Market and customers

Novozymes sells its products worldwide, and we are subject to the financial and political risks which this naturally entails. Growth in individual markets is therefore influenced by the local economic situation and local legislation.

Customer concentration
A small number of customers account for a high proportion of our sales in certain product areas, which means that Novozymes is affected by the trend in these customers’ market conditions. We work closely with our major customers to limit this risk, for example by means of joint production planning, joint development projects and integration of IT systems.

Innovation
We try to maintain our position as market leader by continually launching new and improved high-quality products which meet our customers’ needs. This places high demands on our research and development, requiring development to keep pace with our customers’ needs. Failure here would entail the risk of a negative impact on Novozymes’ sales targets. Novozymes allocates approximately 13% of sales to research and development to ensure sufficient resources to future innovation.

Enzymes produced using genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
Novozymes produces a large number of enzymes using genetically modified organisms. Without this technology it would be necessary to use larger quantities of raw materials, water and energy, and in many cases commercial production of an enzyme would not be profitable.

The use of gene technology and GMOs is the subject of regular debate around the world, mainly concerning foods containing GMOs. Novozymes’ use of gene technology has only featured in the debate to a limited degree. However, it is possible that Novozymes’ production and sales to the food and feed industries in particular may be affected by the public debate on gene technology and the impact this may have on consumer demand.

Read more about Novozymes’ use of gene technology at www.novozymes.com.