Verified mint for Symrise from cooperation partner Norwest Ingredients

Symrise can now offer its customers products with mint verified at Gold level of SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA). The close cooperation between Symrise and Norwest Ingredients and the mint farmers who supply them have made this achievement possible. Currently, verified mint accounts for one-third of supplied volume from Norwest Ingredients. Together with Norwest Ingredients and other partners, Symrise intends to expand this further and to systematically advance its sustainability approach along the entire supply chain.

Norwest Ingredients and the network of farmers successfully passed a comprehensive review process to obtain the mint verification. In line with the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) criteria, the farms work with proven sustainable practices in multiple areas, from water and energy management to soil health, biodiversity and working conditions.

This way, Symrise takes a further step in its commitment for sustainable agriculture together with suppliers and partners. They pursue one common goal – to consistently optimize the entire supply chain with initiatives aimed at driving better livelihood for farmers, reduced environmental impact and additional business opportunities.

Symrise pursues ambitious sustainability objectives

The verification of US peppermint and spearmint represents another milestone for the ambitious sustainability objectives of Symrise. By 2025, the Holzminden-based Group wants to obtain 100% of its strategic biological raw materials from sustainable sources.

“Together with Norwest Ingredients, we feel delighted about the verification of the peppermint and spearmint supply chain,” says Mark Birch, sustainability director business transformation group, Symrise. “At Symrise, we continuously work together with our regional partners to optimize our supply chains in a sustainable way. For us, sustainable commitment means demonstrating continuous improvement. This mint verification provides a further example that we are moving on the right path. Partnering with established initiatives like SAI Platform helps us continually improve ourselves.”

SAI platform is a leading network for sustainable agriculture and supply chains. The initiative, founded in 2002, comprises around 150 members around the world. Independent auditing bodies work with farmers to validate their compliance to the socio-environmental standards of the FSA. To renew their verification they undergo this procedure every three years using comprehensive evaluation criteria.

Opportunities for manufacturers to act sustainably

With verified mint, producers give a robust response to fulfill the growing requirements of consumers and make their ingredients more sustainable. Especially in oral care products, mint plays an important role due to its freshness and taste. Consumers want oral hygiene brands to provide sustainable products and transparent information about their origin and production. Recent surveys show that around a fifth of German consumers see sustainable production as one of the most important purchasing criteria for oral care products. The verified mint ingredients from Symrise meet this requirement.

“Consumers like mint a lot. That’s why it forms one of the most important ingredients for our oral care products,” says Nicholas Jon Evans, director - Global Business Development Oral Care, Symrise. “Our verified mint combines the consumer demand for freshness, hygiene and sustainability, and it offers manufacturers opportunities to bring innovative products to the market.”