dsm-firmenich boosts fragrance capabilities with Jakarta investment
Key takeaways
- dsm-firmenich has opened a new Jakarta, Indonesia, office with expanded fragrance creation, application, and testing facilities.
- The site is designed to accelerate the development of local beauty and fragrances through customer co-creation.
- The company is also expanding its Karawang manufacturing facility in West Java as it targets further growth in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
dsm-firmenich is broadening its fragrance and beauty capabilities in Indonesia with a new Jakarta center featuring creation and application labs, sensory facilities, and air care testing capabilities.
The investment strengthens the company’s footprint in Indonesia as it seeks to accelerate fragrance development and deepen collaboration with personal care, beauty, and home care customers across the country and the broader Southeast Asian market.
The company says the integrated model will improve operational efficiency and support the development of more cohesive, consumer-focused solutions by bringing its Perfumery and Beauty, Taste, Texture and Health, and Health, Nutrition and Care teams under one roof.
The site also includes dedicated spaces where customers can work directly with dsm-firmenich teams on product development and innovation.
Strengthening local fragrance
For Perfumery and Beauty, the Jakarta office includes expanded creation and application labs designed to support faster fragrance development and prototyping.
The site also features immersive “sensorium” experiences and dedicated air care testing facilities. These capabilities allow teams to assess fragrance performance, longevity, and product stability across different applications.
Jun Saplad, SVP of Regional Consumer Brands at dsm-firmenich’s Perfumery & Beauty business, says customers increasingly expect ingredient companies to act as co-creation partners rather than conventional suppliers.
“This new setup allows us to work side-by-side with our customers, accelerating the journey from consumer insight to fragrance solutions through faster prototyping, deeper collaboration, and locally relevant innovation.”
The company is strengthening its beauty and fragrance footprint in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.He adds that bringing the company’s complementary Perfumery & Beauty capabilities together will support more holistic consumer experiences while creating opportunities for cross-category innovation.
“Combined with enhanced in-market capabilities and our global creation excellence, our new Creative Center brings differentiated fragrance and beauty solutions to market faster, helping customers win with greater confidence and impact,” says Saplad.
The investment reflects the importance of local creation capabilities in developing fragrances that respond to regional preferences, product formats, climatic conditions, and usage occasions.
Investing in Indonesia
Indonesia has been part of dsm-firmenich’s operations for over 35 years. The company says it views the country as one of Southeast Asia’s largest markets and an important base for regional growth.
“By expanding our innovation and manufacturing capabilities, we’re making it easier to co-create with customers, respond more quickly to rapidly changing consumer needs, and bring new solutions to market faster,” says Timothy Elisafan, VP of Taste, Asia Pacific at dsm-firmenich.
Alongside the Jakarta office, the company has completed an expansion of its Karawang manufacturing facility. With the expansion, dsm-firmenich aims to increase its regional production capacity and respond to growing customer demand with more agility.
The Karawang facility operates with 100% renewable electricity. According to the company, electric heating is expected to reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 300 metric tons, while heat recovery technology cuts energy consumption by around 16%.
Together, the Jakarta and Karawang investments strengthen dsm-firmenich’s local innovation and production infrastructure, supporting closer customer partnerships and faster development of products tailored to Indonesian and regional consumers.
The announcement comes on the heels of dsm-firmenich’s financial results for 2025, showing robust Beauty and Fragrance performance. Earlier this year, the company reported significant growth across various sectors, specifically its Beauty and Personal Care divisions.
The company also said that it reduced its carbon footprint and increased the use of renewable resources in beauty formulations.
The region is attracting growing investment from fragrance houses seeking to capitalize on expanding beauty and personal care demand. Earlier this year, Givaudan opened its 10 Capital creative center in Jakarta to support faster co-creation and localized product development with Southeast Asian brands.
