What F&C Licorice Group does

F&C Licorice Group is an Israel-based privately held holding company founded in 1962 that operates as the second largest producer of licorice extract in the western world. Its operating subsidiaries include Fitness R Us (herbal extracts, oleoresins and oils, located in Kiryat Shmona), Karmat Coating Industries (micro-encapsulation solutions since 1993), and FC Galilee Herbs (acquired in 2013). The group produces licorice extracts in powder, paste, and block forms; clinical-grade nutraceutical ingredients including the LICORICH antioxidant, Liconat natural food preservative, and a patent-pending micro-encapsulated Active Curcumin; and a portfolio of oleoresins, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, and herbal remedies.

The business model is B2B contract manufacturing and ingredient supply to major global tobacco, confectionery, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food-processing customers via direct enterprise sales. Revenue is generated through quote-based bulk supply of standardized licorice extracts, toll manufacturing services (spray drying, micro-encapsulation, fluid bed drying, coating, customized blending and packaging), and proprietary branded nutraceutical ingredients. The company emphasizes secure first-hand sourcing of licorice roots from reliable origins and emphasizes regulatory-ready documentation for pharmaceutical-grade applications.

F&C Licorice was spun out of ICL in 1999 when founder Dr. Kerman acquired the licorice unit and converted it into a family-owned business, with subsequent bolt-on acquisitions in 2003, 2008, and 2013. The group operates with 51-100 employees from Haifa, Israel, and serves customers globally. No external funding rounds, leadership changes, or public financial disclosures are present in the available data.

Name

F&C Licorice Group

Legal name

F&C Licorice Group

Website

https://fc-licorice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

F&C Licorice Group is a privately held Israel-based holding company and the second-largest licorice extract producer in the western world, supplying standardized licorice ingredients, micro-encapsulated nutraceuticals, and contract manufacturing services to major global tobacco, confectionery, pharmaceutical, and food customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Botanical Ingredients

NAICS

Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Beverages (2080), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee & Tea Concentrates (Liquid, Extracts, Syrups) (AFAFAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Natural Extracts & Botanical Concentrates for Beverages (herbal, spice, aromatic extracts) (AFAFAGAJ), Coffee & Tea Concentrates, Syrups & Extracts (CRADAHAI)

Keywords

• Licorice extract manufacturing
• Herbal extracts supply
• Nutraceutical ingredients
• Micro-encapsulation services
• Botanical raw materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Haifa

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Licorice Extract Products: Manufacturing, supplying and distributing licorice extracts (paste, powder, blocks) to major tobacco, confectionery and pharmaceutical industries worldwide. Products include Licorice Granules, Licorice Powder, Licorice Paste, and Licorice Block.
2. Herbal Extracts and Specialty Ingredients: Supply of herbal extracts including curcumin, green tea antioxidant, licorice phytoestrogen, oleoresins, essential oils, and vitamins/minerals to food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical sectors.
3. LICORICH Health Supplements: Sale of LICORICH antioxidant supplement targeting diabetics, cardiac patients, smokers, athletes, and adults over fifty for cardiovascular health and oxidative stress reduction.
4. Contract Manufacturing Services: Toll manufacturing, plant and herbal extractions, spray drying, micro-encapsulation, fluid bed drying, air drying, coating, formulating powders and liquids, customized blending, premixes, capsuling, and packaging services for food and nutraceutical industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

F&C Licorice Group manufactures, supplies, and distributes licorice extracts in the form of granules, powder, paste, and blocks, alongside herbal extracts, oleoresins, essential oils, and micro-encapsulated ingredients. The company serves the tobacco, confectionery, pharmaceutical, food, and nutraceutical industries globally, and also offers contract manufacturing services such as spray drying, micro-encapsulation, fluid bed drying, coating, custom blending, and packaging.

Product overview

F&C Licorice Group is a portfolio of licorice extract and herbal product companies, founded in 1962, serving the tobacco, confectionery, and pharmaceutical industries. The core product lines include LICORICH (antioxidant supplement), Liconat (natural food ingredient), Active Curcumin (bioavailable turmeric extract), and Licorice Flavor Extracts (granules, powder, paste). Supporting brands include Fitness R Us (herbal extraction manufacturing) and Karmat Coating Industries (micro-encapsulation solutions). The group also offers Vitamins, Oleoresins and Essential Oils, and Herbal Remedies. Services include toll manufacturing, spray drying, micro-encapsulation, coating, and customized formulation across food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LICORICH: A revolutionary antioxidant supplement made from licorice extract, marketed as one of the most powerful antioxidants available, proven in clinical studies to cleanse blood vessels and act as an antioxidant at the cellular level.
• Liconat

