Givaudan’s 250-year journey:
An ongoing odyssey to ‘engage your senses’

EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY

The smell of history

It's been 250 years since we took our first steps to 'engage your senses': the words evoke the many ways in which our senses of sight, smell and taste enrich our lives each day. For Givaudan, they also encapsulate our ongoing quest to create moments of delight through flavours and fragrances that touch people's lives.

EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY

Our journey stretches back over two-and-a-half centuries

While Givaudan was formed in 19th century Switzerland, our roots go back to 1768 and the distinguished perfume houses of Grasse, France. Antoine Chiris first transformed his passion for perfume into a thriving business by extracting raw aromas from the flowers that grew freely in the south of France: lavender, violet, iris, daffodil, mimosa and broom. The Chiris family soon took the production of aromatic substances, initially designed to neutralise odours from the tanning process in glove-making, from the artisanal to an industrial scale.

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The beginnings of our flavours chapter

The flavours chapter of our story began a few decades later as the art of cookery became increasingly elaborate thanks to the use of essences and spices. It features names that eventually became part of Givaudan: as early as 1796, the American firm of Dodge & Olcott began importing and selling essential oils used in food; a century later in Europe, the German companies Kurt Oestrich and Westfälische Essenzenfabrik, founded in Dortmund in 1862, heralded the birth of the flavours industry. With the 1948 acquisition of Esrolko, a synthetic flavourings house near Zurich, Givaudan integrated a new dimension that would thereafter form the two pillars of its business: flavours and fragrances.

EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY

2018 marks 250 years of heritage

So it is that 2018 marks 250 years since the beginning of Givaudan’s journey to ‘engage your senses’ through fragrances, flavours and active beauty products. Today, the story has evolved through many chapters but our odyssey continues. As we adapt to changing consumer desires – for more natural and authentic products, increased health and well-being benefits, transparent labelling and emerging digital ways to consume fragrances and flavours – we look upon these changes as opportunities to grow with our customers as we continue our adventure.

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES ALONG THE WAY

Adapting to a changing world

Over the 250 years of our journey, Givaudan has continually evolved and adapted to sweeping changes in history, our industry and in the ways that people experience taste and scent. Our passion has remained constant.

From the earliest artisanal creation of aromas and scents to the industrial revolution that led to mass production in the 19th century, our pioneering spirit led the founders of Givaudan to change along with the world.

Antoine Chiris grew his business from ‘four types of soap, six types of balms, pomades and perfumed oils and eighteen different quintessences’, as an early prospectus read, to become the principal perfumer to the courts of Europe. As they explored the world in search of exotic naturals, the family empire grew from the Mediterranean to the Congo and in the early 20th century to the banks of the Yangtze River.

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES ALONG THE WAY

Industrial revolution and Society changes

A century later, as Switzerland became a hub for the burgeoning chemicals industry, two brothers called Léon and Xavier Givaudan set up a shop in Zurich. After some initial success in producing synthetic perfume ingredients, they established their factory in Vernier, near Geneva.

View of Givaudan factory, Vernier, 1920s

The 20th century brought considerable turmoil as well as growth. Along with world wars and revolutions that depleted resources both natural and human came economic crises and scientific innovations. The Chiris family saw its empire decline as it failed to expand beyond essential oils to fragrance creation, just as another famous name in perfumery, the House of Roure created in 1820 in Grasse, seized modernisation as an opportunity to evolve beyond essential oils. By embracing new manufacturing methods, being first to create unique fragrance compositions and forging close ties with the haute couture houses, Roure grew and expanded from Grasse to Paris as Roure-Bertrand Fils & Justin Dupont. Roure’s history became entwined with that of Givaudan in the 1960s when both companies were bought out by the Swiss Hoffman-LaRoche. Competing side by side, the two divisions eventually merged in 1991 under the name of Givaudan-Roure, by then the largest Swiss producer of synthetic ingredients and perfume bases for the perfume industry. Towards the end of the 20th century, Givaudan expanded its presence globally and went public in 2000.

