Oterra to acquire Symrise’s natural food coloring activities

Symrise has received an offer from Chr Hansen Natural Colors, now known as Oterra, to acquire its natural food coloring activities. As the company has decided to focus the Flavor & Nutrition segment on its core business, it welcomes the offer. The acquisition by Oterra would affect around 80 employees of Diana Food in two production facilities located in France and the UK. In compliance with French legal requirements, the company presented the offer to the Labor Unions on 17th June 2021. Depending on the consent, Symrise expects the purchase agreement to be signed in the coming months.

“Symrise welcomes the offer from Oterra. It supports our goal to strengthen the focus of the Flavor & Nutrition segment on its core expertise in taste, nutrition and health in food, pet food and aqua feed application areas”, said Jean-Yves Parisot, president Flavor & Nutrition of Symrise. “For strategic reasons, it, therefore, makes a lot of sense for us to seek a partnership with a potential buyer and divest the food coloring business.”

The transaction would affect two production sites located in France and the UK:

The site in Cossé le Vivien in the northwest of France counts around 60 employees. It has a long history of red beet and carrot processing.

The site in Holbeach in the southern East Midlands of England employs 14 people and produces an extensive range of natural and synthetic colors for the food, beverage and related industries.

Oterra is the world’s leading supplier of natural colors, with the widest portfolio in the industry. Headquartered in Denmark, the company is an EQT portfolio company. Oterra is committed to helping their customers accelerate the transition from artificial coloring ingredients to more sustainable and natural ingredients.

Symrise will pay special attention to the conditions of this divestment in terms of a sustainable future for the business and the employees involved.