Symrise Expands Innovation Center in Indonesia

Symrise has invested in its location in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The company officially opened the expanded innovation center on October 10, 2019. With this modern facility, Symrise can develop creative solutions for fragrances, cosmetics, food and beverages. These applications are specifically tailored for the Indonesian market and can directly be presented to customers on site. Diana Food, the natural solution provider, is also using the facility to engage with customers in one location to extend its footprint in Indonesia.

Symrise invested a total of around € 3 million in the innovation center. “With our expanded location in Jakarta, we are emphasizing the importance of the Asian region for our company. Indonesia is already a key market today and will continue to be so in the future. Over the past ten years, we have more than doubled our sales and generated an annual growth rate of around eight percent,” says Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. The proportion of middle-income groups is rising and purchasing power is steadily increasing.

Accordingly, Symrise has significantly increased the innovation and laboratory capacities for taste, scent and care. The perfumers have access to application laboratories with a wide range of modern test and evaluation equipment. The space for technologists in the Flavor division has more than doubled. In the new center they will extend the development of flavorings for the local market, for example, solutions for beverage applications, sweet goods, and savory products.  The results can be evaluated with the latest technologies as well. The team can also present final products to their customers directly on site.

Through the expansion Symrise has almost doubled its profile in Scent & Care and Flavor with application possibilities for fragrances, cosmetic ingredients and flavorings for beverages, sweets and savory products. Dr. Bertram and additional management representatives have traveled to Jakarta for the opening ceremony, highlighting the region’s strategic relevance for the Company.

Indonesia: Strategic raw materials and sustainability-oriented consumers

“Consumers in Indonesia as well as Southeast Asia are increasingly looking for sustainable products and have a strong focus on their health and well-being,” says Dr. Bertram. “At the same time, we have early on realized how important the access to strategic raw materials is. Most of our products are based on natural raw materials. Many of them come from Indonesia, such as aromatic patchouli and cloves.”

Patchouli, for example, is grown on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Symrise maintains sustainable partnerships with local farmers there. This gives the company direct access to sources of valuable raw materials. It also contributes to the effective protection of ecosystems and to the improvement of life in local communities.

Using local developments for unique creations

In the three Flavor, Scent & Care and Nutrition segments, Symrise is represented at around 100 locations worldwide with more than 30,000 products. First and foremost, the company pursues a common goal in all regions: to develop locally. This is also the case in Indonesia. “For example, the characteristic Asian ingredient ginger is found in foods, drinks, fragrances and cosmetics,” says Dr. Bertram. “We develop and manufacture successful flavorings, fragrances, cosmetic ingredients and nutritional solutions for Indonesian companies and consumers. Going forward we will be better positioned to significantly accelerate product development for our local customers in Indonesia.”

Christine Schott Ledes
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