Jacqueline Reynders, global marketing manager (laundry & home care), Sensient Fragrances.
In an interview Jacqueline Reynders, global marketing manager (laundry & home care), Sensient Fragrances with Chemical Today magazine describes how the formulae of fragrances has changed over the time with customers becoming the main ingredient of aroma choices.
By Shivani Mody
Tell us about the Sensient Fragrances group?
Sensient Fragrances SA is part of the Sensient Flavours & Fragrances Group, a unit of Sensient Technologies Corporation. We hold a global position defined by leveraging our fragrance compounds, aroma chemicals and essential oils to provide best in class, sustainable and integrated solutions to fragrance and flavour industries. We engineer the sweet smell of success through creative and technology platforms. Our mission is to create fully integrated fragrance solutions that boost the sensorial, emotional and functional benefits.
What is the future growth and expansion plans for the fragrances group?
Our headquarter in Granada, Spain has been successfully leading the overall fragrance business until last Autumn when we opened a new global fragrance innovation & creative centre in the Paris, France. A team of experts is currently working in the new state of the art premises being fully dedicated to design fragrance solutions for personal care & signature fine fragrances. The vision is to make Sensient Fragrances a significant fragrance and beauty player in the coming years.
The Granada site continues to focus on laundry, home & oral care along with activities to enhance the growth in essential oils & aroma chemicals. Marino Papazouglou, appointed General Manager last September 2015, has been leading the expansion program which includes new centers of excellence in key regions.
Mexico & Brazil have been operating successfully providing solutions to the most demanding consumers. Asia-Pacific is another region where Sensient gains momentum with the new creative centre in Singapore leading the area with tailor made products designed to their specific needs. Markets such as Indonesia, China and India deserve our full attention; new strategies are in placed to serve all those markets from local creative centres. Africa & Middle East next to Eastern Europe are markets to be developed further at short term.
What are the trends and advances in the fragrances market?
Today´s consumers are more demanding than ever. Though there is an ongoing trend towards globalization, many still desire for a customized and personal experience. For Sensient, “one fits all” is not applicable. We rely heavily on market and consumer understanding to design inspiring fragrances to touch consumers’ heart, wherever they are. See, Touch, Smell, Feel the emotion, are the pillars inspiring our fragrance designers and technical teams to create perfumes with selected precious ingredients to achieve a great hedonistic appeal without neglecting performance.
In the past there was a clear trend towards efficacy and performance, today they are perceived by many as a given. In recent years, consumers´ preferences are moved by sensorial experiences driven by fragrances and their power to enhance moods next to becoming a trigger on long gone feelings and unforgettable emotions.
Successful olfactive profiles include:
- Delicate Blossoms and Exotic Fruits being layered to re-create precious sensations.
- East meets West continues to fascinate the senses delivering on memorable creations that will make your heart beat faster.
- Expect further focus on Provenance and Destinations to have you traveling the world without leaving the comfort of your home.
- New Freshness translated by the Ocean Breeze in remote Islands and the cool breeze from unexplored mountain peaks.
What are the key market drivers for fragrances industry?
Innovation is the primary driver to success and Sensient holds an important position by offering a synergy of skills, technologies and expertise between our fragrances and cosmetics teams. For example: In galenic texture we are capable of developing complex encapsulation products (a sector in which we have a lot of expertise) and controlled fragrance release.
Our on-going pursuit of global growth makes us stronger by combining our capabilities. The market is also driven by functional needs determining the success of many products. Delivering on the promises for cleaner, fresher, whiter, softer, better product performance is a top priority.
Emotional needs take a more prominent role creating a new environment for product design where the priority is to enhance beauty, provide a caring edge and deliver a warm & happy feeling. It is all about feel good and do good factor. The new successful products will address both these needs to guarantee success. Consumers do not want to choose, they want the best of both worlds.
What will be the future global demands for fragrances market?
The markets continue to develop towards a more responsible and sustainable future. The 3 “P”s (Profit, People & Planet) is seen as the solution but is still a challenge in some regions. Companies are not just telling a story but they are all supposed to live it. Taking all this into consideration, the global demand for fragrances will continue to increase at a fast pace in emerging markets where the novelty factor, the new added benefits and the diversity in products and services will nurture a healthy environment for product development and healthy competition. For fragrances, the sky is no longer the limit. A new world has opened to be fully explored.
It is a different story for mature markets in Western Europe and North America where the demand will remain stable. Product development will rely on high tech products delivering the ultimate convenience factor for consumers having more money but less time to enjoy it. Ease of use, full automatic, sensor driven, intelligent & wireless gadgets will emerge further with fragrances to become your own signature. Mix and match, fragrance layering, do-it-yourself (DIY), will be in more demand. You will be more involved in the development feeding the
manufacturers with your needs and preferences.
In Asia Pacific and South East countries, which sectors have a greater growth potential in the fragrances markets?
Countries with blooming economies (China, Indonesia, India) will be a safe nest for the fragrance markets and have eminent growth, but they will also witness the most wanted democratization of fragrance. Increase of disposable income and the search for new fragrance experiences will contribute to a growing demand for products and services hardly known in their rich past.
A wide array of opportunities is for laundry care where there is room for innovation in product format and technologies. Cleaning products will open a new way of life leaving behind the traditional and basic products and growing urbanization will accelerate the growth. Personal care will definitely translate into new rituals to enhance a lifestyle yet to be discovered. Dishwashing will provide some opportunities with fragrances to convey more than just superior degreasing power.
There is a growing demand for the usage of natural ingredients in the fragrances industry. How is Sensient adhering to this trend?
