A flavoring, also known as flavor or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gustatory and olfactory systems. Along with additives, other components like sugars determine the taste of food.
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. The 1939 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Leopold Ružička stated in 1945 that "right from the earliest days of scientific chemistry up to the present time, perfumes have substantially contributed to the development of organic chemistry as regards methods, systematic classification, and theory."
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell. The dry style, a paler drink with a much milder ginger flavour, was created by Canadian John McLaughlin.
Firmenich SA was a Swiss company in the fragrance and flavor business. The company has created perfumes for over 125 years and produced a number of well-known flavors. Founded in 1895, it merged in May 2023 with the Dutch company DSM to form dsm-firmenich.
Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges.
Givaudan is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of flavours, fragrances and active cosmetic ingredients. As of 2008, it is the world's largest company in the flavour and fragrance industries.
International Flavors & Fragrances is an American corporation that produces flavors, fragrances, and cosmetic actives, which it markets globally. It is headquartered in New York City and has creative, sales, and manufacturing facilities in 44 different countries. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index.
Symrise AG is a German chemicals company that is a major producer of flavours and fragrances with sales of €4.618 billion in 2022. Major competitors include Givaudan, Takasago International Corporation, International Flavors and Fragrances and Döhler. Symrise is a member of the European Flavour Association. In 2021, Symrise was ranked 4th by FoodTalks' Global Top 50 Food Flavours and Fragrances Companies list.
Quest International was a major producer of flavors, fragrances and food ingredients with sales of £560 million in 2005 before its acquisition by rival Givaudan. Quest created and marketed flavours and fragrance concepts and solutions for the fast-moving consumer goods industries. With operations in 31 countries, Quest made ingredients for foods, snacks, beverages, personal care, fine fragrances, and home hygiene products.
A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a nose due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist who is trained in depth on the concepts of fragrance aesthetics and who is capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with compositions. At the most rudimentary level, a perfumer must have a keen knowledge of a large variety of fragrance ingredients and their smells, and be able to distinguish each one alone or in combination with others. They must also know how each reveals itself over time. The job of the perfumer is very similar to that of flavourists, who compose smells and flavourants for commercial food products.
Frutarom Industries Ltd. is an Israeli-based company that specializes in the production and distribution of extracts for flavor and fragrance. In 2015 it had sales of over $872 million.
Takasago International Corporation is a major international producer of flavours and fragrances headquartered in Japan, with presence in 27 countries and regions worldwide. Takasago ranked 8th overall and 1st in Asia on the Global Top Food Flavours and Fragrances Companies list published by FoodTalks in 2021.
Sensient Technologies is a global manufacturer and marketer of colors, flavors and fragrances based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their products are used in many foods and beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, home and personal care products, specialty printing and imaging products, computer imaging and industrial colors. Sensient reported revenue of $1,468 million in 2013. Subdivisions include the Sensient Flavors & Fragrances Group and the Sensient Color Group. Within the Flavors & Fragrances Group is Sensient Natural Ingredients. In 2021, Sensient was ranked 10th on the Global Top 50 Food Flavors and Fragrances Companies list.
MANE is a major producer of flavours and fragrances with sales of €1,5 billion 2021. MANE was placed 7th on FoodTalks' Global Top 50 Food Flavours and Fragrances Companies list in 2021.
Headspace technology is a technique developed in the 1980s to elucidate the odor compounds present in the air surrounding various objects. Usually the objects of interest are odoriferous objects such as plants, flowers and foods. Similar techniques are also used to analyze the interesting scents of locations and environments such as tea shops and saw mills. After the data is analyzed, the scents can then be recreated by a perfumer.
Bell Flavors & Fragrances is an American multinational manufacturer of flavors; fragrances; botanicals and ingredients. Bell is privately held by the Heinz family. Bell Flavors & Fragrances was founded in 1912, as the William M. Bell Company in Chicago, Illinois. The founder had previously been a flavor chemist with Kraft Foods in their confectionery and caramel division. In the early years, Bell sold his flavors to local shops and candy companies.
TheInternational Fragrance Association (IFRA) is the global representative body of the fragrance industry. It seeks to represent the collective interests of the industry and promote the safe use of fragrances through regulation.
European Flavour Association (EFFA) is a non-profit European-level trade association of the flavor industry, based in Brussels, Belgium. Founded in 1961, the organisation originally focused on both flavours and fragrances, but has focused solely on flavours since 2006. Its members include 12 national and 10 direct member companies.
Anne-Marie Saget is a French perfumer. She is an influential creator and leading authority on aromatic raw materials of natural origin. She began her career at Guerlain, working alongside Jean-Paul Guerlain with whom she created classic perfumes including Nahema (1979), Derby (1985) and Samsara (1989). Her subsequent work at Mane SA and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) saw her specialize in the trade of natural materials. She later sourced rare perfumery, cosmetic and aroma-therapeutic ingredients from the Himalayas and Southeast Asia, assisting communities there to ensure fair trade, sustainable development and geographic protectionism.
