Rolled out onto the market at the beginning of the month, the 12 different grapefruit flavours with varying profiles and solubility are sourced and processed from grapefruits brought in by the €96 million Frutarom group.
"We have taken advantage of our new HQ and Frutarom Industries know-how in grapefruit flavours," Susanne Fassler at Frutarom Switzerland told FoodNavigator.com.
Purchased last year for €20 million by Tel Aviv Stock Exchange-listed Frutarom Industries, the ex- Emil Flachsmann Swiss herbal extracts company will process grapefruits produced by the parent company and will initially push sales in Europe.
Innovation is key to increasing market share in the competitive global flavours market valued at $5.45 billion in 2001 by market researchers IAL Consultants. Frutarom Switzerland claims that the new production method - manufacturered at sites in Switzerland and Israel - for the grapefruit line keeps the top notes and preserves the flavour profile of the line.
Pitched principally at beverages, dairy, sweets, bakery goods and functional food applications, the company is pushing the line as 'fresh, juicy fruity, and invigorating?with 'a well-balanced peel note? According to Fassler, the raw materials are sourced from the US and Israel.
Driving forward growth in the past three years, Frutarom said at the time of purchase that Flachsmann's operations were synergistic with its two divisions: additive compounds for foodstuffs and raw materials. Flachsmann has also expanded its customer base, especially in Western Europe and among pharmaceutical firms and multinational foodstuff providers.
Pushing growth further, in 2003 the Israeli company built a food compound plant in Russia in 2003 at an initial investment of $21 million. At the time, company president and CEO Ori Yehudai said that Frutarom's sales in Russia were tipped to reach $10 million in 2003. The new plant in Russia manufactures food extracts and seasoning compounds.
In 2001, TASE-traded Frutarom, with a goal to reach $300m in sales turnover by 2005, purchased UK fragrance firm CPL Aromas.