SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 10, 2025--
IFF (NYSE: IFF)—a global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, health and biosciences—today unveiled its new Immersive Experience Hub located within its Singapore Innovation Center. The multi-sensory facility enables IFF to work alongside customers to conceptualize, test, and refine product ideas in simulated real-world environments—enhancing decision-making, shortening development timelines and improving go-to-market success.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250709079831/en/
“The new space builds on IFF’s $30 million investment in Singapore in 2022, strengthening our position as a strategic innovation hub for Asia,” said Ramon Brentan, site leader of the IFF Singapore Innovation Center and vice president, regional general manager for Greater Asia, Scent. “The immersive space transforms how we engage with customers and supports our broader innovation strategy in a region expected to drive 60 percent of global economic growth by 2030¹.”
“IFF’s decision to set up its Immersive Experience Hub in Singapore reflects strong confidence in our innovation ecosystem for the flavors and fragrances industry,” said Kelly Lai, vice president and head of chemicals and materials at the Singapore Economic Development Board. “Singapore is a trusted global brand and business hub, supported by world-class talent, digital capabilities and robust R&D. We welcome partners like IFF to co-innovate with our ecosystem and accelerate the development of solutions for Asia’s fast-growing consumer market.”
From Insights to Innovation
IFF’s Immersive Experience Hub integrates 360-degree video technology with scent, taste, sound and touch to simulate real-world environments. It enables virtual tours, contextual tastings, fragrance immersion and real-time co-creation—accelerating product design alignment, reducing time to market and boosting customer confidence through lifelike, emotionally engaging experiences.
The new facility complements IFF’s largest dairy and beverage pilot plant in Southeast Asia, located in the same building—creating a fully integrated ecosystem that connects consumer insights to concept development, application and small-scale commercialization. Combined with IFF’s proprietary trend foresight tools and consumer panels, the experience empowers customers to respond more quickly to Asia’s diverse landscape and evolving consumer demands with greater precision and creativity.
“In Asia, consumer preferences are deeply diverse and shaped not just by trends, but by heritage, memory and emotion,” said Prakash MG, senior vice president of IFF Taste for Greater Asia. “This space allows us to turn those rich insights into innovation —co-creating with our customers to bring ideas to life faster and in more meaningful ways that spark joy through food and beverages.”
Celebrating SG60 with Singapore’s Favorite Flavors and Scents
To commemorate the launch and celebrate Singapore’s 60th birthday, IFF surveyed 1,000 Singaporeans to uncover their favorite local scent, food and beverages. Inspired by the findings, IFF flavorists and perfumers developed the SG60 collection, which was showcased at the launch of the Immersive Experience Hub—a celebration of Singapore’s rich heritage.
The food and beverage collection includes
Complementing these delightful creations are equally evocative fragrance inspired by
The Singapore Immersive Experience Hub joins IFF’s network of immersive spaces around the world including locations in Florida, Shanghai and Bell Works, New Jersey.
Welcome to IFF
At IFF (NYSE: IFF), we make joy through science, creativity and heart. As the global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, health and biosciences, we deliver groundbreaking, sustainable innovations that elevate everyday products—advancing wellness, delighting the senses and enhancing the human experience. Learn more at iff.com, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
© 2025 by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF is a Registered Trademark. All Rights Reserved.
IFF Expands Innovation Center in Singapore with New Immersive Experience Hub
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.
“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.
Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.
Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.
“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.
Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.
“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.
The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.
Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.
“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.
The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.
The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.
In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.
The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.
The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.
The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.
Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.
In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.
Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.
From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais and Nicole Bonvin-Clivaz, Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Crans-Montana during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
A skier walks in the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
A banner stating that fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire is pictured near the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
