Dive Brief:
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Swiss flavor and fragrance company Firmenich will acquire San Diego-based Senomyx, Inc., which develops and commercializes flavor ingredients and high-intensity sweeteners. The deal has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter.
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Firmenich has also entered into a strategic distribution agreement with China-based Layn Natural Ingredients, which produces monk fruit and stevia extracts, along with other functional botanicals, according to Food Business News.
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"With this game-changing partnership, Firmenich will have access to the broadest range of natural sweeteners in the industry," Gilbert Ghostine, the company's CEO, said in a statement. "It is consistent with our vision to constantly strengthen our leadership and capabilities in taste to best support our customers in shaping natural and healthier products for consumers to enjoy."
Dive Insight:
Firmenich, one of the major global players in the flavors and fragrances space, gains quite a bit from this acquisition — and from this distribution deal. Clean-label, natural ingredients and bolder flavors appear to be where trends in the sector are heading, so the Senomyx purchase positions the Swiss company where it needs to be. And the Layn arrangement gives Firmenich a firm foothold in distributing monk fruit and stevia extracts in international markets and for key Layn customers in China.
Senomyx's extensive suite of sweetener options was likely a big draw for Firmenich. Last year, Senomyx said it was developing a natural, zero-calorie, high-intensity sweetener called siratose extracted from monk fruit. The company hoped to have a GRAS notification in hand by 2019 and then produce it commercially through fermentation. The company said siratose is sweeter and tastes better overall than stevia extracts.
It's not clear at this point whether Senomyx will be developing new sweeteners under Firmenich's ownership or mainly focusing on siratose. If siratose turns out to be a big hit, though, the acquisition could end up being a very smart move for the Swiss firm. A survey from Label Insight found that 22% of U.S. consumers are hoping to restrict their sugar intake, and many plan to do that by buying no-sugar-added items this year. As a result, foods and beverages with zero-calorie sweeteners and no artificial sweeteners saw sales climb 16% in 2017, according to Nielsen figures.
Currently, Senomyx sells Complimyx branded ingredients as Sweetmyx, Savorymyx and Bittermyx to flavor companies for use in foods and beverages, Food Business News reported. As of the second quarter ended June 30, the company posted $3.3 million in total sales but a net loss of $3.6 million, it added. However, Senomyx had no debt and $14.7 million in cash.
Firmenich has been actively pursuing M&A opportunities to continue its growth. The company announced in December that it would acquire New Jersey-based Natural Flavors, Inc., a certified organic and natural flavors business. Last month, it purchased Campus of Parma, Italy, which specializes in clean-label meat and plant-based foods.
However, the privately owned Swiss firm is not without competition when it comes to taste and clean-label trends. Other giants in the space include Switzerland-based Givaudan, New York-based International Flavors & Fragrances and Germany's Symrise. Consolidation could continue to heat up since IFF is buying Israeli company Frutarom, a move expected to give market leader Givaudan some stiff competition for the No. 1 position.
No matter what those other flavor companies do, though, Firmenich is likely to benefit from both the Senomyx and the Layn deal. According to Food Ingredients First, the total global flavors and fragrances market rose 4.6% in 2017 to $28.2 billion and is expected to climb at an average annual rate of 4.9% to reach $36 billion by 2022.