Givaudan 2025 Flavor Leaders & Newsmakers

In 2024, Givaudan delivered strong financial performance through the application of its core strategy of fostering growth alongside customers using tailored, high-value solutions.

Geneva, Switzerland

2024 Sales: CHF 7.4 billion

Sales Performance

Full year Group sales were CHF 7,412 million, an increase of 12.3% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis and 7.2% in Swiss francs when compared to 2023. GivaudanGilles Andrier, Chief Executive OfficerCourtesy of Givaudan achieved robust growth across all customer groups, product segments and geographies, with the high-growth markets expanding at 19.5% on a LFL basis and the mature markets at 6.4% LFL. The company posted a record free cash flow of CHF 1,158 million, or 15.6% of sales, an increase of 25.9%.

Sales in Taste & Wellbeing were CHF 3,752 million, an increase of 10.7% on a LFL basis and 4.1% in Swiss francs, against a comparable growth of 1.1% LFL in 2023. Within the product segments, there was strong double-digit growth in snacks, beverages and dairy, as well as solid momentum in sweet goods and savory. “The sequential improvement in Taste & Wellbeing performance throughout the year highlights the company’s resilience and ability to adapt to market dynamics,” Chief Executive Officer Gilles Andrier said.

“These numbers reflect positively on our strategic choice to expand the portfolio to more naturals, but also to health and wellbeing, which today make up a very significant part of our portfolio,” Andrier said. “These unique solutions drive growth beyond traditional flavors, while enabling us to outperform the market.”

At the end of 2024, Givaudan had:

 

• Over 16,900 employees
• 162 locations in more than 50 countries
• 62 creation and research centers

 

New Leadership for Taste & Wellbeing

As announced in January, Antoine Khalil took over as President Taste & Wellbeing on 1 April 2025.

With over 21 years of experience at Givaudan, Antoine Khalil has held various roles at the company since starting in Paris in 2004. In 2017, Antoine joined Taste & Wellbeing as Regional Head Africa & Middle East, and later for SAMEA before becoming Commercial Head for T&W North America in October 2023. 

“We are proud to have another internally grown talent joining the Executive Committee,” Andrier said.  “Antoine has 21 years of commercial leadership with Givaudan. He has gathered profound expertise across both our businesses, our customers and regions, and has been successful at every step of his journey."

Khalil succeeds Louie D’Amico, who is retiring after over 35 years at Givaudan, making significant contributions to the company’s growth. D’Amico was elected as a new Givaudan Board member and will take office effective 1 October 2025. 

Responding to consumer trends

Consumer preferences have shifted significantly, driven by a growing interest in health, wellness, and unique flavor experiences. 

Increased awareness about the microbiome means consumers are expecting to see gut benefits in both foods and supplements. With 90% of Americans notAntoine Khalil, President Taste & WellbeingCourtesy of Givaudan meeting fiber intake recommendations¹, we are prioritizing the development of fiber ingredients to satisfy these demands. We recently signed an agreement to distribute ArrabinaTM, a gluten-free wheat fiber extract², which offers a unique mix of prebiotics with a microbiome-modulating effect³ and exceptional tolerability⁴. We are also collaborating with Dole to distribute Green Banana Powder, which offers a clean label texture and mouthfeel solution while adding fiber and nutritional appeal to products. Both of these new ingredients are upcycled, produced using crop side-streams and discarded fruit, which require no new crop acreage. 

We are further strengthening our portfolio of branded ingredients backed by science with the release of new clinical research confirming the benefits of Pacran®, our whole cranberry ingredient for urinary health. We also recently launched a new clean-label lemon balm ingredient that has been shown to support mental performance during stressful times.

Evolving with markets and regulations

Givaudan is committed to developing innovative solutions that enhance food experiences in line with consumer expectations and changing worldwide regulations. 

Working with our customers, we are able to reduce undesirable ingredients like sugar, salt or fat, in recipes without compromising taste. Using tools such as ATOM® (Advanced Tools for Modelling), which employ state-of-the-art AI to optimize food and flavor formulation, along with our extensive portfolio of flavors and masking technologies, we are able to reimagine the taste experience while improving the nutritional profile. 

