Firmenich SA was a Swiss company in the fragrance and flavor business. The company has created perfumes for over 125 years and produced a number of well-known flavors. Founded in 1895, it merged in May 2023 with the Dutch company DSM to form dsm-firmenich.[1][2]
It employed 10,000 people across 46 manufacturing plants and six research and development centers.
History
The company was founded as Chuit & Naef in 1895 in Geneva by chemist Philippe Chuit and businessman Martin Naef. Fred Firmenich joined in 1900 and later became the majority partner. The company was renamed Firmenich SA.[3]
Originally a fragrance company, Firmenich branched into the flavor business by creating a raspberry substitute in 1938, followed by creations of citrus and strawberry flavor. Other synthetic flavors followed for use in ultra-processed foods and preserved foods.[4]
On May 3, 2007, Firmenich announced that it would be acquiring the flavors' division of Danisco, Noville, in a deal worth €450 million.[9][10] The deal was expected to move Firmenich ahead of IFF as the second-largest flavor company in the world.[4]
Firmenich's board named Gilbert Ghostine as CEO to succeed Patrick Firmenich, effective October 1, 2014.[11] Patrick Firmenich was elected as chairman of Firmenich's Board of Directors as of October 12, 2016.[12]
On July 11, 2017, Firmenich completed the acquisition of Agilex Fragrances, expanding its ability to serve mid-sized customers in North America.[13]
On December 13, 2017, Firmenich announced the acquisition of Flavourome, an established privately held flavors company in South Africa, to expand its presence in Africa.[14] On February 5, 2018, Firmenich confirmed the successful completion of the acquisition.[15]
In August 2018, Firmenich acquired Campus, an innovator in the application of "natural functional ingredients for protein application", which specializes "in clean label, meat, dairy, sauces and plant-based food". The research and production facilities of Campus are located in Italy and Monterrey, Mexico.[16]
At some point, Firmenich acquired Natural Flavors, a manufacturer of flavors for the food and beverage industry.[citation needed]
In September 2018, Firmenich announced its intent to acquire Senomyx.[17]
In June 2020, Firmenich acquired Les Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques ("DRT"), a world leader in plant-based chemistry, mainly from pine trees, and one of the leading suppliers globally of high quality, renewable ingredients.[18]
In October 2020, Firmenich announced that it had created a flavour by means of artificial intelligence. It teamed with Microsoft who helped leverage『the entirety of Firmenich’s broad raw material database』to dissimulate "a lightly grilled beef taste" into its plant-based meat alternatives. Firmenich's "unique palette of ingredients" and "SmartProteins expertise in plant-based protein alternatives" were instrumental in the innovation process.[19]
In 2022, Firmenich announces its ambition to merge with Dutch conglomerate DSM; the merger is effective in May 2023 and the resulting company is named dsm-firmenich.[21]