Milwaukee-based Sensient Technologies Corp. today announced it has completed the previously announced acquisition of the color business of Lima, Peru-based natural food and ingredient maker GlobeNatural.
GlobeNatural is owned by Peruvian alpaca textile conglomerate Michell Group. It has been sourcing, manufacturing and exporting natural food ingredients and colors for more than 25 years. It sources and processes raw materials including cochineal derivatives, annatto derivatives, turmeric derivatives, anthocyanins and chlorophyll for natural coloring. They are used in food and beverage production worldwide.
Sensient manufactures colors, flavors and fragrances across its global footprint that are used to make foods and beverages, cosmetics, inkjet and specialty inks and colors, and specialty chemicals. It has about 4,000 employees worldwide, 1,500 of whom are in the color division.
The new entity will operate as Sensient Natural Colors Peru S.A.C. Its 41 employees will all be retained, and Sensient plans to expand in Peru over time, said David Rigg, a spokesperson for Sensient.
With the acquisition, Sensient will add production capacity for carmine and annatto colorings, and bring on more sources of anthocyanin color, the company said.
“This acquisition, as part of our ‘seed to shelf’ initiative, will enable us to provide leading food and beverage manufacturers with greater supply and cost stability while also enabling us to reach our goals for sustainable and socially responsible sourcing,” said Paul Manning, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sensient, in a statement. “Combined with our industry leading agronomy and natural color technologies, Sensient’s vertical integration puts us in an excellent position to meet the growing global demand for colors from natural sources.”
Sensient has not yet disclosed the transaction price.