The CAFFCI Outstanding Team Award

The China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry (CAFFCI), founded in 1984, is a national first-class industry association with the legal person status of a social organization. In September 2022, the association hosted the "2022 China Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry Science and Technology Conference and the 14th Academic Seminar" under the theme "Innovate Toward Renewal," aiming to guide the industry to seize early opportunities and open new ground at the onset of spring and to help the fragrance and cosmetic industry forge ahead toward a better future. In line with the principles of "open, just, fair, and free of charge," the director and vice-director member units of the association's Science and Technology Work Committee conducted strict review and evaluation, selecting R&D teams, engineers, and science and technology leaders who had delivered outstanding performance in the industry in recent years. The awards were named the "Autumn Harvest Award," symbolizing "literary grace and virtue, achievements and harvest" (Official Conference Notice). As a CAFFCI council member unit and a vice-director member unit of its Natural Fragrance Professional Committee, the R&D team of Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. received the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" at this conference, together with a trophy and an honorary certificate dated September 2022. For international importers sourcing natural plant extracts and food ingredients from China for the European, American, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets, this "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" from China's national-level fragrance and flavor industry association is an independently verifiable supply chain signal focused on R&D team strength and industry science and technology innovation capability.

I. Why a Chinese National-Level Industry Association "Autumn Harvest Award" Matters to International Importers

When international buyers evaluate Chinese suppliers of natural plant extracts and food ingredients, they generally face three uncertainties related to the "R&D team": first, the authenticity of R&D team strength — whether the supplier's self-positioning as an "R&D-oriented manufacturer" carries authoritative third-party endorsement, and whether the R&D team is genuinely an innovation force recognized by the industry or merely a packaging of sales rhetoric; second, the verifiability of science and technology innovation achievements — whether the claimed R&D results, patent portfolio, and participation in standards drafting have been reviewed by industry peers and experts, or are merely unilateral supplier declarations; third, industry position and peer recognition — whether the supplier is a leading R&D force or a marginal follower in the fragrance and flavor industry, and whether its R&D team genuinely participates in industry science and technology exchange and standards formulation.

The "Autumn Harvest Award" of China's national-level fragrance and flavor industry association is precisely the industry-organization credential that provides authoritative answers to these three R&D team uncertainties. Its value lies not in the trophy itself, but in the selection mechanism behind it — organized by the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry, a national first-class industry association, with strict review and evaluation by the director and vice-director member units of the association's Science and Technology Work Committee. The selection process follows the four principles of "open, just, fair, and free of charge" and accepts no fees whatsoever, ensuring the authority and impartiality of the results. The award's name is taken from the phrase "spring blossoms, autumn fruits" in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, symbolizing "literary grace and virtue, achievements and harvest," and representing the industry's recognition of the winning teams' comprehensive strength in scientific research contributions, technological innovation, and achievement transformation.

Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F's receipt of the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" at the 2022 China Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry Science and Technology Conference and the 14th Academic Seminar in September 2022 means that its R&D team's scientific research contributions, patent innovation, participation in standards formulation, and achievement transformation capability have passed strict review by the association's Science and Technology Work Committee, providing international buyers with an independently verifiable endorsement of R&D team strength that goes beyond supplier self-declaration.

II. Origin and Authority of the Award System

Institutional Origins

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, and a nationwide, industry-wide, non-profit social organization in the fragrance, flavor, and cosmetic industry. The association takes promoting industry R&D and innovation as its purpose, and enhances exchange among all parties and achieves win-win cooperation by hosting authoritative, high-quality academic conferences. The outstanding academic papers selected at successive conferences have had extremely high reference and application value in opening new lines of thinking, expanding methods, and transforming achievements.

Establishment of the Autumn Harvest Award

The "Autumn Harvest Award" was the award title established by the association at the first industry Science and Technology Conference in 2016. Its meaning is taken from "spring blossoms, autumn fruits" in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons — spring blossoms cannot return, yet autumn fruits are equally splendid — signifying "literary grace and virtue, achievements and harvest." Since 2016, the biennial Science and Technology Conference has continuously selected and presented the Autumn Harvest Award series, including:

Outstanding R&D Team Award (later also called the "Outstanding Team Award")
Outstanding Engineer Award
Rising Engineer Award
Science and Technology Leadership Award
Innovative Product Award
Best Cosmetic Packaging Design Award

The association presents plaques and certificates to award-winning representatives at the conference awards ceremony. The winning teams and individuals cover enterprises across the entire industry chain, including fragrances and flavors, cosmetics, raw materials, packaging, and equipment.

