IN Brief:
- Givaudan's Taste & Wellbeing division recorded CHF2.74 billion in sales for the first nine months of 2026, up 1.5% like for like.
- Third-quarter like-for-like growth improved to 3.5%, compared with 0.5% in the first half.
- Asia Pacific led regional growth at 7.1%, while North American sales declined 3.3% on a like-for-like basis.
Givaudan has reported an improvement in sales growth across its Taste & Wellbeing division, with third-quarter performance strengthening after a subdued first half of 2026.
The Swiss flavour and ingredients group’s nine-month trading statement shows Taste & Wellbeing sales of CHF2.74 billion, representing growth of 1.5% on a like-for-like basis. Reported sales in Swiss francs declined by 2.8% compared with the equivalent period in 2025, principally reflecting adverse currency movements rather than a corresponding contraction in underlying trading activity.
During the third quarter, Taste & Wellbeing generated CHF952 million in sales, an increase of 3.5% like for like and 4.5% in reported Swiss francs. The underlying growth rate compares with 0.5% during the first half of the year and 2.1% in the third quarter of 2025, indicating that sales momentum improved as the year progressed.
Christian Stammkoetter, chief executive of Givaudan, said the company’s results reflected accelerating sales growth across the group, with Taste & Wellbeing improving sequentially while Fragrance & Beauty maintained stronger momentum. He also acknowledged continued geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges affecting customer markets.
The recovery in the food-related division was uneven between regions. Asia Pacific delivered the strongest nine-month performance, with like-for-like growth of 7.1%, reversing a 0.5% decline in the comparable period last year. South Asia, Africa and the Middle East recorded growth of 4.1%, while Europe increased by 1.5% and Latin America by 1.1%.
North America remained the principal weak point, with like-for-like Taste & Wellbeing sales declining by 3.3% over the first nine months. Givaudan identified continued weakness in its Health and Functional business, alongside tariff-related refunds to customers during the third quarter, as factors affecting the regional result.
Those customer refunds complicate comparisons because the sales figures reflect both prevailing demand and adjustments associated with trading arrangements. Givaudan has not broken out the separate financial effect of the refunds or provided a quarterly North American growth figure for Taste & Wellbeing in its headline regional tables.
The regional figures also show a substantial change from the previous year. North American Taste & Wellbeing sales had grown by 3.9% like for like in the first nine months of 2025, while Europe’s growth rate was 3.8%. Asia Pacific has moved in the opposite direction, recovering from negative growth to become the division’s strongest regional market.
Givaudan’s food-related operations supply flavours and other ingredients used across manufactured food and beverage categories. The company has not published a detailed breakdown of the latest sales performance by individual food category or manufacturing application, leaving the relative contributions of different customer segments undisclosed.
Pricing also forms part of the trading picture. Givaudan said it had implemented price increases with customers to compensate for higher input costs in 2026, continuing its established approach of addressing raw material inflation through commercial agreements. Reported sales growth therefore cannot be treated as a direct measurement of increased ingredient volumes.
The distinction between reported and like-for-like figures is especially pronounced in Taste & Wellbeing. Currency translation reduced the division’s nine-month sales growth by approximately 4.3 percentage points, while the net impact of acquisitions and disposals was effectively zero. On a comparable currency basis, the business expanded, even though reported revenue declined from CHF2.82 billion to CHF2.74 billion.
Currency effects were different during the third quarter itself. Taste & Wellbeing sales increased by 4.5% in Swiss francs, compared with 3.5% like for like, with currency translation adding approximately one percentage point. The change reinforces the need to distinguish the three-month performance from the nine-month reporting period.
The food-related division continued to grow more slowly than Givaudan’s Fragrance & Beauty business. That operation delivered 8.8% like-for-like growth over nine months and 13.5% during the third quarter, generating CHF3.15 billion in sales between January and September.
Across the group, Givaudan recorded CHF5.89 billion in nine-month revenue, up 5.2% like for like and 2.6% in reported Swiss francs. The stronger Fragrance & Beauty performance accounts for much of the difference between group growth and the slower improvement in Taste & Wellbeing.
High-growth markets increased by 7.9% across Givaudan’s operations, compared with 2.7% in mature markets. These figures cover both principal divisions and should not be interpreted as food ingredients growth rates, although they demonstrate the broader geographical differences affecting the company’s trading.
Givaudan continues to target average annual like-for-like growth of 4–6% under its current five-year strategic programme and has indicated that selective acquisitions remain part of its approach. The nine-month announcement did not identify a new manufacturing facility or capital investment programme within Taste & Wellbeing.
The third-quarter improvement leaves the division growing more strongly than it did earlier in the year, but North American weakness and regional differences remain unresolved. Full-year results, scheduled for 27 January 2027, will establish whether the improved sales momentum continued through the final quarter.
