For Givaudan, the future of fragrance is all about wellness.
The fragrance and flavors manufacturer has developed what it calls a “creation territory dedicated to well-being” known as Well & Be, home to a suite of tools and technologies for creating wellness-driven fragrances. This concept is built on Givaudan’s ongoing research, which shows 85 percent of consumers believe fragrance can have an impact on their mood.
“Scent has power and scent is central to our overall well-being,” said Matthieu Befve, head of fine fragrance North America. “We do have a critical role to play with our partners to really impact consumers’ well-being.”
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While Well & Be launched in February, the company has been committed to researching the connection between scent and mood for 35 years through its Health and Wellbeing Centre of Excellence. Now, with Well & Be, Givaudan is addressing the four key well-being targets it has identified through fragrance: stress, happiness, mental balance and sleep, through which it is also exploring sexual wellness.
At Well & Be, brands can explore the Givaudan Well-Being Guide, an overview of consumer and market trends; fragrance designs, guidelines employing science around the scent-mood connection, and digital capabilities, all to create wellness-forward scents. For example, its artificial intelligence technology Myrissi, based on 25,000 consumer tests, is able to associate scents with colors to enhance the sensorial experience. Ensuring that the color branding of a fragrance fits the actual scent for consumers is expected to be a significant sales driver, according to the company.
“It is an incredible way to be able to translate scent through an emotional color palette. When you are going to look at it, you’re going to be able to have the same emotional experience if you were to smell it, so it opens incredible new ways to sell fragrance online,” said Befve. “You can…maximize the chances of having a winning product mix by having the right fragrance with the right color packaging.”
At Well & Be, Givaudan is harnessing several other neuroscience capable tools, including MoodScentz, a technology platform that connects fragrances with three specific sentiments, including invigorate and recharge, relax and unwind and happy and blissful. VivaScentz is an algorithm perfumers can use to create a fragrance with holistic benefits, such as Elizabeth Arden’s White Tea Eau de Parfum, $80.
Givaudan has also developed several scent collections proven to have an impact on mood. For example, the Gaia collection is made up of scents inspired by nature, including Geogaia, an after-rain scent that promotes relaxation, and Phytogaia, a scent inspired by forest bathing meant to improve mood, immunity and energy. Products like The Nue Co’s Water Therapy, $95, and Boy Smells’ Hackney Garden candle, $44, were created with this collection of functional scents. DreamScentz, which was used to create Soap & Glory’s Perfect Zen collection, employs scents proven to optimize sleep.
With all of these technologies, Well & Be is able to look at 92 moods and emotions, which revolve around five archetypes the brand has identified, including The Nostalgic, The Transformer, The Connector, The Seeker and The Naturalist.
This consumer interest in functional fragrances also plays a role in a larger industry trend Givaudan has identified known as “wardrobe scenting,” where people opt for different fragrances day-to-day rather than having a signature scent.
“We are moving toward this greater sense of wardrobe scenting, whether it’s throughout the day or throughout the week, this idea that you have a palette and you can play,” said Jenine Guerriero, Givaudan’s head of marketing, fine fragrance North America. “With your fragrances, you can layer them. You can wear one in the morning, one in the afternoon, depending on your mood or your state of mind.”
For the Givaudan team, Well & Be will continue to expand to include new research and new technologies to inform future fragrances.
“Our neuroscience and science and technology team work closely with our global marketing and consumer insights team so that as we look forward to the future consumer mindset, we also feed this data to them for them to be able to recreate or innovate in fields that we believe are going to be future consumer needs,” said Befve.