Acquisitions

Croda acquired international fragrances and flavours company Iberchem in 2020, the largest acquisition in our history and a major move into a market strongly aligned with our business. 

Described as being ‘at the crossroads of science and creativity’, Iberchem brought fragrances into our portfolio, enabling us to create a one-stop-shop for our Personal Care and Home Care customers. As sensory considerations become more important to consumers, fragrances are reported as a primary purchase driver in personal care and household products. They are also a known emotional trigger, with the power to boost wellbeing. 

Our drive to advance the sustainability of practices in the flavours and fragrances sector is shared by our colleagues at Iberchem. For example, 100% of the water used by Iberchem’s production plant in Murcia is recycled by an Authorised Waste Management Company. A solar photovoltaic system was also installed in 2020 that will avoid the annual emission of more than 171 tonnes of CO2 annually.

Our drive to integrate our acquired businesses into our wider ethics and compliance programme is also shared by our colleagues at Iberchem. For example, Iberchem has hired a dedicated compliance officer to oversee the integration of Iberchem into Croda’s wider ethics and anti-corruption programme and has adopted Croda’s Speak Up reporting line.

Read more about our Ethics and Anti-Corruption Programme here

The acquisition of Biosector in 2018 strengthened our pharmaceutical offering, taking us into the field of vaccine adjuvants. Biosector’s highly experienced team enhanced our existing pharmaceutical offering, bringing world-class innovation and industry-leading manufacturing facilities. 

A leading specialist in this field, our adjuvant technologies are now advancing the efficacy and impact of vaccines to target diseases in well-known areas, such as COVID-19 and conjugate pneumococcal vaccines, alongside developments in more difficult areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Our adjuvant pipeline includes vaccines for diseases highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as key to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 for Good Health and Wellbeing. Advancing our ability to contribute to WHO-listed pipeline vaccines directly contributes to our ambition to become People Positive by 2030.