Symrise Wins Fi Europe Excellence Awards

The Fi Europe Excellence Awards were presented during a ceremony on Nov. 19, and Symrise received the prize in the category of Sustainability Initiative of the Year, which recognized the company's sustainable vanilla commitment in Madagascar.

“We are very happy that our sustainable vanilla project was selected as winner of the Fi Europe Excellence Awards in the category of Sustainable Initiative of the Year,” said Heinrich Schaper, president F&N EAME at Symrise. “We feel especially honored to receive this distinction in a year that marks the ten-year anniversary of Symrise.”

Symrise had already won a sustainability award in 2012 for its vanilla activities in Madagascar. Since then, the company’s initiative there has been developed significantly. Symrise is now working with more than 5,000 farmers and the diversification of the local agriculture is being promoted (by planting vetiver, for example). With the cultivation of sustainable vanilla, the farmers obtain a stable livelihood and better living conditions. Symrise also supports school projects in the communities and health insurance coverage.

In turn, Symrise obtains secure access to vanilla and the employees live and work locally and help the farmers to cultivate the highest quality of vanilla. Symrise keeps the important processing stages like fermentation and extraction in the country, and thereby contributes to the local creation of value.  

“With our vanilla project, we have created something special and are happy that the industry agrees,” added Schaper. “We promise to continue developing this approach for authentic flavor in many other areas.”