The innovative products and solutions of Syensqo help enhance the way people around the world live life every day: how they work, travel, and spend leisure time. Inspired by the legacy of the Solvay Congresses, which brought together the greatest scientific minds to explore answers to the world’s biggest challenges, Syensqo strives to break new ground: addressing the critical needs of today and developing solutions for the future. We have recently conducted an exclusive interview with an official of the company.
We know that you offer food and beverage ingredients, flavors and fragrances and food packaging solutions, which is an excellent wealth for the manufacturing and supply chain. Can you detail a little bit what are your values in these services?
Syensqo (formerly part of the Solvay Group) is a global leader in synthetic and natural vanillin, which are well known as food ingredients and as raw materials for flavors and fragrances. We have a unique footprint, with three production units in three regions (i.e., the USA, France and China) and a robust business continuity plan that enables us to navigate potential uncertainties and turbulences. All the while, customers are supported by our responsive and professional customer service teams for both technical and commercial requests.
Efficiency & Simplicity: We offer improved costin-use so that customers have fewer references to manage across multiple applications, and this is thanks to the versatility of vanillin, which is well-suited to work across a range of applications and dosage requirements.
Partnership: We are a go-to partner for customers looking to address multifaceted challenges. From an innovation standpoint, we continue to expand our portfolio in line with trends (i.e., naturality, circularity, biobased and mass balance solutions). Sustainability is another differentiator when working with Syensqo. Customers turn to our sustainable solutions to support their own ambitious goals, including carbon footprint reduction, DEI commitments and ethical practices (e.g., responsible sourcing).
The customers are very much conscious about their health and environment. What can you say about the sensitivity of Solvay in these factors?
Sustainable development is at the heart of Syensqo (as it remains for the new Solvay), and our strategy is interlinked with our sustainability roadmap. In the business unit where we produce vanillin and other ingredients for the food market, our objective is to be carbon neutral by 2030 (for Scope 1 and 2 emissions). This involves a number of aspects, such as improving process energy efficiency and leveraging renewable energy sources, such as solar electricity and biogas, as well as biomass boilers.
And as for the sustainability of the ingredients we produce, a prime example is our Rhovanil® Natural CW, a natural vanillin, which was developed in response to consumer demand for natural ingredients. This product is a circular ingredient as its raw material comes from a by-product of the rice bran oil industry and, therefore, does not deplete the food chain for its production. Sysensqo recently expanded its industrial capacity in Europe, where most customers who are seeking an EU Natural flavor are located.
How was your experience at FiE 2023? Which solutions did you showcase for the first time and how are the feedbacks for your products from the industry professionals visited your stand at FiE?
We were thrilled to participate in FIE 2023 after a three-year gap due to the pandemic. It was great to reconnect with customers from all over the world, as well as distributors who are key partners in our sales network.
This year, our focus was on solutions for nutrition, as this is an important and growing trend across many food segments. In particular, we showcased an oat milk demo with an improved version, thanks to our Rhovanil® Natural CW.
During the last few years, the market for oat milk has grown – as has demand for other plant-based milk – for several reasons. First, oats are seen as more environmentally friendly than other plant-based milks. For example, almonds require six times more water to cultivate than oats. Oats also possess health benefits; they are allergen-free and have beta glucan, a good source of dietary fiber.
Flavor is also an important factor for the growth of oat milk. Oats have a neutral flavor and creamy texture, which is closer to dairy milk than other plant-based milks. The creaminess of oat milk makes it a good choice for the coffee creamer industry, and the addition of natural flavors such as vanillin can enhance the taste of oat milk and win over consumers.
What kind of changes did you observe in customer demands at FiE compared to previous years? We’re seeing customers show greater interest in innovation, and we’re seeing some crosscategory innovation; for example, our Rhovanil® Natural CW was successfully tested in meat-free sausage products.
Is there anything that you would like to particularly say to our readers about your company, operations, products or about the industry?
As the use of plant-based proteins is becoming mainstream in many food products, maintaining great taste with a clean label in a balanced formulation is not simple. Mainly known for its flavoring capacity, natural vanillin is the ideal solution to mask off-notes and bitterness. Collaborating with experts like Syensqo (formerly part of the Solvay Group) will optimize the balance and the flavor of formulations. Rhovanil® Natural is a key ingredient to mask offnotes and enhance flavors. The Syensqo team is ready to meet these challenges with you!
