Global Flavours and Ingredients Companies join Food Industry Asia

Singapore, 14 November 2019 – Food Industry Asia (FIA) is pleased to welcome Firmenich and Lesaffre as its newest members, strengthening the organisation's membership representation in the region and across the food and beverage supply chain.  

��Founded and headquartered in Geneva in 1895, Firmenich is the world's largest perfume and taste company, with a global presence across 100 markets. 

The company delivers a range of flavours across sweet goods, beverage and savoury markets, including dairy, confectionery, soft drinks and prepared meals. It prides itself in developing breakthrough innovations to meet changing global needs, and leveraging consumer insights on flavour and taste preference. 10 per cent of its turnover is invested in research and development (R&D) annually, making it the largest proportion in the Fragrance & Flavour industry. 

Luciana de Castro, Senior Vice President for Global Regulatory Affairs at Firmenich, said, "Firmenich products are present in the life of thousands of people every day, from the first moment in the morning to the late evening. We believe that our collaboration with FIA will support our vision to continuously delight the consumers with healthy and delicious foods and beverages." 

Firmenich is also a global environmental leader – since 2015, the company has been decoupling its growth from CO2 emissions, with manufacturing output growing by 18 per cent and CO2 emissions declining by 30 per cent. This year, it is one of only two companies worldwide – out of 7,000 – to have achieved a triple A ranking for Climate, Water and Forestry on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) list, which independently assesses thousands of companies on their environmental credentials. This builds on the company gold rating with Ecovadis, a provider of ratings for corporate social responsibility, sustainability risk and performance for companies that fuel global supply chains, where it ranked second among the 45,000 companies rated worldwide. 

Lesaffre, a French family-owned company with over 165 years of history, is a global player in yeast and fermentation products. Founded in 1853, its global operations spans more than 50 countries with 66 production sites and 10 R&D centres around the world. 

The company's expertise includes designing, manufacturing and marketing innovative solutions for baking, food taste solutions, human health and nutrition, animal healthcare and industrial biotechnology. 

In human nutrition, Lesaffre has scientifically-proven and sustainably-sourced active ingredients and solutions to customers in the pharmaceutical, nutritional and functional food industries for a wide range of health benefits and nutritional improvement. 

Joergen Lundgaard, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at Lesaffre Singapore, said, "FIA is an exceptional cooperation platform for food and beverage companies to work together for the benefits of consumers and the environment. This is very much in line with Lesaffre's commitment to working with confidence to better nourish and protect the planet. We are therefore delighted at the opportunity to collaborate with other FIA members and stakeholders to achieve our common goal." 

FIA Executive Director Matt Kovac said, "We are delighted to welcome two industry giants, Firmenich and Lesaffre, to our growing network. Their global presence and best-in-class stature will bring valuable expertise and knowledge to enhance FIA's and the industry's collective efforts around the four strategic pillars of health & nutrition, food safety, trade harmonisation and sustainability in Asia." 

For more information please contact: 

Edwin Seah 
Food Industry Asia 
DID: (65) 6460 4155 
Email: edwin.seah@foodindustry.asia  

May Su Paing
Food Industry Asia 
DID: (65) 6460 4173
Email: may.supaing@foodindustry.asia

FIA
FIA was founded in July 2010 by a group of leading food and beverage companies. From our base in Singapore, we seek to enhance the industry's role as a trusted partner in the development of science-based policy in the region. FIA provides an important hub for advocacy and debate. We bring together the food industry's most senior business leaders to champion initiatives that promote sustainable growth and support regional policies that deliver harmonised results.