Presentation and history
1961 - 1986 : LA 3rd GENERATION
Robertet took a new direction in 1964 when it began producing food flavouring ingredients. As Olivier Maubert, grandson of Maurice Maubert, explained to Les Echos: 'At the beginning, the perfume and flavourings industries were cousins. Going from scent to taste did not present a major problem and the basic extraction techniques for floral essences (distillation, infusion, concentration) could be equally applied to compositions of fruits, vegetables and spices.' The company's move into food ingredients was to prove a major source of its growth, especially as the consumer market turned from cooking with basic food ingredients to heating up a fast-growing array of prepared foods. Yet industrialized food preparation methods, while providing convenient and easily preserved and packaged meals, were responsible for eliminating much of the taste of the foods they contained. Companies like Robertet stepped in to provide flavouring ingredients to help restore some of that lost flavour.
After diversifying into flavourings, Robertet began a new era of expansion. In 1966, the company acquired fellow French company Cavallier. Robertet also stepped up its international growth, setting up subsidiary operations in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and England. In addition to its commercial and manufacturing operations, Robertet, now led by Jean Maubert, began creating worldwide research and development operations, opening laboratories, as well as sales offices, in Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Singapore. Leading the company's research effort was its inauguration of a new state-of-the-art production facility in the company's Grasse headquarters. Meanwhile, the company's dedication to natural scents and flavourings gave it a strong lead as 'natural' became a potent marketing force in the 1970s.
