Givaudan invests US$81M in Mexican fragrance production plant to boost LATAM foothold

19 Aug 2021 --- Givaudan Fragrance & Beauty is investing CHF 75 million (US$81 million) in a new extension to its Pedro Escobedo production facility in Mexico to promote its growth in Latin America.

“Investing in our production facility in Mexico – an important high growth market for Givaudan – demonstrates our commitment to our customers and aligns to our 2025 strategy and purpose,” says Maurizio Volpi, president of Fragrance & Beauty at Givaudan.

“This investment will strengthen our position as a strategic partner to our customers in the region and will cater to the increasing consumer demands for great smelling sustainable fragrances,” Volpi notes.

The new extension, which is planned to open at the end of 2023, will be equipped with optimized levels of automation, including automated logistics, allowing for high accuracy and efficiency.

The US$81M investment will strengthen Givaudan’s position as a strategic partner to customers in the region.

The expanded facility will be designed to be agile for the production of small as well as large traditional volumes to serve all customer segments from local and regional to global customers.

LATAM as a key market
In line with Givaudan’s 2025 strategy “Committed to Growth, with Purpose,” Latin America remains a key growth market for fragranced products, the company supports.

The new facility will contribute to Givaudan’s climate action agenda and will meet high global and local standards in environmental, health and safety features.

“With this investment, we will be even better positioned to offer our customers a comprehensive end-to-end solution for the region in the creation, development and production of fragrances that consumers love,” notes Lucia Lisboa, head of fine fragrances, Latin America, Givaudan.

Fragrance of innovation
The company is mounting its environmental sustainability efforts via nature-conscious creations with the launch of its Naturality Index.

The Naturality Index is an assessment tool that allows perfumers to factor in the environmental impact of their ingredient selection, bringing a differentiating dimension to the creative process.

The tool assesses ingredients and formulas against a number of measures that affect fragrance sustainability, such as biodegradability, renewability and sourcing.

Givaudan also broke new ground in eco-friendly fragrance creation with the introduction of its Blossom Lab. It is a fully equipped mobile laboratory that offers natural extraction techniques and crafts new qualities of perfumery ingredients directly in the field from fresh plants.

The plant is planned to open at the end of 2023 and will be equipped with optimized levels of automation. The Blossom Lab is designed from repurposed shipping containers in Grasse, France and is able to travel by truck or boat for immersive research in nature’s most precious sites around the world.

Acquisition track
Givaudan has had a prolific year and in April, it closed the acquisition of Myrissi as part of its long-term strategy to expand its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI).

Myrissi has developed a patented AI technology capable of translating fragrances into color patterns and images relevant to the consumer as well as predicting the end consumer’s emotional response.

The company also signed a joint venture agreement with Privi Speciality Chemicals Limited, India, to strengthen production capabilities for its global specialty fragrance ingredients.

Through the agreement, a new greenfield production plant will be built in Mahad, a city located south of Mumbai, to manufacture small-volume fragrance ingredients of medium to high complexity, also known as specialty ingredients.

Givaudan also acquired 25 percent of B.kolor makeup & skincare’s shares, in July. It is an Italian company that specialized in developing and producing end-to-end products in make-up and skin care for consumer packaged goods and luxury customers.

By joining forces, Givaudan Fragrance & Beauty and B.kolor will leverage their respective capabilities to provide creative products and integrated solutions to customers.

By Kristiana Lalou

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