CAFFCI Council Member: China's Fragrance Industry Voice

The China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry (CAFFCI, now also known as the China Fragrance and Cosmetic Association), founded in 1984, is a national first-class industry association registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs with the legal person status of a social organization — a nationwide, industry-wide, non-profit social organization in the fragrance, flavor, and cosmetic industry. The association marked its 40th anniversary in 2024. On March 25, 2023, CAFFCI convened its Ninth Member Congress, which elected the Ninth Council by secret ballot. Yan Jiangying, former Deputy Director of the National Medical Products Administration, was elected Chairperson, Mu Min was elected Secretary-General, and 32 Vice Chairpersons cover senior executives of leading domestic fragrance and flavor enterprises, cosmetics enterprises, and foreign-invested enterprises in China. After the list of persons in charge of the Ninth Council was reviewed and filed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, CAFFCI formally announced it on November 19, 2024 (Announcement of the List of Persons in Charge of the Ninth Council). As a vice-director member unit of the association's Natural Fragrance Professional Committee, Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. was elected a council member unit of the Ninth Council and received the council member unit certificate and plaque, dated June 2025. For international importers sourcing natural plant extracts and food ingredients from China for the European, American, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets, this "Ninth Council Member Unit" qualification from China's national-level fragrance and flavor industry association is an independently verifiable supply chain signal focused on the dimension of "industry governance participation and voice."

I. Why a Chinese National-Level Industry Association "Council Member Unit" Qualification Matters to International Importers

When international buyers evaluate Chinese suppliers of natural plant extracts and food ingredients, they generally face three uncertainties related to "industry voice": first, peer recognition of industry position — whether the supplier's self-positioning as an "industry leader" or "council member unit" has been confirmed through election procedures by an authoritative third-party organization, rather than being mere market rhetoric; second, industry governance participation — whether the supplier is a rule follower or a rule-making participant in the fragrance and flavor industry, and whether it participates in the deliberation and voting of major association matters; third, access to industry information and policy — whether the supplier can timely obtain frontier developments in industry standards, policies, regulations, and technical specifications through association channels, and whether it has in-depth linkage with association professional committees and standards drafting work.

The "council member unit" qualification of China's national-level fragrance and flavor industry association is precisely the industry-organization credential that provides authoritative answers to these three industry-voice uncertainties. Its value lies not in the certificate itself, but in the election procedure and governance structure behind it — organized by the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry, a national first-class industry association, elected by secret ballot at the Ninth Member Congress, and filed with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. As a participant in the association's governance structure, a council member unit has the right to attend council meetings and to deliberate and vote on major association matters; it is a member of the association's decision-making layer rather than an ordinary member.

Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F's election as a council member unit of the Ninth Council at the CAFFCI Ninth Member Congress on March 25, 2023, means that its voice in the industry has been confirmed through collective election by peers, providing international buyers with an independently verifiable endorsement of industry governance participation that goes beyond supplier self-declaration. Notably, Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F simultaneously serves as a vice-director member unit of the association's Natural Fragrance Professional Committee — the council member unit status is participation rights at the horizontal governance layer, while the professional committee vice-director member status is participation rights at the vertical professional layer. Together they form a "horizontal-vertical dual-track" voice matrix, further strengthening its recognizability in the due diligence of international natural fragrance buyers.

II. Origin and Authority of the Council System

Association History and Four Decades of the China Fragrance and Cosmetic Association

The China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry was founded in 1984. It is a national first-class industry association registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs with the legal person status of a social organization — a nationwide, industry-wide, non-profit social organization in the fragrance, flavor, and cosmetic industry. Its professional supervisory unit is SASAC, and its administering unit is the China National Light Industry Council. In 2024, the association marked its 40th anniversary, reviewing industry development under the theme "Renewed at Forty, Continuing Forward."