Selection Mechanism and Authority

The authority of the "Autumn Harvest Award" derives from three dimensions:

Recognition by a national first-class industry association: The China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry is a national first-class industry association registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs with the legal person status of a social organization, representing the nationwide authoritative organization of China's fragrance, flavor, and cosmetic industry;
Strict review by the Science and Technology Work Committee: Selection is strictly reviewed by the director and vice-director member units of the association's Science and Technology Work Committee, whose review members include technical heads of leading industry enterprises and experts and scholars from research institutes; it is not granted merely upon enterprise self-application;
Open, just, fair, and free-of-charge principle: The conference organizes the selection under the principles of "open, just, fair, and free of charge." On the premise of charging no fees whatsoever, enterprises apply voluntarily, ensuring the authority and impartiality of the results.

Academic Content of the Conference

The association's Science and Technology Conference is held concurrently with an academic seminar, an academic exchange platform the association has maintained for more than twenty years. The academic seminars have received nearly one hundred and even more than one hundred and thirty academic papers, covering raw material R&D, efficacy evaluation, testing and analysis, flavor formulation, and other topics, reflecting to a certain extent the industry's technology R&D hotspots and innovation development trends. Award-winning papers must pass strict expert review and compete on the same stage with nearly one hundred scientific research papers from international groups and renowned universities. The Autumn Harvest Award series is precisely an industry recognition built on a platform of such high academic content.

III. Selection Thresholds: Elements International Buyers Can Verify

The selection for the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" corresponds to the "R&D team strength" dimension that international buyers focus on most in supplier due diligence. Understanding these thresholds helps translate the "Outstanding Team Award" into specific evidence that can be written into procurement compliance files:

Dimension	Selection Threshold	Due Diligence Implication for International Buyers
Applicant Eligibility	R&D-oriented enterprises registered in China and 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
R&D Team Scale	Possesses a rationally structured R&D team with a scientific professional mix, including flavorists, engineers, and technical personnel	Supplier has a dedicated R&D organization rather than an ad hoc group; team structure is verifiable
Scientific Research Contributions	Outstanding scientific research contributions in the fragrance/flavor or cosmetics field, with published academic papers or technical achievements	Supplier has verifiable research output rather than vague publicity
Patent Innovation	Holds a proprietary patent portfolio, with patent quantity and quality standing out in the industry	Supplier has verifiable intellectual property assets; technical barriers have institutional safeguards
Achievement Transformation	Scientific research results have been transformed into productive forces or products	Supplier's R&D is not laboratory papers but landed industrialized results
Participation in Standards Drafting	Participated as a main drafting unit in the formulation of national/industry/group standards	Supplier is a standards-setting participant; its specifications are intrinsically aligned with national/industry standard systems
Compliant Operations	No major safety or quality accidents and no serious illegal or dishonest conduct in the past three years	Supplier's compliance record has been screened by the industry organization
Open and Impartial Review	Strictly reviewed by the director and vice-director member units of the association's Science and Technology Work Committee, free of charge	R&D team strength has been collectively reviewed by industry peers and experts, not self-proclaimed
Joint Exchange at the Academic Seminar	Team members published papers or technical reports at the academic seminar and exchanged views with the industry on the same stage	Supplier's R&D team participates deeply in industry academic exchange rather than conducting isolated R&D

The data corresponding to these thresholds is not provided unilaterally by the supplier but is generated after strict review by the association's Science and Technology Work Committee — 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 R&D Team 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 "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" into supplier qualification files provides at least the following practical value:

First, providing a basis for R&D team strength independent of supplier self-declaration. In international buyers' Vendor Qualification Checklists, the "R&D team strength" field often lacks verifiable third-party credentials. The "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" allows the conference notice and commendation information to be verified on the CAFFCI official website and can be written into audit files as an R&D team endorsement. This complements the High-Tech Enterprise Certificate (government endorsement of R&D capability), the Forestry Leading Enterprise Certificate (resource sustainability endorsement), the industry association president unit status (industry position endorsement), and the Statistical Standardization Demonstration Unit status (data credibility endorsement) — the former four address the four dimensions of "technology, resources, voice, and data," while the Autumn Harvest Award addresses the dimension of "industry recognition of the R&D team," namely whether the supplier's R&D team has been collectively reviewed by industry peers and experts.

