'First of all, you need a kick-ass product...'
Most acquisitions fail because acquirers don't retain the key people; they lose customers, morale and focus
Unlike the world's biggest flavor companies, many of whom only deal with large manufacturers and lack Frutarom's flexibility, Frutarom also works with small and mid-size companies that are growing much more rapidly than most CPG giants, said Yehudai, who is also targeting fast-growing players in the private label market.
As for the secret to successful M&A - Frutarom has acquired over 30 companies in the past five years alone and is "looking at around 20 acquisition targets at any one time" - it's about building partnerships, he said.
"Most acquisitions fail because acquirers don't retain the key people, they lose customers, they lose morale and they lose focus. We want the business owners to be our partners and we incentivize them to stay and build the business with us."
