Symrise opens data and AI hub to boost digital innovation
Symrise is reinforcing its commitment to digital transformation as a key driver of growth and innovation, positioning itself to support its customers globally.
SPAIN – Symrise has inaugurated a new global Data & AI Hub in Barcelona, marking a pivotal advancement in its digitalization strategy.
This dedicated center focuses on developing sophisticated, data-driven solutions to enhance innovation across Symrise’s key markets, which include food, beverages, nutrition, pet food, fragrances, as well as personal and household care products.
The hub opened with around 25 recent graduates participating in a rigorous 12-month program that merges structured learning with practical, hands-on projects to establish a sustainable, in-house expertise in Data and AI.
The hub fosters a creative and collaborative environment where teams ideate, prototype, and scale solutions that deliver tangible benefits to Symrise customers competing in fast-moving markets.
According to the company, the hub targets six principal business areas: finance, research and development, procurement, supply chain, consumer insights, and sustainability.
This focused approach enables Symrise’s clients to accelerate innovation, enhance product development transparency, respond swiftly to shifting consumer trends, and build more resilient supply chains, all of which contribute to delivering high-quality, sustainable products.
Symrise’s Chief Digital & Information Officer, Eliza Millet, emphasizes the hub’s role as a core in-house innovation, collaboration, and transformation center, aimed at accelerating product development, enhancing strategic planning, and optimizing operational efficiency.
The Graduate Career Program, integrated within the hub, recruits young professionals from diverse academic backgrounds, including computer science, physics, and bioinformatics.
These recruits undergo structured training, accompanied by real-world project involvement and intensive mentorship, which fosters rapid learning and long-term career growth within the company, according to Symrise.
Locally, the hub actively integrates with Barcelona’s technological and academic ecosystems, partnering with institutions such as the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and technology leaders, including Microsoft.
Community-building events and meetups are planned to promote knowledge sharing within Barcelona’s tech scene.
Technologically, the hub leverages Symrise’s established digital platforms, including the Atl@s Lakehouse (built on Databricks) for advanced analytics, UiPath for process automation, and Mendix for rapid application development.
This technology suite enables rapid prototyping and efficient scaling of innovations that improve value chain responsiveness and operational efficiency.
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