing on a pilot scale:
• Triple-Sterilization Flexibility: Seamlessly switches between standard Pasteurization, HTST (High-Temperature Short-Time), and UHT (Ultra-High-Temperature) sterilization modes with industry-leading thermal accuracy (±0.3 °C control up to 152 °C). This triple-mode capability ensures precise processing for a wide range of products and test parameters.
• DSI Innovation: Incorporates a world-class Direct Steam Injection (DSI) module for ultra-gentle heating of products. DSI rapidly heats liquids by injecting culinary steam, which reduces thermal stress on sensitive ingredients (like proteins and enzymes) while still ensuring full pathogen elimination. This means delicate components (e.g. nutrients, flavors) are preserved better than with conventional indirect heating.
• GEA Homogenization: Features an Italian-engineered aseptic high-pressure homogenizer (from GEA) that can be utilized both upstream inline and downstream for sterile homogenization. This is critical for achieving uniform, <1 µm particle size distribution and smooth textures in dairy and plant-based products, ensuring unparalleled product consistency and mouthfeel.
• Aseptic Filling Capability: An integrated aseptic filling cabinet (isolator) allows VILAC’s team to conduct contamination-free packaging trials of new formulations. This means small batches of experimental dairy or beverage products can be filled under sterile conditions, enabling real-world shelf-life testing and quality evaluations without risk of contamination.
Technical Breakthroughs & Client Benefits
This pilot plant delivers several technical breakthroughs that directly benefit VILAC FOODS’ research and product development efforts. Notable advantages include:
• Flexible Processing: Handles a versatile range of products – from traditional dairy milk and plant-based milks to coffee beverages, probiotic drinks, and other functional beverages – in 5–40 L/h batch runs. The modular design allows quick reconfiguration of components to accommodate different product types and processing parameters, providing utmost flexibility for R&D trials.
• DSI Precision: The direct steam injection system heats products almost instantaneously, drastically minimizing heat exposure time. It reduces thermal stress on sensitive ingredients (e.g. proteins, enzymes), preventing flavor degradation or nutrient loss, while ensuring complete sterilization (pathogen reduction to safe levels). This precision thermal control is especially beneficial for probiotic and high-protein formulations that are heat-sensitive.
• Homogenization Mastery: With the integrated high-pressure homogenizer, the system achieves an exceptionally fine particle size (often <1 µm) and uniform emulsion in the final product. This level of homogenization translates to unmatched product consistency – an essential quality factor for dairy creams, plant-based emulsions, and any beverage where texture and stability are critical. The result is a smoother mouthfeel and improved stability of nutrients and additives in VILAC’s experimental recipes.
• Resource Efficiency: The pilot unit is designed for minimal waste and rapid throughput. It requires only a small product volume (as low as 3 L) to run tests and reaches steady sterilization conditions very quickly, achieving full thermal stability in under 15 minutes. This efficiency leads to 40% less raw material waste compared to conventional systems, saving expensive ingredients during trials. Faster run-up and built-in clean-in-place/steam-in-place (CIP/SIP) cycles also shorten downtime between experiments. Overall, VILAC can conduct more trials with fewer resources, accelerating the R&D cycle.
“This pilot plant transforms our innovation pipeline, and the equipment performance is amazing! EasyReal’s DSI technology and GEA homogenizer allow us to perfect textures and nutrients in products destined for global markets – all while meeting Brazil’s strictest quality standards,” noted VILAC FOODS’ R&D Lead during the acceptance test.
Strategic Impact for VILAC FOODS
By implementing EasyReal’s advanced pilot UHT/HTST-DSI system, VILAC FOODS is realizing significant strategic benefits that strengthen its competitive edge:
• Accelerated Commercialization: R&D formulation and testing cycles are 50–60% faster, dramatically cutting the time needed to develop new dairy and beverage products. This agility enables VILAC to respond quickly to emerging market trends and consumer demands, getting innovative products to market in a fraction of the time.
• Export-Ready Compliance: The pilot plant’s processes are fully compliant with international standards (the equipment is CE-certified and supports FDA/ISO processes), ensuring that products developed will meet the strict regulations of the EU, US, Mercosur, and other markets. This export-level quality compliance from the R&D stage gives VILAC confidence in scaling successful recipes globally without regulatory hurdles.
• Seamless Scalability: The system precisely replicates industrial processing conditions on a smaller scale, which de-risks the scale-up to full production. Formulations and process parameters optimized in the pilot plant can be directly translated to VILAC’s industrial lines. This scalability means fewer surprises during scale-up and a smoother transition from prototype to mass production.
Overall, the EasyReal pilot plant serves as a catalyst for VILAC’s food innovation strategy, allowing the company to pioneer new dairy-tech solutions while upholding the highest standards of food science and safety. VILAC FOODS is now positioned at the forefront of dairy technology and functional beverage innovation in Brazil and beyond, leveraging this platform to drive product development and growth.
Why Global Innovators Choose EasyReal
Shanghai EasyReal’s pilot systems have become the choice of leading R&D innovators worldwide. Key reasons include:
• Cutting-Edge Integration: An advanced pilot plant design that combines multiple thermal processing methods (UHT and HTST sterilization, both indirect and via DSI) within one compact system, alongside integrated sterile homogenization. This all-in-one integration enables comprehensive process simulation in a single platform.
• Modular Design: A highly modular architecture allows users to freely switch or connect different functional modules as needed. Whether it’s adding a DSI module, swapping heat exchangers, or re-routing flow for different hold times, EasyReal’s design adapts to achieve various process simulations according to each customer’s unique R&D requirements.
• Customization: Tailored workflows optimized for specific product categories. EasyReal can customize pilot lines for dairy products, botanical extracts, tea–dairy fusion beverages, nut-based milks, and more – ensuring that the equipment meets the exact processing needs of the application. This level of customization accelerates innovation in niche segments like plant-based dairy alternatives and functional drinks.
• End-to-End Support: Comprehensive support from installation through operation. EasyReal provides on-site setup and training for client teams, as well as detailed compliance documentation (meeting ISO and GMP standards). This end-to-end support gives partners confidence in adhering to quality systems and regulations right from the pilot phase.
• Cost Efficiency: EasyReal’s pilot plants deliver high performance at a lower cost – roughly 30% lower operational costs than comparable European-manufactured systems. Efficient energy usage, minimal waste, and an accessible price point mean a faster return on investment for R&D centers. Companies can innovate more cost-effectively without sacrificing capability or quality.
About Shanghai EasyReal
Shanghai EasyReal Machinery Co., Ltd. is a National High-Tech Enterprise specializing in lab-scale and pilot-scale food processing solutions for the global food and beverage industry. EasyReal’s systems are ISO 9001-certified and recognized for precision engineering and reliability in over 30 countries. The company’s pilot UHT/HTST plants and related equipment are renowned for their flexibility and accuracy, enabling cutting-edge research in dairy technology, beverage development, and aseptic processing. (Explore the EasyReal UHT/HTST-DSI Pilot Plant on the company’s website for more details.)
For Partnerships:
Phone/WhatsApp:+86 15711642028
Email:jet_ma@easyreal.cn
Website:www.easireal.com
Contact: Jet Ma, EasyReal Global Marketing Director
Post time: Sep-18-2025
