German Symrise has invested in its location in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The company expanded the innovation centre, and with it, Symrise can develop creative solutions for fragrances, cosmetics, food and beverages.
The applications in the expansion are specifically tailored for the Indonesian market and can directly be presented to customers on site. Diana Food, the natural solution provider, is also using the facility to engage with customers in one location to extend its footprint in Indonesia.
Symrise invested a total of around €3 million in the innovation centre.
"With our expanded location in Jakarta, we are emphasising the importance of the Asian region for our company. Indonesia is already a key market today and will continue to be so in the future. Over the past ten years, we have more than doubled our sales and generated an annual growth rate of around 8%," says Dr Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise.
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. The proportion of middle-income groups is rising and purchasing power is steadily increasing. Accordingly, Symrise has significantly increased the innovation and laboratory capacities for taste, scent and care in the country.
The space for technologists in the Flavor division has more than doubled. In the new centre, they will extend the development of flavourings for the local market, for example, solutions for beverage applications, sweet goods, and savoury products. The results can be evaluated with the latest technologies as well. The team can also present final products to their customers directly on site.
"Consumers in Indonesia as well as Southeast Asia are increasingly looking for sustainable products and have a strong focus on their health and well-being," says Bertram. "At the same time, we have early on realised how important access to strategic raw materials is. Most of our products are based on natural raw materials. Many of them come from Indonesia, such as aromatic patchouli and cloves."
Patchouli, for example, is grown on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Symrise maintains sustainable partnerships with local farmers there. This gives the company direct access to sources of valuable raw materials. It also contributes to the effective protection of ecosystems and to the improvement of life in local communities.