Just as 2017 saw unprecedented growth in the demand for natural, it, unfortunately, saw a drastic year of volatility in raw materials. Hurricanes, floods, cyclones and other natural disasters impacted various flavor and fragrance crops. In Madagascar in particular, cyclones stirred up record-high vanilla prices. To address these concerns, Firmenich introduced a range of sustainable and cost-effective natural vanilla solutions, utilizing its partnership with the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative (SVI) and including Uganda, Indonesia and India as alternative vanilla sources. Additionally, the company invested in a sustainable large-scale vanilla farming model through the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming (Livelihoods 3F), which aims to improve the lives of over 3,000 vanilla farmers.
![Donaire warns, '[T]he Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability which is part of the Green Deal, is inflicting very serious unintended collateral damages on essential oils, threatening the very existence of many.'](https://img.perfumerflavorist.com/files/base/allured/all/image/2023/05/20140705_173155.646b80a2d300b.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=191&q=70&w=340)
