Givaudan targets SMEs with IMCD tie-up

Ingredients group Givaudan aims to make its flavour technology more accessible to small- and medium-sized food and drink businesses in Western Europe through a strategic tie-up with distributor IMCD.

The exclusive distribution agreement will see IMCD handle sales of Givaudan products in the Benelux countries, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

IMCD’s flavours sales team will be able to offer customers Givaudan’s range of flavour solutions and tap into the Swiss group’s application experience to help customers “solve taste, health and efficiency challenges”.

Fergus Johnson, IMCD’s director of food and nutrition, EMEA, said the agreement “brings together complementary expertise from both companies to give our customers an enhanced range of services and solutions”.

Accessing new customers

Bas Zecha, Givaudan’s marketing director for Western Europe, told FoodNavigator that while Givaudan already has a direct sales presence in these markets, the agreement will enable the flavours-to-fragrances giant to tap into demand from SME food and beverage companies.

“Givaudan already has a local presence in these countries working collaboratively alongside our customers in their marketplaces but this agreement will enable us to extend our reach to a new level of customers through IMCD’s extensive customer relationships,” Zecha explained.

“They have excellent relationships with a new and wider customer base for us, consisting of small to medium sized enterprises. Through IMCD’s dedicated flavour team, we will be able to add value and help these customers create inspiring products.”

Locally-relevant offering

Working together, Givaudan and IMCD have identified the products that will best meet the innovation needs of SMEs across these markets.

The product offering reflects a number of megatrends, such as demand for natural products and clean labelling, as well as local tastes and preferences, Zecha noted.

He continued: “The needs of the consumers and the industry keep evolving. As the market leader for flavours, Givaudan is at the forefront of providing customers with taste solutions to drive consumer preference and market success. We have a solid outlook on what's happening in the world with respect to food and beverages, going beyond identifying up-and-coming taste directions to enabling more natural and healthier products.

“Working together, teams from IMCD and Givaudan have identified the most successful and commercially competitive solutions to optimise product taste, efficiency and address health challenges while still delivering great taste. Customers can choose from a range of inspiring and regionally-relevant flavours and taste tools, including natural and clean-label solutions, which have been carefully selected to complement customers’ needs in each market.”

Partnerships ‘key’ to 2020 strategy

Relationships such as this new deal with IMCD are “key” to the Swiss flavour group’s 2020 strategy, Kevin Robinson, commercial head of Western Europe, added.

Givaudan aims to drive 4-5% organic sales growth annually through to 2020 by “growing with” its customers. This, the company said when it unveiled the strategy update in 2015, can be achieved providing integrated solutions in high growth markets and focusing on health and wellness.

Givaudan also aims to become “the partner of choice” for food innovators and suppliers. The company stressed it will concentrate on “nurturing true partnerships” with “key stakeholder groups”.

“This new relationship [with IMCD] supports two key pillars of our 2020 strategy; partnering for shared success and growing with our customers,” Robinson noted. “IMCD are an excellent partner for Givaudan. They are a good strategic fit as like us, they put the customer at the heart of what they do.”