Givaudan was founded as a perfumery company in 1895 in Lyon, France by
Léon and
Xavier Givaudan. In 1898, Givaudan moved to
Geneva, Switzerland and constructed a factory in
Vernier. In 1946, Givaudan opened a perfumery school, which trained a third of the world's creative perfumers. In 1948 the company acquired Ersolko SA, which transitioned Givaudan also into the flavor industry. Givaudan's original United States fragrance headquarters, in Teaneck, New Jersey, was built in 1972 from a design by Der Scutt, architect of the Trump Tower. The company later moved to
East Hanover, New Jersey.
Givaudan-Roure In 1991 Givaudan and Roure were merged to form Givaudan-Roure. Also in 1991, the company bought Fritzsche, Dodge and Olcott. In 1997 Givaudan-Roure acquired another flavor company, Tastemaker, based in
Cincinnati, Ohio. The merger made Givaudan the largest flavor company in the world. for which Nestle received a 10% stake in the company. The following year, Givaudan purchased the cheese flavor company IBF. On 22 November 2006, Givaudan announced the acquisition of
Quest International to be completed Q1 2007. On 21 February 2007, the EU approved the merger of Givaudan and Quest, clearing the final regulatory hurdle for the merger after the United States authorities approved the merger earlier in the month. The merger deal closed on 2 March 2007. The acquisition makes Givaudan the global leader in both fine fragrances and consumer products; it was already the global leader in flavors and the acquisition of Quest International strengthens their position. The acquisition of Quest boosted Givaudan's sales by 42% from CHF 2,909 million in 2006 to CHF 4,132 million in 2007. In 2013 Nestle sold its share in Givaudan for $1.3 billion. That year, the company had its first acquisition since Quest, purchasing Soliance. Givaudan also released the TasteSolutions Richness line of flavors. It also launched the Givaudan Foundation, and has a programme that works with patchouli and other grower collection networks to establish sustainable development practices, called the Innovative Naturals programme. Since 2014, Givaudan had acquired around 20 companies, among them Naturex, the cosmetics business of AMSilk, Albert Vieille, Fragrance Oils, and Golden Frog. In 2021, Givaudan acquired Louisville, Ky.-based dye and coloring manufacturer
D.D. Williamson. In 2022, Givaudan, the mechanical engineering company
Bühler, and
Migros wanted to open the Cultured Food Innovation Hub in Kemptthal. Research was also to be carried out there on
cultivated meat. On March 7, 2023, Givaudan confirmed that it was the target of an industry-wide investigation by European and Swiss authorities. Investigators were looking into a possible cartel in the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients. Companies face fines as much as 10% of their global turnover for violating EU antitrust rules. ==Givaudan and the environment==