FOOD & - Sensient Technologies

COVER STORYSensient: a natural take on colours and flavoursBased in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sensient Technologies Corporation is a leading globalmanufacturer and marketer of colours, flavours and fragrances. The company has agrowing emphasis on natural solutions. FoodBev Media Editor Hannah Oakman spokewith Sensient CEO Kenneth P Manning to find out moreSensient TechnologiesCorporation dates backto 1882 when it started outprimarily as a manufacturer ofgin in Milwaukee. This taughtthe company fermentationtechniques which enabled it toenter the yeast business whenprohibition was enacted in the1920s. It then expanded itsrange with cheese and frozenpotatoes products.When Kenneth Manning becameCEO in 1996, the company soldits commodities businesses ofbulk cheese, frozen potatoesand yeast and bought 21 newbusinesses which movedSensient into the future ofcolours, flavours and fragrances.Today, Sensient is a high-growth,international, technologyorientedbusinesses and aglobal solutions house inboth flavour and colour.Its move to international marketshas boosted sales rapidly. In1982, Sensient was present injust two countries – the US andCosta Rica. Today, it has 75facilities in 35 countries aroundthe globe. Employees are nowone third American and twothirds from overseas.Back in 1982, Sensient had 3,600employees with sales of around$500 million - today it hasslightly more employees (3,800)but sales have tripled to anexpected $1.5 billion in 2012.CEO Kenneth Manningexplained more:What is the company’s marketposition in colours, flavours andfragrances?Looking at both natural andsynthetic areas, we are thelargest global manufacturerof colour for food and beveragesand also for cosmetic colours.More than 50% of our coloursare natural and we havethe broadest product offeringof anybody in the industry.We believe natural coloursare the future of the colourbusiness.In the non-food and beveragearea, we are a big player inink-jet inks. We have a businessin the US which focuses ondesk-top printing but we see thereal growth in printing in Europe.Our industrial colours businessin Lausanne, Switzerland, is avery broad digital ink businessshowing dramatic growth. Itprints on everything from textilesto snowboards and there willbe more innovation to come.In flavours, we are certainly inthe top five global companies.We are focusing on savouryand dairy flavours, withSensient Flavors UK provingvery successful in marketingand export to Asia in particular.Sensient’s fragrance plant inGranada, Spain, is a leadingproducer of aroma chemicalsfor household and personalcare products worldwide.Are acquisitions still a priorityfor the business?Since 1997, I have made over20 acquisitions all over the world.Most recently we bought outour partners in cosmetic colourand ingredient businesses inBrazil and Poland. With the Brazilacquisition, in particular, we arewell positioned in the cosmeticmarket in Brazil, which is huge.CEO Kenneth P Manninghave some of the best extractiontechnologies for naturals as wellas the broadest portfolio. Weare in the process of qualifyingseveral new products in naturalcolours and arranging licensingagreements with companiesin Asia and central Europe.The focus, again, is on naturalcolours, cosmetic colours andindustrial inks.In terms of technology thelatest development is microfinepowders. These are the result ofa new, natural colour technologythat allows Sensient to deliver drycolour development, commonlyWhile we are interested inacquiring companies, we aremost keen to acquire newtechnologies and licences. Thisis where the real opportunities lie,especially in colour technology.What are the latestdevelopments in colour?Clearly, natural colours are theway of the future. We believe we© 2012 FoodBev Media Ltd. Reproduced with the permission of FoodBev Media – www.foodbev.com24 Food & Beverage International October 2012foodbev com

COVER STORYfound in synthetic pigments,in a natural colour powder.Incidentally, our customers arebuying shades, not colours, whenthey buy our natural colours.How do you account for thepopularity of natural colours?Health and wellness is a veryimportant concept, bothinternally in our industry and tothe market. Our preservativefreenatural colours alignwith consumer demandfor wholesome, clean labeldeclarations for food andbeverage products.Starting with an acquisition inGermany, we have grown ournatural colour technology sothat it is now available in the USwhere consumers also desirenatural products. Further growthmarkets include China, Polandand South Africa. Interestingly,we see substantial demand inEastern Europe. In the future, wewill see more and more demandfor both natural colours andflavours worldwide.How is the flavour businessdeveloping?There is high demand for naturalflavours for beverages andsavoury flavours for cookedfoods such as noodles and gravy.We have several savoury plantsin Europe which make savouryflavours from yeast extracts.We are also focusing ondairy flavours in yoghurt and,particularly, Greek yogurt whichis a current global trend.Do you focus on nutraceuticalproducts?Nutraceuticals are an importantand growing area of our businessand many nutraceutical productsuse our specialist botanicalextracts. These are frequentlyrich in anthocyanins. Our greentea extracts contain naturallyoccurring polyphenols.We are using products such asblack carrot, which is mainlygrown in Turkey but starting to beproduced in the Western US. Ithas an attractive anthocyanin inThe market has already seenmany products which incorporateenergy inducing characteristicssuch as North Africa, CentralEurope and the Balkans. Chinais still a potentially huge market.terms of the shade.as well as vitamin enrichmentWe will broaden our productand other additives to promoteHow do you view developmentportfolio with more uniquevarious enhancements. Sensientin the beverage sector over theproducts, particularly insees this trend continuingnext few years?natural colours. While thereand developing further into anwill always be a place forI see more vitamin-enriched array of ‘lifestyle’ beverages tosynthetic colours, particularlybeverages and more nutraceutical enhance health and well-being.in pharmaceuticals, we willdrinks in general. I believe we willWhat are your future objectives see more and more naturalsee an increase in the range offor Sensient?colours.still drinks over carbonated softdrinks. We have some very strongbrands in the US of flavoured andcoloured waters.We will certainly continue ourefforts to grow geographicallyand explore new marketsThis market is almost unlimitedand presents a vibrant industryfor the future.Powder plating with natural coloursWith the ongoing trendtowards natural ingredients,food and beveragemanufacturers want naturalcolours which providesolutions in multipleapplications and products.Sensient has developed amix beverages, compressedsweets and confectioneries, andpowdered food applications.Covering an extensive spectrum,the colours can be combined toproduce customised, bright andintense shades with enhancedstability features.yellow to orange shades andanthocyanins which providered and blue.new technology for naturalSensient has recently extendedalternatives to replacethe range with a new technologysynthetic colours.featuring starch-based products.Developed as a naturalThis includes curcumins withreplacement for synthetics,the powders offer a solution toproduct developers workingwith natural colours.Microfine powders are a majorevolution in natural coloursfor applications including dry© 2012 FoodBev Media Ltd. Reproduced with the permission of FoodBev Media – www.foodbev.comfoodbev comOctober 2012 www.foodbev.com25

Sensient Technologies Corporation777 East Wisconsin AvenueMilwaukee, WI 53202-5304www.sensient.com1-800-558-9892