Symrise reports stronger Q2 growth as food and beverage demand boosts performance
Symrise recorded accelerating second-quarter growth as demand strengthened across North America and Asia-Pacific, particularly in beverage, savoury and natural ingredient categories.
GERMANY – Symrise has reported a stronger performance in the second quarter of 2026, driven by rising demand across its food and beverage portfolio, as the ingredients manufacturer recorded higher sales growth and improved cash flow during the first half of the year.
The German flavours, fragrances and nutrition company generated first-half sales of €2.54 billion (US$2.9B) and recorded organic sales growth of 2.0%. Growth accelerated to 4.5% during the second quarter as demand improved across several key markets.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached €553 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 21.8%.
Symrise said profitable revenue growth and efficiency measures supported earnings performance despite investments related to its ONE SYM transformation programme and increased logistics costs associated with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Adjusted business free cash flow improved significantly, increasing by 450 basis points to €347 million and representing a margin of 13.7%.
The Taste, Nutrition and Health division delivered one of the strongest performances during the reporting period. The segment achieved organic growth of 3.2%, while sales totalled €1.53 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased to €375 million, and the margin improved slightly to 24.5%.
Meanwhile, the Scent and Care division reported stable organic sales. Revenue declined marginally to €1.01 billion from €1.03 billion in the corresponding period last year. Adjusted EBITDA reached €178 million, while the EBITDA margin stood at 17.7%.
The company highlighted particularly strong performances in North America and the Asia-Pacific region, where increased demand for savoury ingredients, natural products and beverage-focused sweetening solutions supported overall growth.
Dr Jean-Yves Parisot, chief executive officer of Symrise AG, said the company’s food and beverage business played a central role in driving second-quarter growth.
“We saw increasing momentum in the second quarter, driven by disciplined execution across our businesses and strong demand in Food & Beverage, Consumer Fragrance and Aroma Molecules,” he said.
Parisot also emphasised the company’s focus on natural ingredients as a long-term growth strategy.
“We will leverage our proven Naturals capabilities, built through the acquisition of Diana and successfully established in Food & Beverage, to further expand our offering in Fine Fragrance and create differentiated solutions for our customers,” he said.
As part of that strategy, Symrise announced plans to acquire Floral Concept, a premium natural ingredients producer based in France. The company said the acquisition would strengthen its position in the global market for natural fragrance ingredients.
Looking ahead, Symrise reaffirmed its full-year outlook, maintaining its forecast of between 2% and 4% organic sales growth while continuing to pursue its profitability targets through the ONE SYM transformation programme.
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