Meanwhile, our Sense Colour business is exploring new natural color sources and further optimizing existing sources to provide vibrant natural colors that perform well in application. These include multiple options for replacing Red 3 as well as a new acid-stable blue from Galdiera, which is going through the color approval process with the FDA.

Innovating for food systems transformation

Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing is transforming food systems through innovation and collaboration, emphasizing sustainability and resilience in the food supply chain in response to climate change.

Fermentation is one such example. By cultivating microbial cells in tanks, fermentation allows for rapid and safe production, achievable in just a few days, regardless of location. This method not only centralizes food production but also mitigates contamination risks, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces the need for agricultural land. Givaudan is collaborating with start-ups to drive advancements in biomass fermentation through its research and development centers. This includes the recent launch of the Cultured Hub, a partnership with Migros and Bühler Group, which aims to speed up the development and market entry of cellular agriculture products.

We are working diligently to ensure supply chains by using upcycled ingredients, implementing responsible agricultural practices that favor soil health and crop resilience, and developing alternatives for at-risk food supplies such as cocoa, tomato powder and citrus oil. Givaudan has been a pioneer in this area, beginning with our SunThesis® range of citrus oil replacers. Made from readily available, cost-conscious natural materials, SunThesis® helps our customers to mitigate supply chain risk, stabilize costs and delight consumers.

Anticipating demand with new facilities

Recent expansions in several regions have enhanced our local presence, brought production closer to customers and contributed to local economic development. These initiatives strengthen our ability to meet growing consumer demand and support our strategic goals. 

Reinforcing our commitment to Southeast Asia, we broke ground on a new state-of-the-art production facility in Cikarang, Indonesia. The new site will span 24,000 square meters and focus on producing a wide range of savory, sweet and snack powders, as well as infant nutrition solutions. To minimize environmental impact, the facility uses solar power, recycled water systems, enhanced natural and LED lighting with sensors, electricity from certified green energy partners and rainwater harvesting systems. 

We are also continuing to grow our presence in North America. At the end of 2024, we confirmed plans to build a 100,000-square-foot liquid compounding facility in Reading, Ohio, near our US headquarters in Cincinnati. Operations are set to begin in 2027. In addition, we collaborated with Bühler to inaugurate a state-of-the-art extrusion hub at the MISTA Innovation Centre in San Francisco. The new facility advances MISTA’s capabilities in driving food innovation and highlights our commitment to supporting food systems transformation. 

At the end of 2024, Givaudan had:

 

• A procurement spend of over CHF 4 bn
• Over 2,800 raw material suppliers in more than 100 countries
• 15,400 additional global partners supplying indirect materials and services

 

Augmenting co-creation through technology and AI

Givaudan is enhancing co-creation processes through advanced technologies and artificial intelligence to gather consumer insights and optimize product development. 

Earlier this year we launched MyRomi™, a handheld aroma delivery and blending device that can be used to co-create concepts and gain consumer insights. Controlled with a smartphone, MyRomi™ allows users to explore, experience and provide feedback on flavors from anywhere.

Meanwhile, our proprietary Customer Foresight platform combines human expertise, big data, and AI to anticipate consumer expectations and industry shifts. Launched in 2023, we have put this futurescaping platform to work with the recent release of a report on Hydration & Refreshment. The report makes insights from the platform come to life by imagining possible future scenarios and avatars. 

These initiatives are designed to strengthen our position as the co-creation partner of choice to our customers, supporting them throughout the process with the latest tools and expertise.

References

1. Miketinas, D. et al. (2023). Usual dietary fibre intake according to diabetes status in USA adults – NHANES 2013–2018. British Journal of Nutrition, 1–9.

2. Gluten-free wheat fiber extract refers to wheat that has been processed to allow this food to meet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for gluten-free foods.

3. Ex vivo model of intestinal fermentation, Cryptobiotix study, data on file (2024)

4. Chen O et al., The Effect of Arabinoxylan on Gastrointestinal Tolerance in Generally Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study. Curr Dev Nutr. 2021 Jun 7;5(Suppl 2):304.