[4] In 1939, Firmenich Director of Research and Development Lavoslav Ružička was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes,"[5][6] "including the first chemical synthesis of male sex hormones.

[12] On July 11, 2017, Firmenich completed the acquisition of Agilex Fragrances, expanding its ability to serve mid-sized customers in North America.

[17] In June 2020, Firmenich acquired Les Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques ("DRT"), a world leader in plant-based chemistry, mainly from pine trees, and one of the leading suppliers globally of high quality, renewable ingredients.

It teamed with Microsoft who helped leverage "the entirety of Firmenich’s broad raw material database" to dissimulate "a lightly grilled beef taste" into its plant-based meat alternatives.

Firmenich's "unique palette of ingredients" and "SmartProteins expertise in plant-based protein alternatives" were instrumental in the innovation process.

[citation needed] In 2022, Firmenich announced its ambition to merge with Dutch conglomerate DSM; the merger became effective in May 2023 and the resulting company is named dsm-firmenich.