Symrise has inaugurated a new fragrances creative centre in Pudong, Shanghai, following an investment of around €8 million.

The Germany-headquartered flavours and fragrances company said that China is one of its key sales markets. At the new facility, Symrise perfumers will develop around 9,000 fragrances for the Chinese market each year.

Symrise said that a generous amount of space and specially furnished rooms will offer plenty of room for creation and market research. There will be a fragrance creation and compounding area, an application laboratory for customer samples, as well as consumer insights facilities.

The inauguration comes as Symrise announces an investment of €83 million in a new production facility for fragrances and flavours in the city of Nantong.

The five hectare plot of land will allow Symrise to further exploit the growth opportunities and expand its capacities in the in the coming years.

Symrise CEO Heinz-Jürgen Bertram said: “With our new creative centre in Shanghai, we have created a cutting-edge environment for our fragrance creation. It should be a clear sign to both our Chinese customers and our employees there of our intention and commitment to further drive forward our growth in China.”

He added: “Our bold and forward-looking decision to go to China at that time has paid off. Today, we generate about a quarter of our sales in the Asia Pacific region, where China plays an important role. We want to strengthen our position there in the long term.”

Symrise started its business activities in China in 1982. The company had sales of around €3 billion in 2017.