After another impressive year of double-digit growth, Iberchem checks in for the Leaders & Newmakers issue to discuss other company strides, influencers for innovation and current forward-looking focuses.
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After another impressive year of double-digit growth, Iberchem checks in for the Leaders & Newmakers issue to discuss other company strides, influencers for innovation and current forward-looking focuses.
Iberchem SAU
Murcia, Spain
2023 Sales: €290 million
Could you share three key company highlights with us from the last 12 months?
José Balibrea: Iberchem has achieved another year of strong double-digit growth. The global fragrance company Iberchem, its fragrance house Parfex, and its flavors division Scentium have together achieved sales exceeding €290 million for the very first time. This was an increase of 17%, or 18% in constant currencies, and above industry average growth rates, driven by our strong positioning in fast-growing markets.
José Balibrea, managing director, Iberchemcourtesy of Iberchem
At the beginning of the year, we unveiled a new creative center in Indonesia to support our strong growth momentum in the country. Located in the western area of the capital, in the Tokopedia Tower, the center features sampling and application labs as well as testing cabins for personal care and home care products. The new hub, which spans over 900 square meters, is also home to a recently expanded team of fragrance technicians and specialists, complete with its own full-time specialist perfumer.
We also announced that a new site in China is set to be commissioned in 2025 and will feature laboratories, R&D facilities, offices, and manufacturing facilities. The expansion aligns with our “Made in China for China” initiative, which is also set to facilitate exports to other countries in the region. This investment reaffirms Iberchem’s deep-rooted commitment to China. It is set to triple our current manufacturing capacity.
Other relevant expansion projects are also taking place in France (Parfex), Spain, and Dubai, with the aim of increasing our R&D and production capabilities.
As regards our flavor division Scentium, we launched the expansion of our production facility at our headquarters in Spain, which is set to increase our global supply capacity by 80%. In addition, a new lab facility for sweets and beverages was inaugurated in our R&D center, which is based at our headquarters.
Robert Cabal, Fragrance director, Iberchemcourtesy of Iberchem
What are the major influencers for innovation in 2024 leading into 2025?
Robert Cabal [RC]: Sophistication through simplicity: Applying the less-is-more approach in fragrances, following the quiet beauty megatrend. This means using fewer ingredients in formulations, but optimizing and enhancing their performance, combining efficacy and sustainability through the creative expertise of our global team of perfumers.
Wellness: Once again, wellness remains a major macro trend, moving from “storytelling” to “story-doing” through the neuroscience of fragrance with a truly proven effect on consumer mood and well-being. Under this claim, this year we have launched our first mood-lifting collection of fragrances driven by our Wavemotion program.
Technology: New tech initiatives (i.e. Vita tool) and, critically, AI will continue to improve both fragrance product development and formulation, as well as consumer feedback into our creation process.
What are your main company focuses and/or goals for the next 12 months?
RC: We will continue to grow in our core product and customer and geographical areas. We will combine this with increased efforts on our premium fine fragrances market, as well as the functional fragrances market, supported by our new technologies. Recent launches include our biodegradable odor-neutralization technology, VernovaPurea, and our neuroscience program, Wavemotion, in which we are developing mood-enhancing fragrances across all product ranges.
We will continue to explore synergies with Croda to promote our Beauty Care Fragrances in Western and Eastern Europe. We will make use of our key success factors in emerging markets to establish relationships with third-party manufacturers in developed countries.
We will also expand our technical capabilities and platforms in fragrance release (with the microcapsules NeoCaps® and VernovaCaps®), malodor control, and neuroscience, and we will also increase our production capacity in China, Spain, Indonesia, and Colombia.
Jose Manuel Mateos, general manager, Scentiumcourtesy of Iberchem
What are the major influencers for innovation in 2024 leading into 2025?
Jose Manuel Mateos [JMM]: Helping our industrial customers on the African continent deal with the scarcity of basic raw materials. In certain business segments, shortages, quotas, or the soaring prices of basic ingredients are affecting our customer's output. For example, in industries where cocoa or sugar are vital ingredients but not available in enough quantities to fulfill the demand. Therefore, we aim to deliver flavor systems that can help in developing cocoa- or sugar-reduced final product recipes without compromising on aroma and taste.
Tackling flavor challenges in plant-based alternatives, responding to vegan trends. Technical challenges like improving the functionality and processability of butter, as well as mimicking its smell, taste, and mouthfeel, have been dealt with successfully. Today, a new generation of plant-based foods, such as meat and fish alternatives, is striving to improve its bite, texture, appearance, and consumer acceptance. As many studies reveal, perfecting taste and aroma is key to these products' success and consolidation. Our contribution to this endeavor is flavor- and masking- systems that can be adapted to different food matrixes, in collaboration with our customers.
Intelligent flavor release in processed food. We have found out that many food manufacturers would like their products to have a full and balanced taste all the time, just like in real food. Flavors often deliver significantly more up-front impact than is experienced in, for instance, a piece of fruit, chocolate, or cheese. Processed food with too much up-front impact may impact your taste buds but not your mind. In response, we are working together with some of our customers and partners on intelligent flavor release systems that mimic the full “rich” flavor experience that comes with naturally grown or home-prepared food.
What are your main company focuses and/or goals for the next 12 months?
JMM: We will continue to grow in our core product areas and increase customers in strategic countries. We will consolidate our presence in South Africa through our Johannesburg facility. And, last but not least, we will increase our flavor market share in China through our local facility and strengthen our commercial operations in Colombia and Mexico.
Operationally, we are completing our new lab facility for the sweet, savory, and beverages sectors, and also the expansion of our new production plant, both of them in Alhama de Murcia (our headquarters). We will also make major investments in the savory sector by increasing our R&D, application, and sales workforce.
Footnotes
aVernovaPure is a registered trademark of Iberchem
