Our History

1850 Edward MacAndrews and William Forbes start a business in Turkey to ship licorice roots and manufacture licorice extracts under the name MacAndrews and Forbes Company.

1854 First shipment of licorice extract is made from the factory established in Sochia, Turkey.

1872 First licorice factory is built in the USA in Newark, NJ.

1903 A new factory is constructed in Camden, NJ in order to manufacture large quantities of licorice extract. MAFCO continues to operate at this factory site today.

1970 MAFCO’s Magnasweet® product line is developed. Magnasweet® is a unique line of products designed to extend and enhance sweetness, mask aftertaste and intensify and improve flavors. The line is based on the functional and sensory properties of pure licorice derivatives.

1981 MAFCO is purchased and becomes the principle subsidiary in MacAndrews and Forbes Group.

1986 MAFCO acquires EVD Company in Gardanne, France in order to expand its licorice manufacturing capacity and its customer base in continental Europe.

1996 As the result of a merger, MAFCO becomes part of M & F Worldwide Corporation, a public company listed on the NYSE.

2004 MAFCO enters into a joint venture to construct a new modern factory in China to produce high quality licorice derivatives for its Magnasweet® line of products. The factory begins full scale operations during 2005.

2007 MAFCO purchases the remaining shares of its Chinese licorice derivatives manufacturing joint venture. ZFTZ MAFCO Biotech becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAFCO.

2001-2010 MAFCO experiences unprecedented growth in its Magnasweet® line of products as the result of a trend towards healthy eating, increased demand for reduced sugar and sugar free products, growth in fortified foods and the need by food product development experts to extend and improve sweetness and to mask a variety of aftertastes in their new product offerings.

2010 MAFCO’s parent company, M & F Worldwide, reaches total consolidated revenues of USD 1.8 billion.