The association takes the "four services" — serving the country, society, the public, and the industry — as its purpose, adheres to the core values of "co-create, progress together, share, win together, and coexist," and carries out work across many dimensions: strengthening Party building, serving as a bridge between government and enterprises, building industry exchange platforms, establishing vocational training systems, giving play to the functions of professional committees, advancing standardization, building a converged media matrix, advocating sustainable development concepts, creating an industry expo brand, optimizing member services, promoting international cooperation and exchange, and optimizing organizational structure to enhance service capacity.

Election of the Ninth Council

The Ninth Council is the governance body democratically elected in accordance with the association's charter:

Convening date: On March 25, 2023, the Ninth Member Congress of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry was convened in Guangdong;
Election method: Elected by secret ballot;
Meeting chair: Zhang Chonghe, President of the China National Light Industry Council, attended and delivered a speech;
Selection of the Chairperson: Yan Jiangying (former Deputy Director, Party Leadership Group Member, and Party Committee Secretary of the National Medical Products Administration) was elected Chairperson;
Selection of Vice Chairpersons: The 32 Vice Chairpersons cover senior executives of leading domestic fragrance and flavor enterprises (such as Boton, Huabao, Apple, Guangzhou Baihua, Tengzhou Wutong, Shanghai Takasago, Hangzhou Xihu, Tianjin Chunfa, Guangdong Mingkang, and Zhejiang Lvjing), cosmetics enterprises (such as Shanghai Jahwa, Shiseido Liyuan, L'Oréal, Unilever, Kelaoli, OSM, Inoherb, Chando, Frog Prince, Nivea, and Shanghai Bee & Flower), and foreign-invested enterprises in China (such as IFF, Firmenich, Givaudan, and Takasago);
Selection of the Secretary-General: Mu Min was elected Secretary-General.

Ministry of Civil Affairs Filing and Announcement

After the list of persons in charge of the Ninth Council was elected, it was submitted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for review and filing. After CAFFCI received the "Notice of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Approving the Filing of the Persons in Charge of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry" (Min She Deng [2024] No. 2608), it formally announced the list on November 19, 2024.

Council Governance Structure

In accordance with its charter, the association has established a four-level governance structure of "Member Congress → Council → Executive Council → Secretariat":

Member Congress: The association's highest authority organ, with a term of five years, responsible for electing the Council and the Board of Supervisors;
Council: The executive body of the Member Congress, accountable to it, composed of the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, Secretary-General, executive directors, and directors, responsible for deliberating and voting on major association matters;
Executive Council: The body exercising part of the Council's functions when the Council is not in session;
Secretariat: The association's day-to-day executive body, presided over by the Secretary-General.

Council member units are members of the Council, with the right to attend council meetings and to deliberate and vote on major matters such as work summaries, work priorities, financial reports, charter amendments, the establishment of professional committees, self-discipline initiatives, and motions; they are participants in the association's governance structure.

Successive Council Meetings

Multiple council meetings were convened during the term of the Ninth Council (2023–2028):

First Meeting of the Ninth Council: March 26, 2023 (the day after the term-change election);
Fourth Meeting of the Ninth Council / Fifth Meeting of the Executive Council: Convened in Nanjing on October 17, 2024, where Chairperson Yan Jiangying delivered the annual work report "Delivering the Four Services, Building the Five Platforms, Advancing High-Quality Development of the Fragrance and Cosmetic Industry";
Sixth (Enlarged) Meeting of the Ninth Council / Second (Mid-Term) Member Congress: Convened in Nanjing on September 24, 2025, which deliberated motions to supplement the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors and supervisors, and exchanged views on the 2025 work summary and 2026 key work.

III. Council Member Unit Thresholds: Elements International Buyers Can Verify

Council member units are governance-layer members elected in accordance with the association's charter, corresponding to the "industry voice and governance participation" dimension that international buyers focus on most in supplier due diligence. Understanding these thresholds helps translate "council member unit" into specific evidence that can be written into procurement compliance files:

