Nearly three years after International Flavors & Fragrances acquired Haifa-based Frutarom Industries in the second-largest acquisition in Israeli history, IFF is expanding its Israeli presence with the launch of Tastepoint Israel.
The move will leverage Frutarom’s production and distribution capabilities of flavor and fragrance extracts and expand its presence in Israel, Tastepoint Israel CEO Shimi Benodis said. The corporation intends to increase the volume of the company’s activity in Israel by about 30% and become IFF’s exclusive global production center for kosher products.
“IFF is pursuing a strategy of local service companies in different markets to cater to the local needs and tastes of customers,” Benodis said. “Different countries have different tastes, so each center is different. Israelis like strong tastes – foods with a lot of seasoning, often spicy foods, foods with a lot of passion in them.”
The move follows IFF’s $26.2 billion acquisition of DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences earlier this month, which solidified IFF’s place as one of the biggest players in the food-ingredients market. The acquisition gives IFF new development and innovation capabilities, as well as leading positions in the fields of food protection and food sciences.
Frutarom already sells its seasonings and flavor extracts to nearly every manufacturer in Israel’s food and beverage market, including foodtech start-ups and the largest producers, such as Osem and Tnuva, Benodis said.
Tastepoint Israel will augment that with “an end-to-end solution from concept to delivery” and an expanded portfolio of products that encompasses inclusions, colors, food protection and health ingredients, he said.
“Products that were sold under the Frutarom name last week will now be distributed under the Tastepoint name,” Benodis said.
Israel is the 10th country in which IFF is launching this model. As part of the plan, IFF will invest $5.5 million in developing a new facility, while closing factories in Haifa and Acre. The company now has four facilities in Israel.
IFF acquired Frutarom in 2018 for $7.1b., the second-highest purchase price ever for an Israeli company, after Intel’s $15.3b. purchase of Mobileye in 2017.
Frutarom was founded in Haifa in 1933 and is publicly traded on the Tel Aviv and London stock exchanges.