- Business
- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF; NYSE: IFFT) manufactures and markets flavors, fragrances, and specialty ingredients for the food and beverage, health and biosciences, home and personal care, and scent industries worldwide. Founded in 1958 through the merger of Polak & Schwarz and van Ameringen-Haebler, the company is headquartered in New York City and operates approximately 110 manufacturing facilities, 100 R&D centers, and creative, sales, and production sites across 65 countries, serving more than 33,000 customers with around 22,000 employees. Its core offerings span the Nourish segment, providing flavor compounds, savory solutions including marinades and seasonings, natural colors, functional ingredients, texturants, plant-based proteins, emulsions, and natural food protection products such as antioxidants and antimicrobials for beverages, sweets, dairy, snacks, and baked goods; the Scent segment, delivering fragrance compounds for fine fragrances like perfumes and colognes as well as consumer products, fragrance ingredients comprising synthetic and natural materials, and cosmetic active ingredients including botanicals and delivery systems for personal care, hair care, fabric care, and home care; and the Health & Biosciences segment, producing probiotics, enzymes, food cultures, plant-based proteins, microbiome solutions, and specialty ingredients for health and wellness, animal nutrition, home and personal care, and grain processing applications. IFF targets manufacturers of processed foods, beverages, dietary supplements, perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, detergents, cleaning products, and pharmaceutical excipients, with over 75% of sales generated outside the United States including significant exposure to emerging markets. Recent strategic changes include the May 2025 completion of its $2.85 billion divestiture of the Pharma Solutions business—producing cellulosic and seaweed-based pharmaceutical excipients—to Roquette Frères, enabling a sharper focus on core high-growth segments, debt reduction to a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 3.0x, and renewed pursuit of bolt-on acquisitions; the sale of a multipurpose production site in Thomson, Illinois, to Jungbunzlauer in September 2025; an August 2025 bioprospecting partnership with Reservas Votorantim in Brazil to leverage biodiversity for innovation; and ongoing portfolio optimization following prior transactions such as the 2022 divestiture of the Savory Solutions Group and integration from the 2021 DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences merger.