A. Fakhry & Co. was founded in 1955. Its founder, Ahmed M. Fakhry, born in 1921 in Cairo (Egypt), had lived in France over 30 years where he studied Chemical Engineering at the École Polytechnique in Paris prior to reverting to Egypt to found his company. Born into a family of high civil and military servants originating from Circassia by his father, and into Egypt’s last ruling royal family by his mother, his curriculum endowed him with the best possible education to take up the challenges of reviving an industry which had been greatly diminished by the general economic entropy Egypt went into in the aftermath of the 1952 coup d’état.

Working against the flow until 1973, when the country started implementing more liberal tones, he managed to illustrate and convey an image of steadfastness – witnessing twice the loss of his factory to fire – allowing newcomers to the industry, a decade after his own establishment, to regain hope in the field. He encouraged and supported fellahin (Egyptian farmers) in the Nile delta to diversify their crops and consider aromatics as alternative crops providing them with a new substantial economic resource. This was not always an easy task as more often than not farmers in Egypt tend to be rather defiant to change. Steady on course he brought, for example, Jasmine fields from being just about inexistent in the Nile delta in the mid-1950’s to be planted over some 450 hectares by the mid-1970’s, in the heydays of Egypt’s Jasmine Concrete production topping with some 11 tons/year, thus helping to provide work and income for some 50’000 farmers for half of the year.

Ahmed Fakhry retired in 1982 putting on lease his farm and industrial facilities, yet keeping proprietorship over them. He passed away in 1998. During the 27 years at the helm of A. Fakhry & Co. he positioned the company at a crossing point for the world F&F industry wishing to source 100% pure and natural Egyptian aromatic raw materials. The likes of Edmond Roudnitska, Jean-Paul Guerlain, etc. had their habits at A. Fakhry & Co. during the days of Ahmed Fakhry.

His only son, Hussein A. Fakhry, born in 1966 in Stockholm (Sweden), took over the reins of the family enterprise in 1997. Educated in Switzerland, France, and the USA where he graduated in Physical Geography and Marine Science from Clark University, Hussein went, first, about his passion for oceans and lakes working at the Fondation pour l’Étude et la Protection de la Mer et des Lacs (Switzerland) under the direction of famed Oceanographer Jacques Piccard, its founder. By 1996, his father Ahmed hinted at the idea of terminating A. Fakhry & Co.’s farm and factory lease to retrieve his facilities. Having lived most of his life away from Egypt, Hussein was well exposed to the new shifts and demands that were taking place in the F&F industry and decided to take up the challenge and return to Egypt.

In 1998 Hussein met his wife to be, Chérifa H. Rachad, a Master of Science graduate in Aromatic Botanical Agronomy from Cairo University (Egypt). Chérifa endowed the destinies of A. Fakhry & Co. with her experience and qualities as an agronomist, an organic farmer, a human resources and a financial manager. Since 2000, A. Fakhry & Co.’s achievements have been the result of their joint leadership. Today A. Fakhry & Co. represents approximately 25% of Egypt’s total turnover with aromatic raw materials, and 75% of Egypt’s certified organic aromatic raw material turnover. Hussein and Chérifa have one daughter, Sofia, who seems to develop definite signs of interest and enjoyment de la chose olfactive…