Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan said: “It is a very exciting day for Givaudan as we welcome Albert Vieille into the Givaudan family. Their know-how, talent, and capabilities in natural ingredients will greatly contribute to our 2020 strategy.
“This acquisition supports us in further growing our leadership in the Naturals space while strengthening our presence in Grasse, France, the historic area for perfumery.”
While terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Albert Vieille’s business would have represented more than EUR 30 million of incremental sales to Givaudan’s results in 2018 on a proforma basis. Givaudan has funded the transaction from existing resources.
Naturals in fragrance
Creezy Courtoy, Founder and Chairman of The Perfume Foundation, a non-profit that describes itself as committed to increasing the positive awareness of issues related to the industry of perfume, recently spoke to Cosmetics Design Europe about the rising demand for naturals within the fragrance market.
“Natural perfumers are rediscovering the beneficial power of plants, they are learning the proper way of making of essential oils, while growing their healing gardens, or improving the way plants are cultivated,” she explained.
“They are using natural pest controls and returning to natural fragrance processes such as Enfleurage, and knowledge of distillation.”
Albert Vielle in the spotlight
Albert Vieille, now owned by Givaudan, has expertise in aromatic plants and specialises in 100% pure essential oils and speciality natural ingredients.
The natural ingredients are used for the formulation of perfumes and aromatherapy products.
With its origins dating back to 1920, and with more than 60 employees, Albert Vieille is based close to Grasse, in France, and has a manufacturing facility in Spain, with its products sold globally through a network of distributors.
They source their raw materials across the world, where fragrant crops are harvested and have developed over many years strong capabilities in natural ingredients sourcing and processing.
Maurizio Volpi, President of Givaudan’s Fragrance Division said: “Over the last years, we have taken several steps in strengthening our capabilities in naturals through targeted acquisitions and partnerships.
“Acquiring Albert Vieille is fully aligned with our ambition to vertically integrate our supply chain in natural ingredients.
“We will be able to further advance our knowledge and activities in innovation while producing beautiful perfumery iconic naturals for our customers’ brands.”