What Silesia Gerhard Hanke does

Silesia Gerhard Hanke GmbH & Co. KG is an independent, family-owned flavor and aroma manufacturer headquartered in Neuss, Germany, founded in 1909. The company develops, produces, and distributes liquid, powder, and granulated flavors for the food, beverage, feed, and pharmaceutical industries, serving customers across confectionery, bakery, dairy, beverages, culinary/savory, and plant-based segments. Its portfolio is anchored by proprietary branded ranges including Silvanil vanilla flavors, Silarom micro-encapsulated flavors, and Sil-A-Glass extruded granulates, alongside application-specific lines such as the Rebalancing Program for sugar, salt, and fat reduction, Culinary Smoke and Barbecue collections, and a Plant-Based Flavours range covering meat, dairy, fish, and egg analogs. Differentiated technical capabilities include in-house flavor creation, advanced analytical services (AEDA, GC-HRMS, MS-Sniffing, GC-FTIR, GC-AED, IRMS for natural status determination), and process engineering for drying, granulation, and encapsulation. Silesia sells almost exclusively B2B under a made-to-order production model with SAP-integrated, barcode-controlled manufacturing, BRC Global Standard certification in Germany and the United States, FSSC 22000 certification in Asia, and Kosher/Halal production capability across all three sites.

The company operates a sales-led go-to-market, supported by an international sales subsidiary network in Europe, America, and Asia, an international distribution network for mid-market customers, and event-driven demand generation through Gulfood Manufacturing and customer sensory workshops. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time sales of proprietary flavor compounds, with bundled application support, regulatory services (food legislation, Kosher/Halal documentation, hazardous substances classification), sensory services, and project management included in the supply relationship. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company employs more than 700 people globally and is led by Managing Director Clemens Hanke, with Andrea Hanke serving as the responsible person under German media law. Recent capital investment is focused on a new production facility in Huntley, Illinois (groundbreaking June 4, 2025), supplementing the existing Hoffman Estates, Illinois plant and Singapore manufacturing operations.

Name

Silesia Gerhard Hanke

Legal name

Silesia Gerhard Hanke GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://silesia-aroma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1909

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Silesia Gerhard Hanke is a family-owned German manufacturer of food, feed, and pharmaceutical flavors, supplying custom and standard flavor compounds to B2B customers globally from production sites in Germany, the United States, and Singapore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Flavors and Aroma Ingredients

NAICS

Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (311930), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Flavor Houses & Compound Flavor Manufacturing (AFAJADAA)

Keywords

• Food flavor manufacturing
• Aroma ingredients supply
• Functional flavor solutions
• Plant-based flavor systems
• Smoke and barbecue flavors

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuss

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Flavour Development & Manufacturing: Silesia develops and manufactures tailored flavours for food, feed, and pharma customers. Production is made-to-order with SAP-integrated, barcode-controlled processes. Revenue is generated through the sale of proprietary flavour compounds across liquid, powder, and granulated formats. Close customer development partnerships and application support services are bundled with product supply.
2. Flavour Concentrates and Ranges (Standard Portfolio): Sale of standard flavour ranges including Silvanil® vanilla flavours, Silarom® encapsulated flavours, and Sil-A-Glass® granulates. Customers purchase off-the-shelf or slightly adapted formulations from established benchmark collections.
3. Regulatory and Certification Services: Professional services including detailed product specifications, food legislation compliance, Kosher and Halal certification support, customer seminars, and regulatory documentation. These are bundled services included in the flavour supply relationship.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Silesia Gerhard Hanke develops, produces, and distributes tailor-made liquid, powder, and granulated flavors for the food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries. Operating under a made-to-order production model with SAP-integrated, barcode-controlled processes, the company supplies proprietary product ranges (Silvanil, Silarom, Sil-A-Glass) and specialized solutions including functional flavors for sugar/salt/fat reduction, plant-based flavors, culinary smoke and barbecue flavors, and sensory, regulatory, and analytical services.

Product overview

Silesia Gerhard Hanke is a family-owned food flavor and aroma manufacturer with over 115 years of experience. Its product portfolio is organized into several interconnected layers: (1) Core flavor products across five application segments — Confectionery & Bakery, Dairy Products, Beverages, Culinary/Savory, and Plant-Based — each with dedicated flavor profiles; (2) Specialized product lines including the Functional Flavours / Rebalancing Program (Mouthfeel, Replacer, Booster, Masking, and FMP flavors for sugar/salt/fat reduction), Culinary Smoke & Barbecue Flavours (EMEA and American Collections), the Silvanil vanilla range, Silarom micro-encapsulated powders, and Sil-A-Glass extruded granules; (3) Three physical flavor formats — Liquid, Powder, and Granulated — available across all product lines; (4) An integrated service layer covering Sensory Testing, Regulatory Support, Product & Project Management, and a Flavour Task Force for portfolio evaluation; and (5) Internal R&D capabilities in Flavour Creation, Analytical Services (AEDA, GC-HRMS, IRMS), and Process Engineering. Production is split between liquid and powder formats with separate savory and sweet areas, and operates under a made-to-order model with Kosher and Halal certification. The portfolio is rounded out by product-specific solutions such as Sensation Flavours (hot, cooling, tingling effects) and masking/booster variants for plant-based protein alternatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Silvanil®: Vanilla flavour range featuring 12 different notes to create the best vanilla flavour for every profile from buttery and balsamic to rummy, beany and caramellic.
• Silarom®
• Sil-A-Glass®