Second, providing indirect evidence of science and technology innovation achievements. The Autumn Harvest Award selection requires winning teams to demonstrate outstanding performance in scientific research contributions, patent innovation, and achievement transformation. As a main drafting unit, Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F completed the formulation of 10 national standards and participated in 1 industry standard: Osmanthus Absolute (GB 1886.264), Jasmine Sambac Absolute, Rose Absolute, Black Tea Tincture, Monk Fruit Tincture, Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum Flower Oil, White Jade Orchid Flower Oil, White Jade Orchid Leaf Oil, Aglaia Flower Oil, and the Monk Fruit Concrete industry standard. Meanwhile, the company continuously filed patent applications during 2022, such as "An Efficient Extraction Process for Gardenia Essential Oil" (CN 114774200A). For international buyers, this means the supplier's R&D team is not a simple processing and execution team but an innovation force with verifiable research output, a proprietary patent portfolio, and participation in standards formulation — lending it greater credibility when interfacing with international standard systems such as ISO, IFRA, and FEMA.

Third, providing an endorsement collectively recognized by industry peers and experts. The Autumn Harvest Award is strictly reviewed by the director and vice-director member units of the association's Science and Technology Work Committee, whose review members include technical heads of leading industry enterprises and experts and scholars from research institutes. This selection mechanism means the winning team's R&D strength is collectively recognized by peer enterprises and technical experts, rather than being self-proclaimed or commercially purchased. For international buyers, this reduces the potential risk of cooperating with suppliers that "inflate their R&D capability" — under international compliance frameworks such as FDA, EU, and ISO, "upstream supplier R&D capability" is an important field in audit files, and the Autumn Harvest Award provides a verifiable credential collectively recognized by industry peers.

Fourth, providing an institutional guarantee of continuous innovation and achievement transformation. The Autumn Harvest Award selection looks not only at research output but also requires that scientific research results have been transformed into productive forces or products. For international buyers, this means the supplier's R&D is not paper research stuck at the laboratory stage but landed industrialized results — in scenarios such as custom development, specification upgrades, and new product R&D, the R&D team possesses complete transformation capability from concept to mass production, providing an institutional guarantee for the "joint R&D" 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 received the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" 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 "Autumn Harvest Award" Qualification for Buyers

Receiving the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" at the 2022 China Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry Science and Technology Conference means the company's R&D team's scientific research contributions, patent innovation, participation in standards formulation, and achievement transformation capability have passed strict review by the CAFFCI Science and Technology Work Committee. The extended value for international buyers is reflected at three levels:

Industry peer recognition of R&D team strength: The R&D team was reviewed by the association's Science and Technology Work Committee; the award qualification can be verified on the CAFFCI official website and entered in the "R&D team strength" field of the Vendor Qualification Checklist;
Institutional guarantee of science and technology innovation achievements: The R&D team led or participated in drafting 10 national standards and 1 industry standard while continuously filing proprietary patent applications; its specifications are intrinsically aligned with national/industry standard systems, lending greater credibility when interfacing with international standard systems such as ISO, IFRA, and FEMA;
Continuous innovation and achievement transformation capability: The Autumn Harvest Award selection looks not only at research output but also requires that results have been transformed into productive forces; the R&D team has complete transformation capability from concept to mass production, providing an institutional guarantee for the "joint R&D" clause in LTAs.

5. Verification Elements for International Buyers

International buyers wishing to independently verify the "Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award" qualification can query using the following elements:

Enterprise name (at time of award): Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd.
Award name: Autumn Harvest Award · Outstanding Team Award
Recognition session: 2022 China Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry Science and Technology Conference and the 14th Academic Seminar
Organizer: China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industry (CAFFCI)
Conference theme: Innovate Toward Renewal
Evaluating body: CAFFCI Science and Technology Work Committee
Selection principles: Open, just, fair, free of charge
Basis: Association charter and conference agenda
Date of issuance: September 2022
Company's industry positions: CAFFCI council member unit and vice-director member unit of the Natural Fragrance Professional Committee
Company website confirmation: https://www.gltop.com.cn/ (the company profile page expressly records multiple industry honors)