Green Worldwide Shipping is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Trade Channel. Sign up here for monthly global trade updates.
Export Stories 2025: Navigating Trade Turbulence
Tuesday, March 11
Cobb Chamber of Commerce
While some are predicting gloom and doom in the face of tariff tumult, two Cobb companies with significant global exposure are choosing to look on the bright side.
That’s partially because the two companies in question — Arylessence and Accusentry — share some key similarities: they’re both niche players with hard-earned expertise in industries with high barriers to entry.
And they’ve been here before — not with tariffs, but with COVID-19, which upended supply chains dramatically enough to render subsequent challenge less existential.
“I’m of the mindset that no matter what, COVID was worse, and we will figure it out. We one thing that we know as a company is we will find a solution,” Arylessence President Cynthia Reichard said — though that was in March, before President Donald Trump announced a 46 percent tariff on products sourced from Vietnam, the company’s top target market.
The annual Export Stories discussion, organized by Global Atlanta with sponsorship from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, touched on the need for companies to embrace entrepreneurial enthusiasm and optimism even as they make moves to manage risk across their global operations.
The execs also shared practical insights for staffing up with linguistic, cultural and logistics expertise required to do exports well, push-pull factors that drive companies into global trade, and why you should win as the big fish in the “small pond” of a niche industry versus trying to go too big and broad.
Both companies have been forced to go global with the shifting of trade patterns: For Arylessence, just 10 percent of the ingredients used in making a fragrance or flavor can be sourced in the U.S., and the company’s supply chain includes some 90 countries. Expanding its Marietta factory now to the tune of $40 million, it combats the idea of moving to a low-cost location by keeping lead times for its custom compounds to three days delivered anywhere in the world. Another competitive advantage: the company leans on its own cast of chemists and perfumers, the latter of which are less numerous in the world than astronauts.
“There are less than 700 perfumers in the world; we have nine of them,” Ms. Reichard said.
Accusentry, meanwhile, followed diaper, feminine products and other non-wovens factories as they fanned out around the world to serve a growing global population. It now sells into 47 countries, and CEO Wei Siong Tan is confident that lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic are applicable in a time of tougher tariffs.
“Imagine trying to install a piece of sophisticated equipment remotely. That’s very challenging, so I think (tariffs) pale in comparison to what we went through,” he said. It remains to be seen if Accusentry’s business in places like Europe and Colombia and Southeast Asia will be affected by any measures adopted in response to President Trump’s new raft of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs announced April 2.
Organized By:
Sponsored by:
SelectCobb’s International Program Sponsor:
Speakers
MODERATOR:
PANELISTS:
Trevor Williams,
Managing Editor, Global Atlanta
Add the panelist bio
Cynthia T. Reichard,
President, Arylessence
Arylessence is the largest solely U.S.-based private fragrance and flavor company. The Company brings dynamic fragrance and flavor ingredient innovation to clients around the globe. These creative formulas are developed for an expansive variety of the world’s favorite consumer goods and industrial applications.
Since 1998, Cynthia Reichard has worked in many roles within Arylessence, including leading the collaboration of teams in fragrance creation, innovation, marketing, and client development. After 26 years of strategic leadership and dynamic growth as Arylessence’s EVP, Cynthia assumed the role of President.
Cynthia is an active and respected leader in a variety of industry and business associations. Her involvement is instrumental in enhancing outcomes that are key to the future of the fragrance and flavor industry and Arylessence customers.
Cynthia’s collaborative and visionary work supports a prosperous future for industry stakeholders across the business spectrum and has included:
- Fragrance Creators Association – Board Chair; Chair, Government and Legislative Affairs Committee
- American Cleaning Institute – Strategic Advisory Committee Chair and Communications & Outreach Committee Chair
- Georgia Cobb County Chamber of Commerce – Board of Directors
- Household and Commercial Products Association – Air Care Committee Chair and Board of Directors
- National Candle Association – Board of Directors
- Blank Beauty – Board of Directors
Arylessence is highly invested in the unified cooperation and support of fragrance & flavor industry alliances, as well as the elevation of overall business synergies found in the greater Georgia commerce community and beyond.
“We learned this during COVID: that when you’re unable to get the things that people want, you figure out what you can give them, … and that was incredibly successful for us.” -On tariffs and scarcity
“If you aren’t doing export, you won’t realize that it probably takes about 30% more effort than a domestic order takes. And so we have dedicated people that all they do in our regulatory department is international.” -On staffing up for exports
Wei Siong Tan, Ph.D.,
Founder, President & CEO, Accusentry Inc.
“The secret is to create a raving fan. Whatever customers you serve, serve them with all your heart, with all your might, and make sure they fall in love with you, head over heels.” –On creating a resilient customer base
“We are the king of a very small pond and and we command a premium. So the turnaround for the company is basically not taking every project that comes across, but being picky, finding the problems with the biggest pain, and then having a conclusive solution for it.“
DANA JOHNSON, executive director, selectcobb
Helping local companies here in Cobb and here in the region get access to global markets is so vitally important for growth in our community.
