Dennis Maroney (center), Melanie Smith, Head of Innovation Center, IFF HQ (third from left), Lei Yabin, Technical Director, IFF HQ (first from right), Cai Zhaoyang, Co-founder of CHAILEEDO (second from left), Li Huihua, Co-founder of CHAILEEDO (third from right), Co-founder of CHAILEEDO (first from left), and Hao Zhigang, President of Chinese American Cosmetic Professional Association (second from right)
Stepping into the office area of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), located in the heart of New York City, three-meter-tall green plants “grow” from the bright floor, complemented by neatly arranged fragrance bottles on low shrubs and walls. The industrial-style cement columns are adorned with holly and mistletoe, towering Christmas trees, and gingerbread houses in the relaxation area, constantly reminding visitors that the Christmas holiday is approaching.
This is the vibrant and forward-looking silhouette of the flavor and fragrance company with a history of 130 years.
As the ancient yet modern business of scent continues to thrive, how to maintain an advantage while creating or leading trends is undoubtedly a constant consideration for every long-standing flavor and fragrance company. Among them, perfumers, as the key individuals, undoubtedly serve as the best spokespersons for olfactory trends.
On December 11th, Eastern Standard Time, CHALEEDO’s US Beauty Tour conducted an exclusive interview with Dennis Maroney, the “national treasure” master perfumer at IFF headquarters, exploring the global trends of the fragrance economy.
Flavors and Fragrances Are Not In Conflict with “Clean Beauty”
Compared to consumer-facing brand companies, flavor and fragrance enterprises, positioned at the beginning of the industry chain, may not attract as much attention but play a crucial role in the industry. Particularly in the flourishing era of the fragrance economy, there is an abundance of personal care, home cleaning, and beauty brands that emphasize scent as their selling point.
IFF, with a history of 134 years, is a witness and participant in the development of the flavor and fragrance industry. By creating flavors, fragrances, experiences, ingredients, and solutions for customers, IFF has become one of the top two global companies in the flavor and fragrance industry. According to IFF’s financial report, its sales reached $8.8 billion in the first three quarters of this year.
However, beyond sales figures, IFF takes pride in its treasure trove of core talents—the perfumers. CHAILEEDO understands that IFF has over 80 perfumers distributed across different regions worldwide.
Yet, becoming an exceptional perfumer requires memorizing 3,500 different aromas. In addition to having a keen sense of smell, imagination and artistic creativity are also essential. At IFF, five years and a pass rate of only 5% serve as the threshold for a junior perfumer. It can be said that being a perfumer is a highly challenging profession.
Dennis Maroney, a iconic symbol perfumer at IFF and a five-time recipient of the Perfumer’s Choice Award from the American Society of Perfumers, has immersed himself in the art of perfumery for 32 years.
During an interview with CHAILEEDO, Dennis humbly expressed that he doesn’t particularly like the title of “master.” He said, “The more you learn when you’re still a high school student, the more you realize how much you don’t know. As you grow older and learn more, you realize even more how much you don’t know. The illusion of a ‘master’ is someone who knows a lot, but it’s not really the case.”
In fact, based on his understanding of the fragrance industry, Dennis has his own insights and judgments regarding global trends. Taking sweet fragrances as an example, he points out that consumers in different regions have different preferences for scents. “Americans undoubtedly love sweet fragrances, and now Chinese people also enjoy sweetness, but Indians don’t prefer sweetness.”
This implies that as a global company, IFF’s strategies in different countries and regions may vary. Dennis also mentioned the importance of localization, fully understanding and meeting the demands of local customers.
In the post-pandemic era, Dennis has also observed that people have higher requirements and more specific needs for cleanliness in various aspects such as hair care, body care, and home care. They desire scents that are purer, milder, and less irritating.
On this point, Hao Zhigang, the President of the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetics Industries and the Chief Technology Officer of Colgate-Palmolive, shares a similar sentiment. “From what I have observed in oral care, customers are also pursuing cleanliness and less intense fragrances.”
It is worth mentioning that the concept of “cleanliness” mentioned by Dennis is different from that of clean beauty. The former mainly refers to the perception of purity conveyed by the scent, rather than necessarily being derived from natural sources.
Of course, in the wave of clean beauty and ESG, IFF is also exploring more natural and biodegradable ingredients, breaking through the limitations of traditional bio-based materials. For example, IFF utilizes the Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials (DEB) platform, an enzyme-catalyzed biobased material technology, for large-scale design and development of biobased materials, achieving sustainable innovation.
Dennis also acknowledges the significant role that flavors and fragrances play in a product, but he does not believe that scent alone can build a brand. He believes that a brand should possess both functional and emotional value. “Furthermore, the same formula may produce different chemical reactions in the hands of different perfumers and formulators.”
