Active Ingredient Synthesis

Timely and effective procurement of raw materials is one of the most crucial factors contributing to increased production and, consequently, market share growth for Diara’s World of Fragrance and Flavor. The company’s active ingredient repository contains over 1,000 types of raw materials, and its flavor and fragrance specialists continually study how to combine these materials to create extraordinary flavors for customers. However, sourcing such a vast array of raw materials from domestic or international markets often presents multiple challenges.

To minimize these challenges, the chemistry laboratory within the R&D department of Diara focuses on synthesizing essential raw materials and achieving self-sufficiency in this area. By combining classical chemistry techniques with modern methodologies and leveraging the technical expertise of specialists, the laboratory aims to synthesize a broad range of high-quality raw materials. Notably, based on rigorous sensory evaluations, many of the synthesized materials have shown superior quality compared to their imported counterparts.

Steps of Raw Material Synthesis in R&D:

Identifying Raw Material Requirements

The process begins with identifying the raw materials needed for designing a specific flavor or fragrance. The Flavor Design Department evaluates the requirement and refers it to the Chemistry Department for synthesis assessment. The need for synthesis may arise due to rising costs of imported alternatives, import restrictions, or the scarcity of a particular material. Additionally, new materials outside the existing repository may be proposed by the Flavor Design team to achieve better flavor profiles.

Selecting the Method and Appropriate Materials for Synthesis

Chemistry specialists utilize their advanced knowledge and combine it with classical chemistry techniques to determine the best synthesis method. This involves optimizing parameters such as cost and quality. Selecting the appropriate raw materials for the synthesis is equally important and is carefully considered during this stage.

Laboratory and Pilot-Scale Synthesis

After selecting the method and raw materials, the synthesis process begins at the laboratory scale. Various techniques of organic synthesis are employed, and parameters like temperature, reaction time, and yield are meticulously optimized. Subsequently, the process is scaled up to the pilot level, where the optimized parameters are tested under larger production conditions.

Quality Control of the Synthesized Material

Once the synthesis is successful at laboratory and pilot scales, the synthesized sample undergoes comprehensive quality assessments. These evaluations, conducted collaboratively by the Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis departments, include physical, chemical, and structural property analyses using advanced techniques like gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and other qualitative and quantitative methods. The goal is to meet stringent standards, ensuring the synthesized material achieves food-grade quality and results in premium essences. The most modern standards are applied to detect even the smallest impurities, ensuring the material’s purity and quality.

Sensory Evaluation of the Synthesized Material

After passing quality control, the synthesized material undergoes sensory evaluation by specialists. This phase involves comparing the synthesized material with equivalent materials produced by leading international companies. If the sensory quality matches or surpasses that of the imported counterparts, the material is incorporated into a fragrance or flavor formula and again compared with foreign products. If it excels or is equivalent in both sensory evaluations, it is approved for production.

Optimization and Finalization

If the material requires further refinement based on quality or sensory evaluations, the process is re-optimized, and steps 4 and 5 are repeated. Otherwise, the material progresses to the approval stage for production.

The Active Ingredient Synthesis Laboratory was established with the following objectives:

Mitigating the impact of raw material supply challenges on sales, such as dependency on foreign manufacturers, transportation issues, and other logistical constraints.

Reducing reliance on domestic and international suppliers for raw materials by achieving greater self-sufficiency.

Providing faster responses to customer needs and preventing disruptions in meeting delivery timelines due to import supply interruptions.

nhancing the quality of raw materials used, leading to improved quality of the final essences.

Lowering the cost of raw materials ultimately reduces the price of the final essence products.

Expanding technical expertise on the nature and properties of each raw material, enabling a precise understanding of their contributions to the final flavor profiles.