dsm-firmenich is a unique player in the market, combining strengths in nutrition, health, and beauty. The merger of Firmenich of Switzerland and DSM of the Netherlands in 2023 created a powerhouse in the industry, leveraging the expertise and resources of both companies to offer a comprehensive range of products and services catering to the evolving needs of consumers worldwide. This brought together over 150 years of innovation, building a company in a category of one with combined global revenues exceeding €12 billion that promotes sustainability in all parts of our business.
dsm-firmenich in figures:
Log in to view the full article
dsm-firmenich is a unique player in the market, combining strengths in nutrition, health, and beauty. The merger of Firmenich of Switzerland and DSM of the Netherlands in 2023 created a powerhouse in the industry, leveraging the expertise and resources of both companies to offer a comprehensive range of products and services catering to the evolving needs of consumers worldwide. This brought together over 150 years of innovation, building a company in a category of one with combined global revenues exceeding €12 billion that promotes sustainability in all parts of our business.
dsm-firmenich
Maastricht, Netherlands and Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
2024 Sales: €12.8 billion
dsm-firmenich has three consumer-focused units: Perfumery & Beauty; Taste, Texture & Health; and Health, Nutrition & Care. These businesses offer a wide range of products, from fine fragrances, probiotics, skincare products, plant-based proteins, to omega-3s.
dsm-firmenich’s Perfumery & Beauty business partners with top global and local brands in consumer goods, lifestyle, and luxury beauty. We offer an unmatched palette of ingredients and a vertically integrated supply chain.
dsm-firmenich in figures:
- 30,000 employees
- 88 manufacturing sites in 60 countries
- 15 research & development centers
Perfumery & Beauty: Expanding the Realm of Fragrance
Our science-based innovations in Perfumery, Ingredients, and Beauty & Care make our customers' products more essential, desirable, and sustainable. An example
Emmanuel Butstraen, chief operating officer, president, Perfumery & BeautyCourtesy of dsm-firmenich
We make profragrances to enhance fragrance impact and make them longer-lasting. We are a market leader in this field with our haloScent® range of seven commercialized profragrances. These deliver coveted “freshness” from otherwise fleeting volatile top notes, and we recently expanded the portfolio with three new biodegradable options. These innovations are a testament to our commitment to sustainability and our ability to leverage cutting-edge technology to create products that are both effective and environmentally friendly.
We consistently take inspiration from nature to engineer sustainable, sustained release delivery systems, and we leverage biomaterials and green chemistry in our approach. Encapsulation technologies, which often take inspiration from nature, are vital in ensuring efficient deposition and have important implications for sustainability.
Trends Shaping Flavor and Fragrance Industries
Our NewNextNow (NNN) Barometer tracks consumer needs and trends, identifying rising trends such as functional fragrances and neuroscents, which are smells that trigger specific receptors in the brain, causing different psychological responses.
According to the latest NNN study, which was done across 20 countries and among 12,000 consumers, 76% of respondents say that scents bring pleasure in their lives, bringing a sense of hope and a promise of wellness.
Functional fragrance is a major trend that continues to rise, with neuroscents becoming the buzz word on social media.
Our breakthrough emotion™ program uses neuroscience to create fragrances that boost well-being, enhanced by AI and deep consumer insights. These target scientifically validated emotional benefits, such as happiness, relaxation, and focus. This program is designed to understand the psychological and emotional impact of fragrances, enabling us to enhance the consumer experience on multiple levels.
Supply Chain Resilience
We focus on regional self-sufficiency, integrated business planning, risk management, excellence, and vertical integration to respond to supply chain issues and cost pressures.
Within Perfumery & Beauty, our Perfumery Operations manufactures and distributes superior fragrance products over 20 different plants and warehouses that reaches thousands of customers and delights billions of consumers around the world every single day.
Incorporating AI and Digital Tools
AI is a great tool to accelerate the discovery of new ingredients, replacing extremely lengthy traditional processes. AI can also help predict their properties, including how they will smell and how they will perform in a commercial product.
Our digital creation unit uses AI to manage parameters, provide consumer insights, and visualize fragrance performance. This allows us to streamline our processes, enhance our offerings, and deliver personalized experiences to consumers. By leveraging the power of AI, we can stay ahead of industry trends and continuously innovate to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
Advancements in Biotechnology and Fermentation
Last year, we inaugurated two cutting-edge plants in southwest France to boost our production of sustainable ingredients. The first facility is a multipurpose unit to produce various bio-sourced ingredients derived from pine, and the second, a brand-new plant dedicated to the production of our iconic biodegradable musk HABANOLIDE®.
Last year we also opened a new Superfluid Extraction technology plant in India with our long-term partner Jasmine Concrete, further strengthening our green extraction capabilities in the region. We also completed the construction of a new Production Unit in La Plaine, our historic Ingredients site in Geneva, which is designed to produce revolutionary biodegradable fragrance capsules for laundry care – a first on the world market.
These advancements in biotechnology and fermentation are testament to our commitment to sustainability and innovation. By investing in these technologies, we can create products that are environmentally friendly, contributing to a more sustainable future.
Sustainability: An Underpinning Commitment
At dsm-firmenich, we're serious about sustainability. In 2024, we developed an emissions reduction plan that’s been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. We aim to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain by 2045. Our commitment to sustainability underpins our product offerings and our operations. By investing in sustainable technologies and practices, we can create products that are both effective and environmentally friendly, as well as meeting consumers’ needs.
Bringing Progress to Life
dsm-firmenich is a leader in the industry because of its commitment to innovation and sustainability across its three consumer business units: Perfumery & Beauty; Taste, Texture & Health; and Health, Nutrition & Care. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, deep market insights, and a robust supply chain, we create products that enhance consumer experiences and address changing market demands.
Our focus on innovation, AI integration, and biotechnology advancements ensures we are ready to tackle new challenges and opportunities. Our commitment to sustainability and innovation is visible throughout our entire operations, positioning us as a pioneer for a more sustainable future.