Products and services

• Licorice Flavor Extracts Licorice extracts in the form of spray-dried powder, concentrated aqueous paste, and solid licorice blocks, supplied to tobacco, confectionery, and pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide.
• LICORICH Antioxidant Supplement Proprietary licorice-derived antioxidant supplement clinically proven to cleanse blood vessels, reduce oxidized LDL by 55%, lower blood pressure by 10%, and provide cellular-level protection against free radicals. Targeted at diabetics, cardiac patients, smokers, athletes, and adults over fifty for cardiovascular health.
• Liconat Natural Food Ingredient Natural food ingredient produced from licorice roots (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) naturally high in phenolic compounds, providing effective antioxidant activity that reduces oxidation, maintains color, and extends shelf life without impacting flavor. Used in meat, bakery, beverages, and dairy products.
• Active Curcumin Patented curcumin extract using a micro-encapsulation manufacturing process with enzyme inhibitors for increased bioavailability and slow continuous absorption. Used as an anti-inflammatory nutraceutical ingredient.
• Herbal Remedies and Extracts Range of herbal extracts and supplements including licorice antioxidant, curcumin antioxidant, green tea antioxidant, licorice phytoestrogen, wheatgrass, MigraLeaf, ArtiLeaf, and HayLeaf supplements supplied to food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical sectors.
• Oleoresins and Essential Oils Flavoring and coloring oleoresins (cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, celery, capsicum) and essential oils (clove bud, nutmeg, cardamom) for flavor and aroma applications in food and nutraceutical industries.
• Fitness R Us Herbal Extraction Manufacturing Leading Israeli manufacturer of herbal extracts, oleoresins, and oils based in Kiryat Shmona, offering extraction services using organic solvents from lab scale through pilot phases to mass production for B2B customers.
• Karmat Coating Industries Micro-encapsulation Services Micro-encapsulation solutions for targeted material delivery and improved product design in food, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceutical sectors, including coating, blending functional ingredients, and custom encapsulation services.
• Contract Manufacturing and Toll Services Toll manufacturing services covering plant and herbal extractions, spray drying, micro-encapsulation, fluid bed drying, air drying, coating, formulating powders and liquids, customized blending, premixes, capsuling, and packaging for food and nutraceutical industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• LICORICH reduced oxidized LDL by 55%, increased blood resistance to oxidation by 19%, lowered blood pressure by 10%, reduced total LDL cholesterol by 9%, decreased oxidative stress by 20%, lowered blood sugar levels by 17%, reduced triglycerides by 20%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World's Best BrandscoreOthersF&C Licorice has teamed up with some of the world's biggest brands as customers, serving major tobacco, confectionery, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. The company serves these global enterprises with licorice extracts and specialty ingredients through direct B2B relationships.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Symrise: Symrise is a global flavors, fragrances, and nutrition ingredients company, with significant natural extract and licorice-related flavor capabilities, competing with F&C as a broad incumbent in the same B2B ingredient space.
• Givaudan: Givaudan is the world's largest flavors and fragrances company, offering licorice and other natural flavor extracts at industrial scale to food, beverage, and tobacco customers, representing a much larger incumbent competing on breadth and global reach.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): IFF is a global leader in flavors, fragrances, and food ingredients (now combined with DuPont N&B), with broad natural extract portfolios serving tobacco, confectionery, and beverage customers that overlap with F&C's core industries.

Direct peers

• Sabinsa: Sabinsa is a US-based manufacturer of standardized botanical extracts and branded nutraceutical ingredients (including curcuminoids), competing with F&C's curcumin and herbal remedy product lines in the nutraceutical and supplement ingredient market.
• Norevo: Norevo is a Germany-based producer of licorice extracts and natural sweeteners/excipients, also explicitly named as a peer in the same FMI market analysis. It competes head-to-head with F&C in licorice-derived ingredients for confectionery, beverage, and pharma applications.
• Indena: Indena is an Italian manufacturer of high-quality botanical extracts (including licorice, curcumin, and other herbal APIs) for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers, overlapping with F&C's Fitness R Us and FC Galilee Herbs subsidiaries in standardized botanical ingredients and formulation support.
• MAFCO Worldwide: MAFCO Worldwide (a Sensient Technologies subsidiary) is one of the largest global licorice extract producers and is explicitly named alongside F&C Licorice as a key competitor in the licorice ingredients market, with overlapping product formats and customer segments in tobacco, confectionery, and pharma.

Emerging players

• Naturex (Givaudan): Naturex, now part of Givaudan, is a specialist in plant-based extracts for food, nutrition, and health, with overlapping botanical extract capabilities (including licorice-adjacent applications) and competing for nutraceutical and food ingredient customers.
• Kalsec: Kalsec is a US-based producer of natural spice and herb extracts, natural colors, and antioxidant systems for food and beverage, with overlapping capabilities in natural antioxidant ingredients (similar to F&C's Liconat) and serving comparable food processing customers.

Regional players

• Amarelli: Amarelli is a historic Italian licorice confectionery manufacturer with deep roots in licorice sourcing and processing; while primarily a finished-product brand rather than a B2B extract supplier, it operates in the same upstream licorice supply chain and is a recognized European competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 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 F&C Licorice Group