Symrise makes key investment in Bonumose sugar alternative business

A key strategic investment has been made by Symrise flavour and fragrance group in agreeing a minority investment stake in sugar-alternative manufacturer, Bonumose, amid major growth in better-for-you product ranges, writes Neill Barston.

The early stage US-based food ingredient manufacturer specialises in the affordable production of rare monosaccharides (alternatives to sucrose) such as tagatose and allulose.

As Symrise noted, the move to acquire a stake in the Charlottsville company will accelerate growth in its sugar reduction initiatives. The area represents a high-priority focus for the North America region within the Taste, Nutrition & Health segment.

“This exciting investment forges a strategic partnership. It will enhance our flavour and taste balancing technologies with Bonumose’s innovative and economical tagatose and other alternative sweetening solutions. Combining our technologies, will enable us to offer our customers new pathways to sugar reduction and taste balancing solutions. In turn, this will allow them to reduce sugar while optimising the taste of better-for-you products for their consumers.

“This applies especially in the beverage and ice-cream categories. Health forms a growing focus category for Symrise. With the support of Bonumose’s enzymatic expertise, we can bring novel and disrupting ingredients to the marketplace together”, said Nick Russell, Senior Vice President – Business Incubation Group, Symrise AG.

Notably, Bonumose, which was founded in 2016,  opened a new R&D facility and manufacturing plant earlier this year. The facility allows for quality, consistent, and economic production of their growing portfolio of sugar alternatives.

As the company noted, it has enjoyed continued strong fortunes due to the performance of its patented enzymatic technology. This allows for the sustainable bulk production of healthy ingredients from globally-abundant plant material.

Ed Rogers, Bonumose Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, said: “We feel enthusiastic about the future and the growth that the investment and partnership with Symrise enables. Now, we are coupling our expertise in tagatose and other naturally-occurring sugar alternatives with the extensive Symrise flavor proficiency and expansive portfolio across multiple platforms in both human food and animal nutrition. This creates the opportunity to offer unique value to customers. The strength of Symrise as an augmented flavour house paired with Bonumose’s patented enzymatic technology will enable cutting edge solutions to sugar reduction.”