He also mentioned that different types of products have varying dosage requirements and scent preferences. For example, flavors and fragrances have the highest dosage in detergents, while perfumes and cosmetics emphasize whether the fragrances are skin-sensitive and align with personal preferences.
In other words, there are no uniform rules for perfumers when it comes to fragrance creation. Continuous learning and creativity are required. Dennis once again humbly stated that there is hardly anyone who can master all the knowledge and skills.
AI Cannot Replace Perfumers Yet
When it comes to skincare products, consumers can understand brands or make purchasing decisions based on the efficacy of the ingredients and the technology behind them. In contrast, for companies that focus on “scent” as their selling point, the innovations in “fragrance” technology are often difficult to perceive and quantify.
However, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the perfume industry has also undergone a technological revolution. At IFF, although AI cannot completely replace perfumers, IFF’s perfumers, chemists, and sustainability teams extensively use it to focus on specific aspects of perfume creation. IFF’s AI system, Codex, is based on over forty years of accumulated data, covering billions of data points. While it does not tell our perfumers what to create, it does accelerate the creative process.
In addition, IFF has partnered with Salus Optima, a UK-based digital personalized nutrition and wellness company, to create an AI-driven personalized nutrition platform.
For example, on the brand side, YSL Beauty, a brand under L’Oréal, has launched YSL Scent-Sation, a multi-sensor, head-worn device based on the principle of electroencephalography (EEG). It helps achieve better personalized fragrance selection by tracking and analyzing consumers’ emotional responses when they smell different scents.
There is no doubt that the era of AI has arrived. For perfumers, will the emergence of AI replace manual perfumery?
“I strongly believe that AI can create many new fragrances, but how to truly apply them to actual products has not been seen in very mature cases,” Dennis does not deny the creativity that AI brings. “Perhaps one day AI can replace perfumers, but it doesn’t seem possible at the moment.”
In Dennis’ view, human perception of external things is extremely complex. He likened it to the sound of a single drumbeat, which might feel uncomfortable, but when placed in the context of an entire symphony, it becomes important and harmonious. In other words, human emotional responses are often difficult to quantify purely based on data.
“For me, perfumery is like art creation. I try to blend my personal experiences with art, constantly learning the rules, and then breaking them to create something new.” Despite being recognized as a master perfumer at IFF, Dennis still maintains the humility and passion of an apprentice when it comes to perfumery.
In fact, many senior perfumers have expressed similar views when it comes to the topic of AI in fragrance creation. They believe that beyond the technical skills, the beauty of perfumery derived from personal growth and life experiences cannot be replaced by AI. As one perfumer put it, “The joy of creation cannot be taught. Creativity must flow from within you.”
As Hao Zhigang summarized, “I also firmly believe that humans cannot stop the advent of technology, but we don’t need to blindly worship it or be blindly intimidated by it.”
Asia is a High-Growth Market
Data shows that in 2022, the global fragrance and flavor market reached a scale of 196.4 billion yuan, with the Chinese market reaching 56 billion yuan, accounting for 28.5% of the global market.
For IFF, the Chinese market is of great importance. It is understood that IFF entered China in the early 1990s and now has branches or factories in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Zhangjiagang.
Dennis stated that, from IFF’s perspective, the Asian market is growing at the fastest pace, including China, India, South Korea, and Southeast Asian markets, all of which have shown excellent performance.
However, he also mentioned that in the fragrance sector, the growth of the Chinese market is not as high as expected. Instead, there is a significant demand for products such as detergents and body care, and the growth of fragrances and flavors in these categories is relatively rapid.
The recent “High-End Perfume Trend Insights Report” released by CHAILEEDO data also mentioned that the penetration rate of the fragrance market in China is 5%, while in Europe and the United States, it is 42% and 50%, respectively. According to the report’s forecast, the compound annual growth rate of the fragrance market in China from 2021 to 2025 is estimated to be 22.5%, and the market size in 2023 is expected to reach 20.7 billion yuan. This means that there is still a lot of room for growth in the Chinese fragrance market.
Whether it is perfume, fragrance, detergents, hair care, or body care products, the focus on emotional value by brands is increasing. A survey shows that 64% of Chinese consumers use perfume for “self-pleasure.” In 2022, Tmall also found that consumers pay more attention to the relationship between “fragrance and emotion” when choosing fragrances.
Under the dominance of emotional value, not only are niche artisanal fragrances increasingly sought after by global consumers, but many personal care and detergent brands that emphasize fragrance concepts are also rising rapidly. To build brand competitiveness, these new brands often choose to collaborate with top international fragrance and flavor companies.
It can be said that against the backdrop of consumer stratification and confidence in domestic products, the Chinese cosmetics market, second only to the United States, is still a very “new” and highly potential market for IFF. The opportunity for IFF in China lies in how to combine the demands of the “new” market and create more fragrances that cater to the local trends in China.
Thank you to Chinese American Cosmetic Professional Association for your generous support of the column of CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour!
