Fragrance & flavor

The "Silicon Valley" of smells and tastes

Geneva is an international center of excellence for fragrance and flavour. A cradle for two of the  industry's world players, the canton also hosts countless innovative start-ups.

Whatever your favorite perfume or the taste of your processed food product, it is more than likely to have derived from local laboratories. Geneva's companies generate nearly a third of the estimated global market, between 26 and 32 billion Swiss francs. Givaudan and Firmenich, the masters of a Genevan know-how exported across the globe, are respectively number one and two worldwide.

 

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These companies benefit from the strategic location of the canton and its natural, outward-looking focus on the international. Their unqualified success is also down to the commitment and character of the local workforce, as well as the innovative character of the region.

The main R&D center in the world

Firmenich has recently invested 120 million Swiss francs in the construction of its 'Campus of Excellence' in Meyrin, the company's global headquarters. This will eventually also become the company's main research and development center. In total, the group has nearly 2,000 employees.

The recent arrival of American group Coty, the world's third largest beauty company, is a further demonstration of the Geneva region's appeal for this industry. The global headquarters for its 'Professional Beauty Division' has been set up here, along with its international fragrance research and development center.

12

share of Geneva's exports from the flavour and fragrance sector.

400

number of highly skilled companies in the chemical industry of the Geneva region.

 

Thanks to an incredible ecosystem and our partnerships with Firmenich and Givaudan which, together, make up a third of the scented oils industry, we are able to conduct extensive research before and after the creation of our fragrances. We also collaborate a lot with local SMEs, and the excellent universities in the region allow us to conduct extensive research, particularly in perfume chemistry.

Sumit Bhasin, Senior Vice-Président Luxury R&D, Coty

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