Symrise opens new production site in Madagascar

On October 13, 2014, Symrise opened an extraction facility for vanilla and is thus taking another important step in sustainable vanilla production in Madagascar. The investment at the Benavony site amounted to approximately EUR 3 million. With the plant, every step in the processing of vanilla can now be performed locally on the East African island for the first time.

Symrise is one of the most important suppliers of vanilla flavors in the world. The company has been active in Madagascar, where 80 % of the world’s vanilla is grown, since 2005. The newly constructed 3500 sqm facility offers production space for extraction, analysis, quality control and the proper storage of vanilla extracts. The site has a total of 36 ha of space. In the medium term, Symrise plans to process additional important raw materials here.

Symrise reinvests 10 % of its yields from vanilla operations into Madagascar in the form of education and training, reforestation and the sustainable cultivation of various agricultural raw materials on the island. Its cooperation partners include the German Society for International Cooperation and numerous NGOs. Symrise currently processes about 200 tons of vanilla locally each year, which represents roughly 10 % of the annual harvest in Madagascar. Symrise also opened a new fermentation and storage complex in the Madagascan city of Antalaha in February 2014.