Evolva and IFF announce new vanillin collaboration

Swiss biotech company, Evolva, and the International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), US-based creator of taste, scent and nutrition for consumer products, will further develop and expand commercialisation of vanillin.

These companies which have been working together since 2011, announced a new agreement in March 2020, whereby IFF will expand commercialisation of the product, and Evolva will further develop vanillin. Evolva will receive payments for the product manufactured and sold, contributing to reach cash break-even by 2023.

“We regard the agreement with Evolva as an example of our continued commitment to support the increasing consumer attention to health and the environment,” said Matthias Haeni, Divisional CEO, Taste, for IFF.

Evolva has significantly invested in the capability to develop and optimise its ingredients and shorten time to commercial-scale production.

“We are pleased to continue to provide technology services to IFF. Partners can count on our high-quality, tailored services, and extensive experience in this area,” said Oliver Walker, Evolva’s CEO.

The vanillin market

Vanillin is the aromatic compound of the extract of vanilla beans, yet it can be developed without vanilla beans as well.

In February 2020, Grand View Research came out with the report, How the Vanillin Market is Pervading the Globe, and explains the factors driving demand for vanillin in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.

The food and beverage industry uses vanillin extensively, with the ice cream and chocolate industries covering a big chunk of the market.

Vanillin is used as an intermediate or as an inactive excipient during manufacturing of drugs and medicines, and as so pharmaceutical application is likely to be the one of the fastest growing segments, according to Grand View Research. The firm also said that vanillin is used in tablet masking, minimising bitter taste in medicines, and oral medicine processing, topical medicated lotions and other pharmaceutical products use it as an excipient.