Our integrated
corporate strategy

Sustainability is an integral part of Symrise’s corporate strategy. We must act in a commercially successful, sustainable and socially responsible manner in order to continuously increase the company’s value and minimize risks. We bolster the future of our company by taking this approach.

As we previously announced, we plan to increase our sales to the level of between € 5.5 billion and € 6 billion by 2025. We have set a new long-term target for sales as well: We plan to increase sales to the level of € 7.5 billion to € 8 billion by 2028.

To achieve this goal for the long term, we must simultaneously keep a close eye on the climate, the environment and use of resources. Faced with a world population that crossed the 8 billion barrier in 2022, we can no longer do business the way that we used to. One solution is to separate our commercial activities from the use of finite resources. This is a really important task for Symrise, because our business model is based on the diversity of nature. We manufacture more than 35,000 products that we make from around 10,000 – mostly natural – raw materials such as vanilla, citrus products and flower and plant materials. Nature is a source of inspiration and innovation for us. This is why we have worked from the beginning to protect biodiversity and the environment by applying a responsible sourcing strategy. It covers all steps in the supply chain and includes in particular the observance of human rights along with environmental issues.

We are also increasing our sustainability performance along the entire value chain. As part of this effort, we have been applying the principles of a circular economy for years and have integrated them into more and more processes. This approach enables us to eliminate waste and environmental pollution, circulate nonrenewable resources in cycles, sustainably obtain renewable resources and regenerate nature all at the same time.

One milestone in the sustainability concept we developed in 2020 is the goal of achieving greenhouse gas neutrality by 2030. From this point forward, the business activities of Symrise should help prevent or sequester more greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere than we produce in our operations.

Four pillars for greater sustainability

One key driver behind our integrated corporate strategy is the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We have formulated four pillars that define our commitment to sustainability:

These sustainability considerations flow into the decisions we make on all levels. They are also a key factor that is used to set remuneration paid to members of our Executive Board. Our strategy was endorsed in 2023 by a regular materiality analysis conducted during the year, interviews with experts, an online survey of employees and in-depth discussions with management. It turned out that the material topics have not changed significantly. Please see the Sustainability Record 2023 (GRI) for additional information on this materiality analysis.

We have to be successful in business to hit our sustainability targets. We focus on three pillars to do so: growth, efficiency and portfolio.

Growth

We plan to expand our market share by increasing sales on an above-average and organic basis by 5 % to 7 % (CAGR). To do so, we began to work early and intensely in rapidly growing emerging countries. We have been represented in Brazil since 1956, in China since 1982 and in India since 1994. We are also working to remain the innovation leader in our core areas of expertise, provide our broad line of products to our customers even more systematically and strengthen collaboration in the process. To underpin our growth strategy, we will invest about € 600 million in property, plants and equipment as well as in intangible fixed assets (excluding acquisitions) by 2025. These funds will flow into new facilities in the United States, Mexico, China, Spain and France as well as into expanded production facilities in Germany and Mexico, among other areas.

THE INTEGRATED CORPORATE STRATEGY OF SYMRISE

Sustainability along the value chain

Efficiency

We are increasing our efficiency in order to continuously be one of the most profitable companies in our industry. As part of this effort, we will improve internal processes in particular by bundling procurement Group-wide, optimizing our warehousing operation and receivables management and increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) in research and development. We are also optimizing our portfolio of raw materials by reducing the number of them that we use, improving the yield of strategic raw materials and expanding their backward integration. This work will also enable us to bolster our traceable, reliable and continuously high-quality supply operation. Backward integration will also enable us to perform longterm, socially responsible work in areas where such crops as vanilla, citrus fruit and patchouli are grown. We also increase our contribution to sustainability when we use natural raw materials more efficiently. This has a positive impact on our profitability and the environmental impact of our activities.

Portfolio

The third pillar of our integrated corporate strategy involves our portfolio, something that we continuously optimize. In this process, we analyze the needs and wishes of our customers and consumers around the world, search for products that we can use to achieve above-average margins thanks to our innovativeness and look for products that offer new growth potential for us. To achieve these goals, we became the first company in our industry years ago to venture into related business fields. One example: While the traditional flavor and fragrance markets are growing very solidly at an average of 3 % to 4 % per year, the pet food market, for example, is growing far more significantly. Today, we generate more than 30 % of our sales in these additional application areas. We aim to increase this proportion to 50 % over the next few years – for the benefit of growth and profitability. Our acquisitions are contributing to this growth as well.

Our integrated corporate strategy helps us grow dynamically, generate a high level of profitability and continuously improve our sustainability performance. This type of holistic thinking and acting is part of Symrise’s DNA. Chemists Wilhelm Haarmann and Ferdinand Tiemann from Holzminden discovered how to synthesize vanilla from the sap of conifers 150 years ago. Soon after, they helped to build the aroma and fragrance industry – worldwide. The Haarmann & Reimer company and later Dragoco, which became part of Symrise in 2003, stood for innovation, creativity and sustainable use of raw materials in many areas for decades. Symrise continues to travel down this path by providing our customers with a comprehensive value proposition, conserving resources and achieving long-term business success: We intend to become the global market leader in the areas of food, beverages and pet food as we do so.