Symrise partners with Groupe Neroli to advance capabilities in flowers and Mediterranean materials
02 Nov 2021 --- Symrise is entering a joint venture with Groupe Neroli to sustainably expand its capacity in naturals, increase production of backward integrated ingredients and create new and greater capabilities in flowers and Mediterranean materials.
Groupe Neroli is an independent fragrance manufacturer in Grasse, France, a region known for its fragrant flowers. Symrise will become the majority stakeholder of the venture.
“Symrise has been purchasing sustainably backward integrated natural raw materials from Madagascar and beyond for many years. We are now able to expand our Naturals business considerably by working with Groupe Neroli,” says Ricardo Omori, global SVP Fine Fragrances, Symrise.
“Going to Grasse, with its centuries of heritage and savoir-faire brings Symrise to the center of perfumery. We start this new venture by respecting the great tradition of craftsmanship, and we feel equally excited to bring genuine innovation and sustainable processes to the fore to honor the history of perfumery.”
The prolific fragrance and flavor company will bring its expertise in sustainable ingredients, while Groupe Neroli will add its over 35 years of experience and realize its plans to diversify its activities in the cultivation and exploitation of perfume plants.
Fragrances pedigree
The partners have chosen the Grasse region as site for the new venture for the town’s unique climate, plants and flowers, as well as its heritage in perfumery – and Symrise’s long standing roots in Grasse.
Going to Grasse, with its centuries of heritage and savoir-faire brings Symrise to the center of perfumery. The Joint Venture is building a fully equipped factory in Grasse complete with R&D and ingredient development laboratories with local partners.
Symrise and Groupe Neroli want to create the most technologically advanced and sustainable factory in the region – a center of expertise that will produce its own natural ingredients in an environmentally friendly and socially conscious way.
The venture intends to establish long-term partnerships with local farmers and promote the richness of most emblematic flowers of the region – including rose, jasmine, orange blossom and mimosa.
Global sourcing reach
Alongside that, the company will be working with proprietary materials grown in other parts of the world. This includes Madagascar, as well as outstanding ingredients sourced from specialist farmers and producers.
With this initiative, Symrise also commits to bettering the social conditions of these expert cultivators, which will result in 49 new natural ingredients, reinforcing Symrise as a key player in natural perfume ingredients.
Christian Dussoulier, CEO, Groupe Neroli comments: “Our paths crossed with Symrise at the right time where the Groupe Neroli was projecting to develop and diversify our naturals activity.”
“Our creativity and agility as a dynamic human-scale organization will bring authenticity and spontaneity to the enterprise. Our partnership with Symrise relays a message of strength and vision to address sustainability in the future of the perfumery business.”
Notable Symrise moves
Symrise has had a very active year and the company released its Q3 2021 results, noting 8.1% organic sales growth in the first nine months and 6.2% in the third quarter for its Scent & Care business, which includes cosmetic ingredients.
The company seeks to further boost this segment through acquisitions and is also eyeing opportunities in renewable ingredients and probiotic formulations.
In the fragrance arena, Symrise and Van Aroma, a producer of Indonesian natural flavor and fragrance ingredients, expanded their Sustainable Patchouli program into Sumatra, a Western Indonesian island. The move aims to increase sustainable sourcing of patchouli oil for the fragrance industry.
The company also updated its perfumers’ compendium to incorporate symbols that allow perfumers to easily pinpoint fragrance ingredients from renewable raw materials. These updates include product identification and images, as well as a register of renewable raw materials, among other things.
In the skincare space, Symrise recently launched SymProBiome, a microbiome research and product development platform. It will collect data and provide manufacturers with an in-depth understanding of the microbiome for ingredient development in the skin, oral cavity, gut, scalp and underarm areas.
The company also filed a range of patent applications to boost the “green beauty” appeal of its Hydrolite 7 green, which debuted this past June. The ingredient is 100% bio-based 1,2-alkanediol derived from sustainably sourced castor bean oil, which makes it suitable for a range of product applications.
By Kristiana Lalou