Dimension	Election Threshold	Due Diligence Implication for International Buyers
Applicant Eligibility	Legally registered enterprises in China engaged in fragrance/flavor or cosmetics-related business, being member units of the association	Supplier is a legally registered industry enterprise with traceable business records and industry affiliation
Industry Position and Influence	Significant industry position and influence in a niche segment, able to represent the segment in industry governance	Supplier has peer-recognized representative status in the natural fragrance segment, not a marginal follower
Operating Scale and Comprehensive Strength	Operating scale, financial indicators, and R&D capability at the industry's forefront level, able to assume council member duties	Supplier's comprehensive strength has been recognized through horizontal peer comparison, with the capability basis for continued governance participation
Peer Recognition	Elected by secret ballot at the Member Congress, not appointed by the association	Supplier's industry position has been confirmed through collective peer voting, not self-proclaimed or commercially purchased
Ministry of Civil Affairs Filing	The list of persons in charge has been reviewed and filed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, with a standardized approval notice number	The qualification verification chain is complete, with official credentials for the Vendor Qualification Checklist
Term System	Each term lasts five years (2023–2028); a mid-term Member Congress may be convened for supplements	Supplier's industry voice has term-based protection; it is not a lifelong honorary title
Deliberation Participation Rights	The right to attend council meetings and to deliberate and vote on work summaries, financial reports, charter amendments, professional committee establishment, self-discipline initiatives, and motions	Supplier is a participant in industry rule-making; its specifications are intrinsically aligned with national/industry/group standard systems
Professional Committee Linkage	Simultaneously serves as vice-director member unit of the Natural Fragrance Professional Committee, linking the horizontal governance layer with the vertical professional layer	Supplier participates in industry governance on dual tracks, with institutional backing for technical specification formulation and policy access
International Cooperation Platform Participation	The association advances international cooperation and exchange; council member units have channels to information from international organizations such as ISO, IFRA, FEMA, and IFEAT	Supplier has access channels for frontier information on international standards and regulations, lending credibility when interfacing with international compliance frameworks
Standards Formulation Participation Rights	The association advances standardization; council member units have channels to participate in drafting and commenting on national, industry, and group standards	Supplier is a standards-setting participant; its specifications are intrinsically aligned with national/industry standard systems

The data corresponding to these thresholds is not provided unilaterally by the supplier but is elected by secret ballot at the Member Congress and announced after review and filing by the Ministry of Civil Affairs — this is precisely the "third-party authoritative endorsement" that international buyers value most in their SOPs and supplier audit processes.

IV. Practical Value for International Buyers: From Industry Voice Endorsement to Long-Term Procurement Decisions

For food and beverage, cosmetic flavor, functional food ingredient, and dietary supplement buyers in the European, American, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets, incorporating the "Ninth Council Member Unit of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry" into supplier qualification files provides at least the following practical value:

First, providing a basis for industry voice independent of supplier self-declaration. In international buyers' Vendor Qualification Checklists, the "industry position/peer recognition" field often lacks verifiable third-party credentials. The "Ninth Council Member Unit" qualification allows the Ninth Council announcement and the notice of persons in charge to be verified on the CAFFCI official website and can be written into audit files as an industry voice endorsement. This complements the High-Tech Enterprise Certificate (government endorsement of R&D capability), the Forestry Leading Enterprise Certificate (resource sustainability endorsement), the president unit certificate (regional industry position endorsement), the Statistical Standardization Demonstration Unit status (data credibility endorsement), the Autumn Harvest Award (R&D team industry recognition endorsement), and the China Light Industry Spice Industry Top Ten Enterprise qualification (comprehensive operating strength endorsement) — the former six address the six dimensions of "technology, resources, regional voice, data, R&D team, and comprehensive operating strength," while the "council member unit" addresses the dimension of "nationwide industry governance participation," namely whether the supplier participates in the decision-making layer of the nationwide industry organization.