The use of natural ingredients is a successful cross-category trend, seen prominently in personal and oral care but also in day-to-day segments such as laundry, cleaners, air care and others. As industry pioneers, coming from a long history of natural essential oils production,
Sensient delivers an all-encompassing portfolio of high-quality essential and organic essential oils with complete traceability. From controlled cultivation and processing of aromatic plants to the distillation of essential oils, we continuously deliver a great legacy of natural raw materials successfully used in flavours, fragrances, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Natural ingredients are key to underline the green trend and Sensient with its proud heritage of 100 years in essential oils combines nature and science to offer exceptional products to underline this market positioning.
Sensient 89 Allergen Free Fragrancescame to life as a result of anticipation to the market needs, delivering perfumes to comply with future regulations. This is in terms of delivering superior efficacy and high performance. Also manufacturers are looking into friendly alternatives, therefore we provide selected essential products with proven antibacterial effects which have become an interesting alternative to synthetic bactericides.
Tell us about the R&D and innovation activities carried out at Sensient Fragrances?
Innovation is part of our DNA and we always look for tangible ways to add benefits with our top-notch creative teams and state-of-the-art fragrance technology being an integral part of our perfumery creation. We continually strive to find the best balance between creativity and functional needs to develop fragrances with the highest acceptance and the best release performance in the final product.
A continuous investment in state-of-the-art equipment, R&D tools and talent makes us a leading and reliable partner. Our added value fragrance solutions serve as a spring-board for growth to our customers brands and portfolios.
New product development is a key element of our strategy. To that end, we have:
- A product development steering committee with high-level corporate exposure
- A strong pipeline, tracked with quarterly launch targets
- A focus on fragrance delivery systems, regulatory and legal requirements and special functional odour effects
Tell us about some of the fragrance technologies used at Sensient.
Fragrance Technologies are part of our added value solutions to conquer the local, regional and global markets. Our teams combine technological developments with their inspiration and creativity with mood trends, fashion and market factors that are valued by consumers. Our added value technologies/ scents are part of successful launches around the globe:
Fragrance Compaction
Our compaction technology offers lower logistical costs, which make your products more competitive. It uses fewer chemicals and less packaging and thus weighs less— making it less costly to ship. All of this translates into a smaller carbon footprint. Our technology relies on value-driven design, and it results in financial and ecological benefits for our customers in the production of fragrances. We offer top-class, highly concentrated fragrances with unique profiles, which also enables us to amplify the perfumistic spectrum and, at the same time, comply with challenging regulatory demands.
Active Odour Control Fragrance “ AOCF”
Freshness is a key driver for fragrance success in international markets and is also one of the major differentiators across segments. Consumers demand products that deliver ultimate freshness as they control and manage bad odors. Sensient designs tailor-made fragrances with dual benefits: high sensorial value and excellent malodour control. Sensient Fragrances has patented this state-of-the-art
technology that gives us complete creative freedom to design perfumes in a wide range of olfactory profiles for all the categories where radiant freshness is a decisive attribute. Our patented AOCF® technology consists of one fragrance system with complementary neutralization mechanisms to actively control odors
Micro Encapsulation Fragrance Technology “SensiCaps”
Extensive market demand for fragrances and perfumes that have a significant long-lasting effect is the basis for the development of an innovative Sensient Micro-encapsulation technology that relies on extending the sensorial experience/ duration for weeks. Micro capsules have become a differentiator for long-term fragrance-release products for many companies in the fragrance industry around the world.
Our technology allows the controlled release of a complex perfume, occurring upon capsule breakage (generally by friction), providing a long-lasting fragrance benefit. In laundry care, our fragrance capsules deliver the “just washed” sensation even weeks after washing. In air care, the technology will provide an extra burst of perfume, enhancing the fresh-and-clean air perception.
NeutraSensiCaps™
A two-in-one technology that helps deliver optimum odor control. It is a true market innovation, in that it brings our micro encapsulation process together with our odor-neutralizing technology. Specifically designed for any product that comes in contact with fabrics, the NeutraSensiCaps capsules provide long-lasting odor control through the combination of unique ingredients inside and outside the capsules, which break over time to deliver extra bursts of fragrance with odor-neutralizing properties.
How does Sensient adhere to the industry standards for sustainability?
Sustainability scores high in the International markets and Sensient has a strong management commitment with a policy that fully supports sustainable architecture.
We go further than just talking about sustainability and the trends. We are one of the first companies to design Sustainable Fragrances which are Unique in the market, all designed with Sustainable ingredients underlining our Sustainable Program.
Sensient holds a certification issued by the Chain of Custody of Forest Based Products for Sustainable alpha & beta pinene. With this new source to produce “sustainable” versions of these aroma chemicals we deliver raw materials designed in a social and environmental responsible way. Our fragrance designers made use of this unique palette of ingredients composed exclusively of 100 percent PEFC Certified ingredients to develop sustainable perfumes for home, laundry, dish care. etc.
What are the challenges in the fragrances market?
The fragrance market faces different challenges; one of them is the increased raw material costs being the result of global warming and climate change. Over the last few years, measures have been taken to address this issue but it’s still not enough to guarantee a real solution.
Regulations classify as one of the top concerns for the industry. Until we manage to get a global harmonization of chemical classification and labeling, there will continue to be an uncertainty factor at different levels.
The international markets present indeed some challenges but looking into the bright side we will witness how the world-wide consumer continues to look for their fragrance identity and ability to relate emotionally and personally to their own fragrance world.
© Chemical Today Magazine
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