Symrise invests €50m in natural food ingredients facility, launches Code of Nature taste platform

02 Nov 2018 --- Symrise AG has opened a site for high-quality natural food ingredients in Banks County, near Atlanta, in the US state of Georgia. The group invested €50 million in the facility, which follows high technological and sustainable standards. The step reinforces the pioneering role of Symrise on the US market and emphasizes its aspiration to further expand within growth regions.

“This advantageous location in the US’s well-developed agricultural South-East enables us to strategically grow on the market for natural and sustainable food ingredients. With the new site in Georgia, we show that we consistently implement our investment program. For example, only a couple of weeks ago, also in the US, we have opened a plant for cosmetic ingredients in Charleston, South Carolina. The expansion of our capacities is and continues to be an important growth factor. We are strengthening our competitiveness for the traditionally largest market in our industry. In addition, we are strategically developing our backward integration focusing on agriculturally produced raw materials. By working closely with our farmers, we are ensuring high product quality and deliverability,” says Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise AG.

The plant will manufacture products for the business units Food Ingredients, Symrise Flavor and Pet Food. Symrise’s customers use these natural ingredients for example in culinary applications as well as in premium pet food. Symrise aims to continue its growth in the US market for natural food ingredients and wants to successively expand the site in Georgia until 2020.

Natural ingredients match consumers’ tastes all around the world
Natural and nutritionally valuable product solutions play worldwide an increasingly important role, as consumers pay more attention to a conscious diet. This applies to North American as well as global consumers and their desire for natural ingredients. Many food ingredient suppliers and farmers are located in Georgia. The state belongs to the dynamic growing economic regions in the country. Symrise, therefore, built the new plant for the production of natural food ingredients specifically in this environment on its 40-hectare site. The workforce currently comprises 50 employees and will be further increased to 100 employees with future expansion of the plant.

Numerous representatives from politics and business accepted the invitation of the CEO Bertram. Together with the Symrise management team, the participants gave the starting signal for the successful launch of the production.

Focused on the future
Symrise has many decades of experience in the manufacturing of natural products from a sustainable supply chain. High standards of product safety and quality assurance have been achieved during this time. With this comprehensive expertise, the company also efficiently and sustainably shapes the product flows of the new plant. The plant meets the latest technical standards of production of natural food ingredients.

Symrise launches Code of Nature taste platform to address consumer demand for low-processed foods and beverages
Consumers are spending more than ever on food and drink while demanding that foods taste natural and are less processed. To meet these changing consumer preferences, Symrise has launched its Code of Nature, a new positioning that offers taste solution platforms to food and beverage brands that want to meet the demand for more nutritious food while still delivering on flavor. 

“Today's consumers want exciting sensory experiences that preserve their health and wellbeing. It's about meaningful consumption,” explains Emmanuel Laroche, Vice President Marketing & Consumer Insights and Global Marketing Leader for Symrise.

Many consumers are concerned about the impact of factory farming on the quality of food. They may wonder if the soil is clean, if farmed meats are high in hormones and antibiotics, or if the foods they eat are negatively impacting their bodies or the environment. The increased availability of farm-fresh solutions helps meet this new demand while placing pressure on food companies to adapt their menus to changing tastes.

Code of Nature delivers nutritious, high-powered and flavorful taste solutions for foods and beverages without compromising on quality. All products are carefully processed to reduce the impact on nutrition, taste, and our planet. Food that's processed less retains more nutritional value and natural taste, leading to an exciting sensory experience of fresher, better-for-you food.

By combining a rigorous scientific approach with an ethical understanding of the moral code behind the modern diet, Symrise is positioned to develop unique, sustainable and economical products that taste authentic and honest. These high-quality natural ingredients are then optimized for authentic taste through Symrise scientists’ understanding of the molecular level of nature's codes. State-of-the-art scientific processes ensure that food retains flavor, nutrients and naturalness through sensitive processing. From picking to light processing, the focus is always on the ultimate taste delivery for consumers. 

“Consumers want the ultimate taste experience. They want it to be ‘more tomatoey,’ or ‘more chickeny.’ They want real food that's made with the best natural ingredients, that have been carefully sourced and prepared,” Laroche notes.

Through Code of Nature, Symrise returns food to its natural state, unlocking naturalness and boosting integrity and honesty for its partners. Brands can increase consumer loyalty by creating unique sensory experiences and capitalizing on the natural flavor and nutrients in food. Consumers deliver their trust, loyalty and integrity to brands who ally with the push for natural foods. With the Code of Nature, clean label products that are preferred by consumers become easier to realize.

Only 100 percent natural ingredients, sourced from trusted people and places, find their way into Code of Nature solutions. Symrise selects its sources carefully with an eye toward integrity, sustainability, and care for the earth. There's a difference that customers can taste, see and feel.

Symrise's recent purchase of Diana Food, which develops natural, raw material solutions for foods and beverages, will help the company to meet consumer demands with plant-based nutrition solutions. 

With all Code of Nature products, Symrise transcends existing regulations. “We set our own high standards by going beyond what's required by regulators and looking past what everyone else does,” Laroche declares.

“The process is a collaboration between Symrise's scientists, who understand the moral code of nature, the farmers who grow our natural ingredients, and our food and beverage partners who value excellence in quality. The result is a novel initiative that meets the highest standards and aligns with consumer values. Code of Nature gives consumers reasons to believe in the authenticity of naturalness, by supporting value-adding claims with declarations and communication that are honest, forthright, and accessible,” he concludes.

FoodIngredientsFirst has reached out to Symrise for further comments.