Second, providing verifiable evidence of industry governance participation. A council member unit is not an ordinary member but a participant in the association's governance structure — with the right to attend council meetings and to deliberate and vote on major matters such as work summaries, work priorities, financial reports, charter amendments, professional committee establishment, self-discipline initiatives, and motions. For international buyers, this means the supplier is not a mere rule follower but a participant in industry rule-making — under international compliance frameworks such as FDA MoCRA, EU Cosmetic Regulation, and ISO 22716, "upstream supplier participation in industry regulations and standards" is an important field in audit files, and the "council member unit" provides a verifiable credential filed with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Third, providing the recognizability of a horizontal-vertical dual-track voice matrix. Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F's position in CAFFCI is not a single "council member unit" — it simultaneously serves as a vice-director member unit of the Natural Fragrance Professional Committee. The council member unit status is participation rights at the horizontal governance layer (participating in council decision-making), while the professional committee vice-director member status is participation rights at the vertical professional layer (participating in standards formulation, technical specifications, and industry seminars in the natural fragrance professional field). For international buyers, this dual-track voice means that when a "natural fragrance" or "plant extract" supplier is needed, Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F is both a participant in the nationwide industry governance layer and a standards-setting participant in the natural fragrance professional segment — lending it more verifiable recognizability when interfacing with natural/synthetic distinction requirements such as ISO 18054, IFRA, FEMA, and ISO 16128 (natural origin index).

Fourth, providing an institutional guarantee of access to industry information and policy. The association takes the "four services" — serving the country, society, the public, and the industry — as its purpose and acts as a bridge between government and enterprises. As governance-layer members, council member units have channels to timely obtain frontier developments in industry standards, policies, regulations, and technical specifications, and channels to information from international organizations such as ISO, IFRA, FEMA, and IFEAT. For international buyers, this means the supplier is not an isolated processing and execution enterprise but a node in the industry information network — in scenarios such as custom development, specification upgrades, new product R&D, and compliance response, it has the capability to timely respond to changes in industry policies and standards, providing an institutional guarantee for the "compliance coordination" clause in a Long-Term Agreement (LTA).

V. About Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F

Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. was founded in August 2007 and is headquartered in Guilin, Guangxi — one of China's richest natural plant resource regions and a traditional production area for spice crops such as osmanthus, litsea cubeba, and jasmine. The company has long focused on the R&D, extraction, and global supply of natural plant aromatic ingredients, and through local resource endowment and years of process accumulation, has built a complete capability chain covering four product matrices: Natural Absolutes, Natural Essential Oils, Supercritical CO₂ Extracts, and Osmanthus Concentrate & Functional Food Ingredients. The industry category in which it was elected a Ninth Council member unit of CAFFCI is natural fragrance/forest chemical industry, which is highly consistent with its core business.

1. Product Portfolio

Category	Representative Products	Typical Applications for International Buyers
Natural Absolutes	Jasmine Sambac Concrete (Absolute), Orris Absolute, Kushui Rose Absolute	High-end perfumery, skincare cosmetics, scented candles
Natural Essential Oils	Osmanthus oil, Litsea cubeba oil, Honeysuckle oil, Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum oil, Patchouli oil, Ligusticum oil, Astragalus oil, Angelica oil, Lavender oil, Orris absolute series, Frankincense oil, Myrrh oil, Sandalwood oil, Eucalyptus leaf oil, Basil oil, Cornmint oil, Spearmint oil, Sweetgum oil, Camphor oil, Pine wood oil, Vitex oil, Aglaia oil, Tuberose oil, Kushui rose oil, etc.	Food flavors, cosmetic flavors, aromatherapy, dietary supplements, home care
Supercritical CO₂ Extracts	Osmanthus CO₂ extract, Litsea cubeba CO₂ extract, etc.	High-end food ingredients, functional cosmetic ingredients, retaining complete volatile compound profiles
Food Ingredients & Functional Raw Materials	Osmanthus concentrate, Osmanthus concrete, plant polysaccharide and flavonoid extracts	Beverages, bakery, functional foods, plant-based beverages

2. Process and Quality Infrastructure

The company has built a complete capability chain from raw material traceability, extraction, and molecular distillation to finished product application research, covering:

Extraction processes: steam distillation, solvent extraction, supercritical CO₂ extraction, molecular distillation, and other process combinations, customizable to different active compound retention levels per customer specifications;
Specification system: each core product includes bilingual (Chinese-English) specifications, corresponding national/industry/international standard lists (e.g., GB 1886.264 Osmanthus Absolute, Jasmine Sambac Absolute, ISO 18054), and batch COAs;
Traceable batch management: each batch comes with COA, MSDS, IFRA allergen declaration, heavy metal and pesticide residue test reports, and supports batch sample retention for retrospective review;
Compliance document package: HS codes, certificates of origin, Halal and Kosher certificates, FDA facility registration numbers, EU REACH compliance declarations, and transport and storage guidelines are complete for export.

