Fragrance’s Future: Tech Meets Sustainability
Even as #fragrance’s growth continued in 2022, the sector’s future was being shaped by the twin drivers of tech and #sustainability. Here, we outline the latest dynamics.
Topics include:
- Defossilizing the Fragrance Palette & Formulations
- Eco Fragrance Design Tools
Behind Fragrance’s Sales Rise
U.S. prestige fragrance sales increased 11% in 2022, driven by higher fragrance concentrations such as eau de parfums and parfums, and higher-end artisanal fragrance juices. The mass market, meanwhile, grew a much more modest 1.2%, totaling $992,761,833. Average unit prices were up almost 7% year-over-year, though unit sales actually dropped 5.2%.
Scent’s Tech-driven Future
Computers that Smell
Osmo , a new startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, seeks to endow computers with a sense of smell to improve the health and wellbeing of human life. The organization recently raised a $60 million series A funding round led by Lux Capital and GV (Google Ventures) .
Led by neuroscientist and entrepreneur Alex Wiltschko , Ph.D., Osmo’s team is said to have built the first map of odor to predict what a molecule smells like from its structure. Osmo is now using this map and generative artificial intelligence (an AI model similar to Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT) to create a new generation of better, safer, environmentally friendly aroma molecules for the growing flavor and fragrance market.
Osmo combines machine learning, data science, psychophysics, olfactory neuroscience, electrical engineering and chemistry in a multidisciplinary approach. It was founded with the goal of creating the next generation of aroma molecules for everyday products such as perfumes, shampoos, lotions and candles.
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Osmo’s digital olfaction research was validated at Google Research, including a 2019 study that used graph neural networks to predict the smell of a molecule from its structure. In addition, three papers produced by Osmo’s core technical team while researchers at Google Brain are currently under review at peer-reviewed journals.
"The digitization of the human senses of vision and hearing have led to incredibly impactful leaps in technology that enrich our lives, from better healthcare to photography to digital music," says Wiltschko. "We’re excited to play a part in unlocking the potential for olfaction to change the world in fields like flavor [and] fragrance, medical diagnostics, agriculture and beyond."
He adds, "To tackle this difficult, historic problem, we’ve brought together a founding team of world-class neuroscientists, machine learning experts, psychophysicists, hardware and software engineers, data scientists, and chemists. I’m looking forward to the journey with them and others who join us along the way."
AI Scent-to-color Translator
Givaudan ’s Myrissi is an AI technology said to translate scents into color patterns. The technology is currently only available in Western Europe, the United States, Brazil and Japan.
Myrissi reportedly captures and predicts the spontaneous emotional perception of fragrance experienced by consumers, determining the best alignment among colors, emotions and scents. The algorithm is modeled on a database of more than 25,000 consumer tests.
The platform has the ability to drive the creative and product development process starting either from a chemical composition to predict the color code association, or from a chromatic base to determine the appropriate olfactive affiliation, per Givaudan. It also generates the visual mood board and the verbal ecosystem surrounding any fragrance: from packaging to campaign storytelling, consumers’ emotional nuances are translated in their most complete and consistent form, according to the company.
Topics include:
- Defossilizing the Fragrance Palette & Formulations
- Eco Fragrance Design Tools