Three alternative synthetic routes for the synthesis of naturally occurring n-butyl (5-formylfuran-2-yl)methyl succinate (1) are described. One of them started from furfuryl alcohol (4), and the other two synthetic strategies started from5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (6), which could be readily obtained from D-fructose. One of the latter involved a two-step reaction sequence: esterification of 6 with