Givaudan Lays Foundation For New Fragrance Creative Centre in Singapore

27 June 2013 --- Givaudan today laid the foundation stone for a new, state of the art, Fragrance Creative Centre and Compounding Facility in Singapore. The Centre is planned to open in 2014, when it will set a new industry standard in Asia Pacific for creative collaboration, fragrance development, consumer testing and fragrance compounding.

The new Singapore Centre will host an Asia Pacific branch of the renowned Givaudan Perfumery School, establishing a fully equipped school for training perfumers in the region. Opened in 1946, the Givaudan Perfumery School in Paris, now branching out into Asia, is a legendary institute that can claim to have trained the perfumers responsible for approximately one third of the fragrances on the market today.

Currently under the direction of Jean Guichard, the Perfumery School has established the standard for modern perfumery training.

The new Asia Pacific Fragrance Centre will also include pioneering facilities that will build on the best of Givaudan’s capabilities in fragrance technologies and sensory understanding. Givaudan’s Fragrance Science & Technology organisation includes three groups; Fragrance Chemistry based in Zurich (Switzerland) and Shanghai (China), Fragrance Delivery Systems in Paris (France) and Sensory in Ashford (UK) and now Singapore. This expansion will further strengthen the company’s expertise and understanding of consumers in Asia. The new Creative Centre will provide employment for at least a further 100 people.

A specialised large batch production unit for fragrance compounding will also be a part of the development, to primarily, but not exclusively, serve customers across South East Asia. Featuring a very high degree of automation, this facility will be designed to meet the highest Environmental, Health & Safety Standards and be built to meet the Singapore Gold standard for Greenmark, consistent with Givaudan’s corporate sustainability targets.

Speaking at the event CEO Gilles Andrier said: “We are proud to announce the addition of this new Fragrance facility. The investment in Singapore is our largest in Fragrances in Asia so far. It reaffirms our commitment to our customers here. When the Creative Centre opens in 2014, it will set a new industry benchmark for the region. Future fragrance artisans will be nurtured here. Creation and sensory research will be conducted and combined with consumer insights and leading creativity to drive success in the market place for our clients.”

Affluent, influential and logistically well-connected, Singapore has been selected to be the Givaudan Fragrance Hub for South East Asia. The new Centre will add to Givaudan’s portfolio in Asia Pacific, where the Fragrance Division facilities include a Creative Centre network that spans Mumbai (India), Shanghai (China) and Yokohama (Japan) as well as Fragrance compounding that is conducted at production sites in Bangalore (India); Shanghai (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia).

Ms. Thien Kwee Eng, Assistant Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board said: “We are delighted that Givaudan has chosen Singapore to site their Asia Pacific Fragrance Centre, Perfumery School and Compounding Facility, making this the lead fragrance site in Asia. This investment aligns well with Singapore’s vision to be the leading location for top consumer businesses to innovate and grow their global brands. We look forward to Flavours and Fragrance houses, like Givaudan, to leverage our capabilities in consumer insights and personal care and food and nutrition scientific research to innovate unique solutions for their customers.”

Investing into the new Asia Pacific Fragrance Creative Centre and Compounding site in Singapore is part of Givaudan’s global 2015 business strategy. Increasing urbanisation and rising incomes leads to higher consumption of personal care products and brings new consumers for fragranced soaps and detergents as well as nutritional food and beverages. True smell and taste experiences can only be created with an in-depth understanding of local markets and consumer preferences. The investment into the new Singapore Fragrance Creative Centre and Compounding site is part of Givaudan’s strategy to further expand its strong presence and capabilities in Asia and expresses the company’s commitment to provide innovative product solutions and ensure rapid supply to its clients. It follows a recently held ground-breaking ceremony in Nantong, China, where Givaudan is building a new world-class, manufacturing facility dedicated to savoury flavours.