| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Flavors and Fragrance |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Key people | Patrick Firmenich(CEO), Vernon Sankey (Chairman) |
| Products | Flavors and Fragrances |
| Revenue | CHF 2.9 billion (2010) |
| Employees | over 6,000 (2010) |
| Website | www.firmenich.com |
Firmenich SA is a private Swiss company in the perfume and flavor business, it is the largest privately-owned company in the perfume and flavor business, and ranks number two worldwide.[1], Firmenich has created many of the world’s favorite perfumes for over 100 years and produced a number of the most well known flavors enjoyed each day by millions of consumers.
Worldwide, Firmenich currently employs approximately 6,200 people in 64 countries. Major competitors include Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances and Symrise. It bought Noville in 2006 and in 2007 acquired Danisco Flavor division.
The company was founded as Chuit & Naef in 1895 in Geneva (Switzerland), by chemist Philippe Chuit and businessman Martin Naef. Fred Firmenich joined in 1900 and later became the majority partner. The company was eventually renamed Firmenich SA. Its current CEO is Patrick Firmenich.
Originally a fragrance company, Firmenich first branched into the flavor business by creating a raspberry substitute in 1938, followed by creations of citrus and strawberry flavors. Multiple other flavors followed in the booming field of flavor synthesis, spurred by the developing trend of companies worldwide selling processed foods and preserved foods. Since then, Firmenich has become a world leader in the creation and sales of natural and artificial food flavors.[2]
In 1939, Firmenich director of research and development Lavoslav Ružička was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
On May 3, 2007, Firmenich announced that it is to acquire the flavors division of Danisco in a deal reportedly worth €450 million.[3][4] The deal is expected to move Firmenich ahead of IFF as the second largest flavor company in the world.[5]