3. International Certification Matrix

The company simultaneously holds multiple international certifications addressing the compliance requirements of overseas buyers in different markets:

Food safety system: ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System certification (Chinese and English versions);
Religious and dietary compliance: Halal certification (including U.S. IFANCA and Indonesia BPJPH channels), Kosher certification;
Sustainable and responsible sourcing: FSA Farm Sustainability Assessment certificate;
Food ingredient naturalness: Food Ingredient Naturalness certification;
Local craft endorsement: Guilin Osmanthus Smoked Incense Traditional Fragrance-Preservation Craft and Guilin Osmanthus Smoked Incense Traditional Blending Craft — included in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region-level Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Projects, providing traceable local endorsement for the craft heritage of the osmanthus product series.

4. Extended Value of the "Council Member Unit" Qualification for Buyers

Election as a council member unit of the Ninth CAFFCI Council means that the company's voice in the industry has been confirmed through collective peer election and reviewed and filed with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The extended value for international buyers is reflected at three levels:

Peer recognition of industry voice: The council member unit status was elected by secret ballot at the Member Congress and filed with the Ministry of Civil Affairs; it can be verified on the CAFFCI official website and entered in the "industry voice" field of the Vendor Qualification Checklist;
Institutional guarantee of industry governance participation: As a governance-layer member, it participates in council meetings and in deliberating and voting on major association matters; its specifications are intrinsically aligned with national/industry/group standard systems, lending greater credibility when interfacing with international standard systems such as ISO, IFRA, and FEMA;
Horizontal-vertical dual-track voice matrix: Simultaneously serving as vice-director member unit of the Natural Fragrance Professional Committee links the horizontal governance layer with the vertical professional layer, giving it a dual voice in the natural fragrance segment and providing an institutional guarantee for the "compliance coordination" and "joint R&D" clauses in LTAs.

5. Verification Elements for International Buyers

International buyers wishing to independently verify the "Ninth Council Member Unit of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry" qualification can query using the following elements:

Enterprise name: Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd.
Qualification name: Ninth Council Member Unit of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry
Organizing association: China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry (CAFFCI, also known as the China Fragrance and Cosmetic Association)
Session: Ninth Council
Term: 2023–2028 (five years per term)
Election method: Secret ballot election at the Member Congress
Election date: March 25, 2023 (Ninth Member Congress)
Ministry of Civil Affairs filing: Min She Deng [2024] No. 2608
Announcement date: November 19, 2024
Chairperson: Yan Jiangying (former Deputy Director, Party Leadership Group Member, and Party Committee Secretary of the National Medical Products Administration)
Secretary-General: Mu Min
Number of Vice Chairpersons: 32 (covering senior executives of leading domestic fragrance and flavor enterprises, cosmetics enterprises, and foreign-invested enterprises in China)
Company's other industry positions: Vice-director member unit of the CAFFCI Natural Fragrance Professional Committee, vice-director member unit of the Aromatic Industry Professional Committee, member unit of the National Technical Committee for Spices and Condiments Standardization, senior IFEAT member for China
Company website confirmation: https://www.gltop.com.cn/ (the company profile page expressly records "council member unit of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry and vice-director member unit of the Natural Fragrance Professional Committee")

> Official Notice (Full Text): Notice on Publishing the List of Persons in Charge of the Ninth Council of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry — Official Website of the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry (CAFFCI) · Notices & Announcements Column (filing approved under Ministry of Civil Affairs Document Min She Deng [2024] No. 2608)

This article was published on 2026-09-12, and last updated on 2026-09-20. The article will be continuously updated.