The joint venture, Shanghai Apple Aromatech Flavors Technology, will house a research and development laboratory of 200 scientists in Shanghai.
Benoît Martel, general manager at Aromatech, told FoodNavigator-Asia that the alliance combines the market-leading position and industrial performance of the Chinese company, Apple Flavor & Fragrance, with the technical expertise of Aromatech.
Win-win
“It is a win-win partnership,” Martel explained, one that will be able to create high-quality flavours for the sweet and savoury application food sectors as well as the beverage industry.
“It is important to keep the Chinese proximity, with the best service and business relationship provided to local customers,” he said, something the joint venture entity will offer.
Apple Flavor & Fragrance has a network of around 1,000 distributors and is recognised as the leading flavour company in China, and so specific objectives and visions for the Chinese market will be more easily achieved with their input, Martel noted.
Flavours for…
“Our target customers are the food and drink companies in China, mainly involved in the dairy and beverages industries,” he said.
However, he added that products will be developed for other application sectors such as confectionary, biscuits and prepared meals.
The Chinese market is also looking for international and “trendy tastes”, which is something that the combined expertise and high technological value bought by the joint venture can deliver, Martel said.
He relayed the quality control benefits of manufacturing to both European and Chinese standards, which would ensure, “quality and traceability”.
Natural and organic flavours will also feature in the JV’s portfolio.
The joint venture will target not only China’s domestic market but also Chinese companies exporting worldwide.