Freddy Hirsch, Symrise Adopt Technology to Drive Innovation in Food and Beverage Industry in West Africa

The partners, Symrise and Freddy Hirsch Nigeria have committed themselves to jointly focus on local flavours in the food and beverage industry in West Africa. 

Together, the companies intend on boosting food innovation and nutrition in Africa with the development, launch, and commercialization of transformational food products. This specifically relates to general seasoning, bouillon meat, snacks, and instant noodles. To implement this, both companies have invested in research, development, and application laboratories and a manufacturing facility in Nigeria. The plant works with state-of-the-art quality management systems. Local experts develop flavors for various application areas, especially savory foods, sweet applications, and beverages tailored to the African market.

The Regional Food Economy in Africa represents the biggest employer in Africa. According to forecasts, they will reach $ 480 billion in 2030. Cumulated with the growing projected population of three billion by 2050, this presents a large market for food and nutrition globally. It provides an opportunity for industry players to deliver authentic regional and hyperlocal flavours and ingredients. At the same time, increasing challenges exist to guarantee food security, across the world and especially in Africa.

The partnership between Symrise and Freddy Hirsch Nigeria intends to address this situation. It will enable them to focus on boosting food innovation and nutrition in Africa by developing, launching, and commercializing transformational food products. Specifically, this relates to general seasoning, bouillon meat, snacks, and instant noodles.

The partnership combines the strengths of Symrise and Freddy Hirsch Nigeria. It enables them to deliver deeper access to valuable insights about Africa’s food industry, and platforms to innovate for the industry. By partnering, both companies intend to become local leaders in food innovation. The joint offering aims at bridging the gap between traditional ways of cooking and commercially viable products retaining the authentic African culture while adapting to current food requirements.

Sofiane Berrahmoune, sub Regional Director, Flavor, Africa Middle East at Symrise said: “Together, we have become stronger than ever. We have committed to co-create with Freddy Hirsch Nigeria, combining the best of our strengths and leveraging our strong global footprint with our winning local flexibility, market, and consumer understanding.”

In his comments, the Managing Director of Freddy Hirsch Nigeria, Kojo Brifo, said: “To achieve our vision of creating authentic African flavors and tastes, we have invested in a research, development, and application laboratory and a manufacturing facility with world-class quality management systems, in West Africa, Nigeria. Our partnership with Symrise AG provides an acceleration of flavor development across West Africa. it will increase the creativity of customized flavors, help our customers attain speed to market, and enhance their operational agility.”

Together, Symrise AG and Freddy Hirsch Nigeria have successfully positioned themselves as the leading contributors to the evolution of the food and beverage industry in West Africa and the Middle East.