What Symrise does

Symrise AG is a Holzminden, Germany-headquartered public company (DAX-40 constituent, ticker DE000SYM9999) founded in 1874 that ranks among the top four global suppliers of fragrances, flavorings, cosmetic active ingredients, raw materials, and functional ingredients, with reported 2024 revenue exceeding €5.2 billion and an estimated 10-12% share of the approximately $30 billion global flavors and fragrances market. The company operates through two segments — Taste, Nutrition & Health (Food & Beverage, Pet Food) and Scent & Care (Fragrance, Care & Wellness, Cosmetic Ingredients, Aroma Molecules) — and serves global consumer goods manufacturers via direct enterprise sales with regional headquarters covering Europe, North America, South/Central America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Symrise's technology stack blends chemistry, biology, and sensory science, anchored by the Philyra generative AI platform for fragrance creation (reported 92% accuracy in predicting molecular interactions and compressed formulation timelines from 6-18 months to under two months), precision fermentation partnerships (notably with Bond Pet Foods for pet nutrition proteins), and a portfolio of proprietary ingredient platforms such as Mindera, SymFerment, SymMollient, and Hydrolite 5 green. R&D intensity of 7-8% of revenue and a CDP A-list sustainability rating underpin the technical and regulatory positioning.

The business model is B2B with approximately 60% of revenue from recurring contracts, pricing negotiated individually rather than publicly disclosed, and a customer base of multinational consumer goods manufacturers across fragrance, food and beverage, pet food, and cosmetic/personal care verticals. Go-to-market relies on direct field sales, application laboratories in key markets, and presence at industry trade shows (Vitafoods Europe, in-cosmetics Global). Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward biotechnology-enabled ingredients, AI-assisted formulation, and the Care & Wellness and Pet Food adjacencies.

Name

Symrise

Legal name

Symrise AG

Website

https://symrise.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1874

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Symrise AG is a global B2B supplier of fragrances, flavors, cosmetic actives, and functional ingredients serving multinational consumer goods manufacturers across food and beverage, pet food, personal care, and home care, with proprietary AI and biotechnology platforms and over €5.2 billion in 2024 revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flavors and Fragrances Ingredients

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Fragrance (Women’s/Men’s/Unisex) (CRABADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Air Care & Home Fragrance (Air Fresheners, Candles, Plug-ins, Diffusers) (CRADAKAI), Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE)

Keywords

• Flavor and fragrance ingredients
• Cosmetic active ingredients
• Pet food palatants
• Aroma molecules
• Food and beverage flavors

Headquarters

HQ city

Holzminden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Flavors & Nutrition Ingredients: Symrise develops and supplies flavor compositions, aroma ingredients, and nutrition solutions used by manufacturers of food, beverages, and pet food globally.
2. Fragrance & Scent Ingredients: Symrise develops and supplies fragrance compositions and aroma ingredients to consumer goods manufacturers for use in perfumes, personal care, home care, and pet products.
3. Cosmetic Ingredients: Symrise supplies cosmetic ingredients including actives, botanicals, hair care, sun protection, and color solutions to personal care and cosmetics manufacturers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Symrise develops and supplies fragrance compositions, flavor ingredients, cosmetic active ingredients, raw materials and functional ingredients to consumer goods manufacturers globally. Operating through two segments — Taste, Nutrition & Health and Scent & Care — the company serves food and beverage, pet food, personal care, home care and fine fragrance markets using chemistry, biology and sensory science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SymFerment: Cosmetic ingredient derived from fermentation broth that moisturizes, smooths skin, and provides micronutrients to strengthen skin barrier
• SymMollient S green
• Hydrolite 5 green
• Philyra
• SymProBiome
• Mindera Euca
• Actipone
• Extrapone
• SYM ALPHA Think Tank
• Lilybelle

