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Symrise future-proofs natural ingredients supply chain with sustainable sourcing approach
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Monday, 09 September, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Germany
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Symrise has taken its secure sourcing approach to the next level. Complex climatic and geopolitical factors increasingly affect the production of agricultural raw materials and impact the availability and quality of food. The company anticipates and addresses these challenges to ensure secure supply of natural ingredients for its customers, leveraging its expertise in agronomy and sustainability.
As a key supplier of natural ingredients, it contributes to future-proofing the agro-food supply chain. It has designed its comprehensive programme of sustainable sourcing strategies, in face of global climate changes and the related availability of food crops, to ensure business continuity for its customers. To this end, the company applies a combination of measures to mitigate the many different types of risk.
For its programme, the Food & Beverage Naturals Agronomy team conducted a comprehensive long-term risk assessment, started in 2022. It analysed risks related to water, climate, access to labour and land, among others, for various types of fruit and vegetables, from mushroom to banana or strawberry, and prepared a forecast for the year 2030.
Barbara Malmezat, global purchasing and risk director at Symrise F&B Naturals, said, “This lays the foundation for imagining the future of sustainable agricultural landscapes, with both continuous improvements and disruptive innovations.”
Using this data, the agronomists were able to develop tangible strategies to mitigate the risks, thus defining the ‘secure sourcing, sustainably’ approach. The strategies can involve collaborating closely with partner farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture practices, using smart farming practices such as covering soil to sequester carbon, identifying drought-resistant varieties and more.
The ‘secure sourcing, sustainably’ programme is already showing promising results. For instance, in carrot cultivation. At a time when many farmers are shying away from growing carrots due to volatile fertiliser prices, the company supports them by helping them implement regenerative farming practices. Among other things, they are offered alternatives to synthetic inputs, leading to improvements in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water use efficiency. And the profitability risk for farmers is also reduced. These efforts directly benefit food and beverage manufacturers by ensuring a reliable supply of carrots, and a reduced carbon footprint. This leads to greater sustainability in the agricultural sector.
A look at global agricultural raw material production demonstrates the relevance of the programme. The sector faces significant challenges, including climate change, geopolitical tensions, growing populations, and regulatory requirements. At the same time, consumers are increasingly looking for sustainably produced food products with clearly labelled and natural ingredients. These factors are having an increasing impact on farmers and crops, as well as on the whole supply chain. The programme aims to support food and beverage manufacturers who face these challenges, secure supply, and satisfy consumer demand for popular products.
Working with a reliable partner can help turn future challenges into opportunities. It believes that players capable of mitigating future risks will offer manufacturers a secure supply and will also open opportunities in terms of market share and competitiveness, as well as brand image – and much more besides. “Symrise is making changes today to support its vision of a sustainable future,” concluded Malmezat.
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