Factbook
Nutrition & Health
BASF’s Nutrition & Health division develops, produces and markets ingredients for the nutrition and health industries. Our products fulfill the highest safety, regulatory and sustainability standards. Together with our customers, we play an active part in enhancing the nutrition and health of consumers all over the world.
Sales by direct customer industry 2024

Portfolio
Aroma ingredients
BASF is a leading supplier of high-quality and innovative aroma ingredients for the flavor and fragrance industry. We offer a wide variety of aroma ingredients, such as L-menthol, geraniol, citronellol and linalool, which are part of our citral value chain. Our broad portfolio also includes renewable-based natural ingredients under the Isobionics® brand. We are committed to a sustainable future by providing aroma products with a significant sustainability contribution. Our offers focus on a reduced product carbon footprint and include upcycled and renewable alternatives via BASF’s biomass balance approach. Our aroma ingredients are sold to the flavor and fragrance industry for use mainly in home and personal care products, in fine fragrances and in the food industry. Our global production network – comprising world-scale plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Kuantan, Malaysia; as well as one currently under construction in Zhanjiang, China – puts us in a unique position to ensure the highest level of supply reliability.
Nutrition ingredients
BASF is one of the leading suppliers of feed additives for livestock and companion animals. With decades of experience in the feed sector, in development, production and application, we place particular importance on delivering the highest quality for the benefit of humans and animals alike. Our focus is on supplying the feed industry with highly effective products like vitamins A and E, carotenoids, enzymes and organic acids. We offer our customers ingredients that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resource efficiency as well as animal wellbeing.
Our ingredients for human nutrition comprise high-quality vitamins, such as vitamin A, E, B2 and carotenoids as well as food and health performance ingredients, such as plant sterols or conjugated linoleic acids. They show performance excellence in a variety of applications in strategic market segments such as functional nutrition, dietary supplements, colorants for food and beverages as well as pharmaceutical applications. For specific vitamin A and E products, we offer product carbon footprints (PCFs) that are at least 20% better than the global market average.1 In our food fortification initiative, our health ingredients help fortify staple foods to combat micronutrient deficiencies across the world.
Pharma solutions
In pharma solutions, we produce innovative excipients and active ingredients of outstanding quality and performance. Our portfolio comprises not only functional excipients, but also active pharmaceutical ingredients and nutritional ingredients. We offer a diverse range of ibuprofen and omega-3 grades, in addition to other actives including L-menthol, PVP-iodine, azelaic acid and dexpanthenol.
With digital solutions such as the Virtual Pharma Assistants and a global team of industry experts, BASF supports its customers in developing efficient, cost-effective and reliable formulations. Equipped with an in-depth understanding of multiple technologies and applications, we have the knowledge and resources to make biologics and drug manufacturing as well as delivery safer and more sustainable.
1 Data source BASF’s product carbon footprints: BASF’s Strategic CO2 Transparency Tool (SCOTT), July 2023; Data sources for producers: BASF own estimations on bill of materials and energies (in-house technology and business intelligence experts); market average weighted – based on nameplate capacities without BASF; stating >20% reflects safety buffer to account for degrees of freedom in ISO methods.
Market position and main competitors
The Nutrition & Health division holds one of the top three market positions in all strategic business areas in which it is active.
The main competitors (alphabetical order) include Ashland, Croda, DSM-Firmenich, Evonik, IFF, NHU and ZMC.
Focus of research and development
Together with our customers and partners, we continuously innovate. Our focus is to achieve long-term cost leadership through incremental process improvements, aiming at formulation excellence that enables cost, quality and regulatory targets to be met. Additionally, we combine product innovations and digital services that increase efficiency throughout the development process.
Major nameplate capacities of BASF1
Thousand metric tons per year
Product group | Location | Capacity |
Citral | Europe, Asia Pacific | 78 |
1 All capacities are included 100%, including plants belonging to joint operations and joint ventures
Acquisitions/JVs/investments
From 2022 onward
Product group | Description | Year |
Animal nutrition | Startup of new world-scale vitamin A formulation plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany | 2023 |
Aroma ingredients | New world-scale citral plant in Zhanjiang, China | 2026 |
New menthol and linalool plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany | 2026 |
Divestitures, shutdowns
From 2022 onward
Product group | Site | Year |
Human nutrition | BASF has signed a binding agreement to sell its Food and Health Performance Ingredients business, including the production site in Illertissen, Germany, to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC). | 2024 |
Major production sites
Product group | Site |
Animal nutrition | Gunsan, South Korea; Ludwigshafen, Germany; Shenyang, China |
Aroma ingredients | Geleen, Netherlands; Kuantan, Malaysia; Ludwigshafen, Germany |
Human nutrition | Ballerup, Denmark; Boussens, France; Cheltenham, Hutt Lagoon and Whyalla, Australia; Gunsan, South Korea; Illertissen and Ludwigshafen, Germany |
Pharma solutions | Bishop, Texas; Callanish, United Kingdom; Sandefjord, Norway |
Innovation

Our new flavor expands the flavorist palette to a new level
The flavor ingredient Isobionics® Natural beta-Caryophyllene 80 is produced from renewable resources using cutting-edge biotechnology. Produced at very high concentration using fermentation technology, it can be found not only in citrus essential oils, but also in several other natural oils, such as ylang-ylang, black pepper, clove, guava, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, lavender and sage. This natural product uses only renewable raw materials. Due to the fermentation process, it is independent of harvest conditions, seasonality and free of agricultural residues. It is compliant with E.U. and U.S. food grade regulations.