Products and services

• Philyra AI Fragrance Platform AI-powered fragrance creation platform for fragrance houses and consumer goods manufacturers that accelerates scent design, trend detection and personalized formulation.
• Mindera Euca Plant-based multifunctional ingredient for rinse-off personal care formulations providing broad-spectrum product protection across various pH ranges, including sulphate-free systems.
• SymFerment Cosmetic ingredient derived from fermentation broth by-product that moisturizes, smooths and strengthens the skin barrier with micronutrients.
• SymMollient S green Sustainable alternative to silicones in cosmetics; a saturated wax ester from sustainably sourced nonanoic acid and cetyraryl alcohol.
• Hydrolite 5 green Multifunctional ingredient made from 100% biologically-based carbon produced from sugar cane by-product bagasse, with moisturizing and sensory profile enhancement properties.
• SymProBiome Competence platform focusing on microbiome science for skin health and wellness applications, offering microbiome-targeted solutions for cosmetic manufacturers.
• Actipone Range of botanical extract ingredients for cosmetic formulations.
• Extrapone Range of botanical extract ingredients for cosmetic applications.
• Lilybelle Proprietary muguet (lily of the valley) fragrance ingredient for fine fragrance compositions.
• Flavors and Nutrition Ingredients Flavor compositions, aroma ingredients and nutrition solutions used by manufacturers of food, beverages, snacks, dairy, sweet applications, baby food, culinary and consumer health products globally.
• Fragrance and Scent Ingredients Fragrance compositions and aroma ingredients supplied to consumer goods manufacturers for use in perfumes, personal care, home care and pet products.
• Pet Food Palatants and Nutrition Solutions Pet food palatants, sustainable protein ingredients and nutrition solutions for premium pet nutrition, served through Symrise's Diana division.
• Cosmetic Ingredients Cosmetic ingredients including actives, botanicals, hair care, sun protection, color solutions and micro protection supplied to personal care and cosmetics manufacturers.
• Alternative Smoke Portfolio Range of alternative smoke flavor solutions for food manufacturers responding to EU regulatory changes affecting traditional smoke flavorings.
• Care & Wellness Division Consolidated offering of natural extracts, bio-actives and wellness-focused ingredients for skin health, oral care and wellness beverages targeting the personal care and consumer health markets.
• SYM ALPHA Think Tank Strategic innovation initiative within the Scent & Care segment focused on accelerating fragrance development and co-developing next-generation scent solutions with customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked top 4 globally with 10-12% market share in the $30B flavors and fragrances industry
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bond Pet FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Symrise invested in Bond Pet Foods in April 2026 to accelerate sustainable pet nutrition solutions using precision fermentation technology. The partnership combines Bond's fermentation technology with Symrise's application expertise and market insight to deliver sustainable protein ingredients for pet food manufacturers. Bond Pet Foods, founded in 2017, produces recombinant chicken, turkey, and beef proteins and has been developing ingredients for Hill's Pet Food.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Ongoing develoPPP programme partnerships between GIZ, Symrise, and various customers (including Pernod Ricard and Unilever) to promote sustainable farming in developing regions. Projects in Madagascar, Philippines, Brazil, and India have benefited thousands of farmers through training in sustainable agriculture, business management, and crop diversification.
• Pernod RicardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020develoPPP project launched in 2020 involving Symrise, Pernod Ricard, and GIZ to protect nature and biodiversity while improving living conditions for coconut farmers in the Philippines. The project helped 500 coconut farmers increase income by an average of 15% and annual yield by 20% by 2024.
• ProbicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership with Swedish biotechnology company Probi since 2012, focused on developing cosmetic ingredients from fermentation by-products. The collaboration produced SymFerment, a cosmetic ingredient that moisturizes and smooths skin while providing micronutrients from fermentation broth.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Givaudan: Swiss global leader in flavors and fragrances with similar B2B model serving consumer goods manufacturers. Givaudan is Symrise's primary direct competitor, also investing in AI-driven fragrance creation and bioscience capabilities.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): US-based global F&F major serving food, beverage, personal care, and home care customers. IFF competes head-to-head with Symrise across both Taste and Scent segments and was named in the 2024 antitrust settlement.
• DSM-Firmenich: Dutch-Swiss F&F and nutrition company formed from DSM's merger with Firmenich. Competes with Symrise across flavors, fragrances, and nutritional ingredients for consumer goods manufacturers.
• Robertet: French publicly listed family-controlled F&F house. Competes with Symrise especially in fine fragrance and natural ingredients, with comparable focus on naturals and sustainability.
• Mane: Private French flavors and fragrances group. Direct competitor to Symrise in fragrance compositions and flavor ingredients with comparable global footprint and B2B go-to-market.
• Takasago International Corporation: Japanese F&F manufacturer with global presence. Competes with Symrise across fine fragrance and flavors, with particular strength in Asia-Pacific.
• T. Hasegawa: Japanese flavor and fragrance manufacturer with strong APAC presence. Direct competitor to Symrise especially in flavors and food & beverage applications.

Broad incumbents

• Sensient Technologies: US-based specialty ingredients company with flavors, colors, and fragrances divisions. Adjacent competitor with overlapping flavor and fragrance capabilities but broader specialty focus.
• Kerry Group: Irish taste and nutrition company serving food and beverage manufacturers. Overlaps with Symrise's Flavor & Nutrition segment but with broader portfolio in food ingredients beyond flavors.
• BASF (Care Chemicals division): German chemical major with significant aroma chemicals and personal care ingredients business. Competes with Symrise in upstream ingredients and aroma molecules but as part of a much broader chemicals portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/symriseag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9wCSoDKTC-IZS54xDm2xEg
• Facebookfacebook.com/symriseag-287940405085613
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/symrise
• Instagraminstagram.com/symriseag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A20 records

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Symrise