Givaudan

Givaudan (pronounced: [ʒivodɑ̃]) is a Swiss manufacturer of flavors, fragrances and active cosmetic ingredients. As of 2008, it is the world's largest company in the industry.

Overview

The company's scents and flavors are developed for food and beverage makers, and also used in household goods, as well as grooming and personal care products and perfumes. Givaudan’s flavors and fragrances are usually custom-made and sold under confidentiality agreements. Givaudan uses ScentTrek, a technology that captures the chemical makeup of smell from living plants. The company has locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, North America, Latin America as well as Asia Pacific. In 2014, Givaudan had sales of CHF 4,4 billion with an overall market share of 25%. It is one of Switzerland’s 30 biggest listed companies in terms of market capitalization. In 2014, 10% of its sales were reinvested in R&D.

History

Givaudan was founded as a perfumery company in 1895 in Zurich (Switzerland) by Leon and Xavier Givaudan, although some parts of the modern company date back as far as 1796. In 1898 Givaudan moved to Geneva (Switzerland) and constructed a factory in Vernier. In 1946, Givaudan opened a perfumery school, which trained a third of the world’s creative perfumers. In 1948 the company acquired Ersolko SA, which transitioned Givaudan also into the flavor industry. In 1963, Givaudan was acquired by Roche and in 1964, Roche acquired one of Givaudan's competitors, Roure. Roure was founded in Grasse, France during 1820. In 1937 Roure created the first designer perfume: Schocking for Schiaparelli. Givaudan's original United States fragrance headquarters, in Teaneck, New Jersey, was built in 1972 from a design by Der Scutt, architect of the Trump Tower. The company later moved to East Hanover, NJ.