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES ALONG THE WAY

The rise of flavours

From the early 1900’s, French chemist Louis Camille Maillard undertook research on the reactions between amino acids and sugars, refining a method that enabled him to obtain flavours of grilled meats, fried fish, chips or roasting through a browning process like caramalisation. His early work led to the process of chemical transformation to obtain flavours that later enabled the teams at Julius Maggi to further enrich the iconic bouillon cube.


Following this early use of flavours, Givaudan responded to fundamental changes in consumer eating habits. Whether the introduction of food dehydration in 1924, the refrigerator in 1937, the advent of convenience cooking in the 1960s, or the current interests in ethnic foods, naturals or healthier products with less sugar, fat and salt, Givaudan has evolved its solutions, always offering great taste.

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES ALONG THE WAY

Constantly Evolving

The world continues to change in the internet age, faster than ever before. Population growth and longer life expectancy are coupled with changing lifestyles and an increasing emphasis on health and well-being. Today, consumer preferences and expectations are constantly evolving, fuelled by digital transformation, regional diversity and climate change.

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES ALONG THE WAY

A changing world

Givaudan’s customers are also changing. From the royal courts of yesterday to the multinationals behind many global brands, today we serve also a fast-growing base of smaller local and regional customers whose needs vary widely. With a longstanding expertise in naturals and constantly enriched palette of ingredients, we continue to adapt to be the best partner for our highly diverse customers in the 21st century.


The pioneering spirit that drove Givaudan to grow through challenge and change over 250 years continues. From essential oils to synthetics and compositions, today we look for innovative ways to satisfy our customers’ evolving needs, along with those of consumers around the globe.

ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

People and partnerships are at the heart of our greatest achievements

Throughout our 250-year odyssey to ‘engage your senses’, Givaudan has been behind many historic firsts in flavours and fragrances. Our greatest achievements have been forged not by any one individual but by combining complementary strengths through partnerships.


To name but a few…


• Antoine Chiris was among the first to design manufacturing methods to produce aromatic substances to an industrial scale.


• Léon and Xavier Givaudan were among the first to create synthetic fragrance ingredients and perfume bases.


• In the US, Fries & Fries were among the first to perfect a method for creating flavours in powder form used for sugared drinks and desserts.


• The chemist, Ernest Guenther, was among the first to seek out rare essences across the world, leading to the publication of a six-volume work entitled The Essential Oils, still a standard of the trade today.


• Roure perfumer Jean Carles was the first to conceive a true form of apprenticeship in the field of perfume, creating a training school in 1946 that laid the foundations for Givaudan’s Perfumery School.

Xavier Givaudan

Léon Givaudan

ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

Joining forces, building a strong culture

Over the decades, we’ve welcomed Roure, Chiris, Esrolko, Fritzsche Dodge & Olcott, Fries & Fries, Quest, Soliance, Spicetec and many others to the Givaudan family.


Together, our combined roots and shared heritage have merged to create Givaudan’s unique culture: to inspire, challenge and engage with heart and soul. This is what we call our ‘DNA’. Combined with our pioneering spirit, this culture has led us to forge the strong relationships – with customers, suppliers, employees and influencers – that continue to characterize our company.


We continue to invest in creating close relationships. Inspired by the early explorations of Chiris family, we have pursued our expansion to be by our customers’ side wherever they may be – an approach that sees Givaudan present today in nearly 100 locations. By reaching out to collaborate with fashion designers, artists and renowned chefs from around the globe, we harness the power to surprise in bringing our customers inspiring taste and scent solutions.

ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

Accelerating flavours

Partnerships with customers also drive our constant innovation in Flavours – from more efficient technologies such as the invention of the Virtual Aroma Synthesizer (VAS), a timesaving tool that allows the rapid screening of new flavours and concepts in minutes, to solutions like taste modulators that address the latest consumer trends – for example, the quest for healthier, good tasting food and beverage products with reduced salt, sugar and fat. Today, we are working with external partners to develop a plant-based protein or ‘vegetable beef’ that tastes just like fresh meat.

ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

Daring to be different

Our pioneering spirit means that Givaudan dares to be different: in 1937, Jean Carles’ pioneer designer fragrance ‘Shocking’ for Schiaparelli shook up the world of perfumery with its musk signature, combining sophistication and animal power; in the early 2000s, we revolutionised the way perfume can be encapsulated and released in a controlled way, allowing consumers to experience scent over an extended time; in 2016, we created the fragrances for ‘Sensorwake’, the first alarm clock to use scent instead of sound, an invention of 19-year-old French innovator Guillaume Rolland.


ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

We are active in the beauty segment

Our passion for perfumery has also led us to expand into Active Beauty. Since the first anti-ageing creams were introduced in the 1980s, much progress has been made in anti-ageing. Givaudan recently launched PrimalHyal™ Gold, an active cosmetic ingredient with hyaluronic acid (HA). Produced with biofermentation, a sustainable manufacturing process, our technologically advanced product can be incorporated in oil-based formulas such as pressed powders, body oils, sun care oils, lipstick, lip glosses, mascaras and balms.

ACHIEVING GREAT HEIGHTS AND MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

Back to our roots

In 2018, as we look back upon our centuries-old journey, it seems only fitting that our latest joining of forces takes us back to our historic roots. We are currently laying the foundations for Expressions Parfumées, a French fragrance creation house based in Grasse, to become part of the Givaudan family.

CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

Givaudan’s odyssey to ‘engage your senses’ is ongoing

Today, we’re as inspired as we were in 1768 to pioneer, create, innovate and forge close partnerships. Our journey continues in an ongoing quest to ‘engage your senses’.

Our world is still changing. There are more people in more places. We’re living longer. We’re better educated, more urbanized, and have higher expectations. We’re more connected. New technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence will dominate how we work and live tomorrow.

Yet people still want to engage their senses…to see, to taste, to smell, to touch and to hear.

As consumers seek more natural and sustainable food solutions, strive to enhance their well-being and look young longer, Givaudan is pioneering new sensorial experiences for future decades.

CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

The power of tomorrow’s fragrances

In Fragrances, we’re using neuroscience to study the odour-brain connection to create new scents that can enhance the quality of sleep and bring greater relaxation. We’re innovating technology that makes the scent experience last longer, so consumers can enjoy lasting freshness in their laundry, home and personal care products. We’re exploring solutions that allow for an era of personalised fragrances and beauty care solutions for skin and hair.

CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

Flavour solutions for a changing Society

In Flavours, we’re working on taste solutions that help customers to balance the flavour profiles in food and beverage with reduced fat, sugar and salt. We are also continuously expanding our natural flavour offerings and innovating solutions for non-animal based protein alternatives that can provide protein sources to the growing population.

CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

Pioneering technology, expanding our portfolio

Our pioneering spirit pushes Givaudan to explore new areas of biotechnology, microbiome-based solutions, robotics, big data and AI, as well as green chemistry and ways to use waste products to innovate solutions. New forms of biotransformation may help us develop sustainable sources of raw materials that address consumers’ increasing quest for natural ingredients, while respecting the planet’s resources.


Inspired by our heritage and those who entrust us with creating the ingredients vital to their success, we continue to push the boundaries of sensory experience. We’re growing our portfolio in naturals, active beauty and integrated solutions. We owe our customers all of the dedication, innovation and adaptability to be their essential partner in a changing world.


Today, over 11,000 people capture ideas, memories and dreams to create moments of delight for consumers everywhere. Like our founders, they too impact their world: they pioneer, partner and are passionate about creating memorable taste and scent experiences.

OUR STORY

Join us

Join us as we mark the historic roots of our 250-year journey.
Throughout 2018, discover stories both past and present about
the fragrances, flavours and active beauty products that engage
your senses and define Givaudan’s ongoing odyssey.