Products and services

• Functional Flavours (Rebalancing Program)
• Plant-Based Flavours
• Culinary Smoke Flavours
• Culinary Barbecue Flavours
• Liquid Flavours
• Powder Flavours
• Granulated Flavours
• Silvanil (Vanilla Range)
• Silarom (Micro-Encapsulated Flavours)
• Sil-A-Glass (Extruded Granulate)
• Sensation Flavours
• Culinary / Savory Flavours Flavor solutions for the savory segment including snacks, instant soups and sauces, meat and sausage products, and vegetarian and vegan products. Supported by pilot plant facilities for finished product development.
• Dairy Product Flavours
• Beverage Flavours
• Confectionery & Bakery Flavours
• Sensory Services
• Regulatory Services
• Product and Project Management
• Flavour Task Force
• Flavour Creation (R&D)
• Analytical Services (R&D)
• Process Engineering (R&D)
• Flavour Production
• Quality Control & Quality Assurance

Quantifiable outcome

• Full traceability of products and manufacturing processes via SAP-integrated, barcode-controlled production systems.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AEB SEoperationalTechnology or IntegrationSilesia uses AEB SE's software (based in Stuttgart, Germany) for sanctions list screening of customers, employees, job applicants, and suppliers. This supports compliance with EU, UN, and OFAC sanctions regulations and export control obligations. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place. Processing occurs within the EU/EEA with standard contractual clauses for any third-country transfers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Givaudan: The world's largest pure-play flavor and fragrance company, headquartered in Switzerland. Operates a global flavor division serving food, beverage, and savory manufacturers across every major category in which Silesia competes, but at vastly greater scale and with a much broader portfolio.
• Symrise: German-headquartered F&F major with deep savory, sweet, and beverage flavor capabilities and a strong plant-based protein flavor offering. Direct overlap with Silesia across culinary, dairy, and confectionery applications, but at multi-billion-Euro scale including Diana Foods and other bolt-ons.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): US-listed global F&F major offering tastes and senses solutions across food, beverage, and nutrition. Highly comparable business model with Silesia across beverage, dairy, savory, and sweet flavors but on a globally consolidated scale following the DuPont N&B and Frutarom integrations.
• dsm-firmenich: Swiss-Dutch combined platform spanning nutrition, health, and flavors including the former Firmenich F&F business. Directly comparable taste-creation capability across beverages, dairy, confectionery, and savory categories and an explicit plant-based protein flavor push.
• Kerry Group: Irish global taste and nutrition company serving food, beverage, and pharma with flavor systems and functional ingredients. Overlaps with Silesia on savory, beverage, and sweet flavor creation but adds a much broader nutrition, enzymes, and clean-label ingredient platform.
• Takasago International Corporation: Japanese-headquartered global F&F producer with extensive flavor capabilities across beverages, dairy, confectionery, and savory. Comparable product application footprint to Silesia but a much larger geographic and product reach, including a strong Asian manufacturing base similar to Silesia's Singapore operations.

Direct peers

• Mane: French family-owned flavor and fragrance house with a comparable mid-cap-to-large independent positioning. Operates savory, sweet, and beverage flavor lines globally and competes head-to-head with Silesia for specialty flavor work and custom development at multinational F&B accounts.
• Robertet: French family-owned natural aroma ingredients and flavor house. Comparable independent mid-cap profile with a strong natural-flavors orientation and broad application coverage including beverages, dairy, confectionery, and savory — directly competitive with Silesia in the natural and bespoke specialty flavor segments.
• Sensient Technologies: US-listed specialty ingredients company with dedicated flavors & fragrances and natural ingredients segments. Operates savory, sweet, beverage, and masking flavors comparable to Silesia's range, and competes in the same health-reformulation and plant-based application spaces.
• Treatt: UK-listed specialist natural flavor and ingredient producer, particularly strong in beverage, citrus, and natural extracts. Closely comparable mid-cap specialty flavor house competing with Silesia in beverage and natural flavor categories including tea, citrus, and tropical.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/silesia-aroma?trk=similar-pages

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Silesia Gerhard Hanke