SWITZERLAND – Evolva has entered a new collaboration agreement with American creator of taste, scent and nutrition for consumer products, International Flavors and Fragrancies (IFF) to further develop and expand commercialization of vanillin.
The new agreement builds on previous collaborations between the two companies, which dates back to nearly ten years ago.
Under the terms of the new agreement, IFF will expand commercialization of the product and the Swiss biotech company, Evolva, will be responsible to further develop vanillin.
Vanillin is an ingredient extracted from vanilla, a complex blend of flavor and fragrance ingredients harvested from the seed pods of the vanilla orchid. Vanillin is the most important ingredient in this blend.
However, because of bottlenecks in nature, most products that want to impart the aroma of vanilla do not in fact use vanilla but rather synthetic vanillin (85% of all vanillin consumed worldwide) made primarily from petrochemicals or chemically derived from lignin.
Leveraging its investments on research, development and commercialization of products based on nature, Evolva says that it has significantly expanded its capability to develop and optimize the ingredient and shorten time to commercial-scale production.
“We are pleased to continue to provide technology services to IFF. Partners can count on our high-quality, tailored services, and extensive experience in this area” said Oliver Walker, Evolva’s CEO.
“We regard the agreement with Evolva as an example of our continued commitment to support the increasing consumer attention to health and the environment” added Matthias Haeni, Divisional CEO, Taste, for IFF.
According to a statement released by the companies, Evolva will receive payments for the product manufactured and sold, contributing to reach cash break-even by 2023.
Evolva already ranks among the global leading producers of vanillin in a market that is expected to reach US$724.5 million by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research.
The food and beverage industry still counts as the largest end-use sector of the ingredient and the demand in this sector expected to continue growing beyond other applications such as in the pharmaceutical industry
Rising consumer awareness about the potential effects of artificial food ingredients has led to an increase in demand for natural vanillin, particularly in developed countries.
