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In an industry where differentiation is the ultimate goal, the major fragrances houses have long been developing molecules known as captives, which are for their exclusive use. A few years ago, Eurofragance, a fragrance house located just outside Barcelona, decided to take the captives route to bolster the unique character of its creations, among other objectives. A voyage into the mysteries of the never-ending quest for perfume innovation.
This article was written in partnership with Eurofragance.
“We discover and invent new ingredients which enrich the perfumer’s palette while opening the door to new sensorial experiences,” says Felipe San Juan Tejada, R&D Scientist at Eurofragance headquarters. These captives, both natural and synthetic, now play a crucial role for the fragrance houses that create them. Olivier Anthony, R&D Director at Eurofragance, offers his definition: “a captive can be an existing raw material or the product of our own research. Initially designed for exclusive use, it is usually protected by industrial property rights.”
A captive’s purpose may be to create an innovative or original scent – or to replace a molecule or ingredient that has come under regulation. It provides the company that develops it a guarantee of olfactive exclusivity and control over the entire supply chain, as opposed to an ingredient bought from a supplier, for example.
“Owning a captive is seen as prestigious, but it is primarily a way to stand out from the competition by meeting a creative or technical need,” continues Olivier Anthony. Not to mention the possibility, if the fragrance house is open to it, of selling the captive to other companies during the life of the patent.
Natural and synthetic
The word “captive” in perfumery can designate an ingredient of natural or synthetic source. But in both cases it implies a notion of possession. In essence, the company that develops a captive is its owner. Eurofragance has experimented with the two options, natural and synthetic: “for our captive l’Âme du Bois1https://www.eurofragance.com/our-captive-ingredient/, we focused our work on discarded Western red cedarwood sawdust, widely used in the Canadian building industry.” By purifying the material using a Eurofragance patented process, the teams brought out the remarkably rich olfactive facets that are not revealed during an ordinary extraction process. As a result, L’Âme du Bois is an upcycled ingredient, part of a sustainable approach, and aligned with the goals Eurofragance has set for its palette of ingredients.
In parallel, the scientists in the R&D department explore specific segments of chemistry likely to offer them components with a strong olfactive impact. “Our research projects are driven by our knowledge of our perfumers’ needs, our understanding of the links between the structure and the odor of molecules, and our exploration of new synthesizing or purifying methods,” explains Olivier Anthony.
This was the path taken for the development of Eurofragance’s captive Euphorion2https://www.eurofragance.com/euphorion/ an entirely synthetic molecule, unlike l’Âme du Bois. “Euphorion is a good example of what can sometimes happen during the research process. It is the fruit of an approach we opted for while working on another olfactive profile, and combines a distinctive character with remarkable performance,” says Felipe San Juan Tejada. The two captives have now joined the palette of Eurofragance ingredients, endowing the company’s fragrance compositions with unique aesthetic and technical qualities enabling them to stand out in the crowd.
A multidisciplinary project
Developing a captive involves pooling skills that are not confined to perfumers and R&D scientists. While the R&D department is key to the project, numerous other teams are involved: the evaluators and technical perfumers act as the bridge between the scientists and creative perfumers to ensure that the captive’s perfumistic properties and performances are fully relevant in scented compositions, regardless of the application format: alcohol, cream, oil, etc.
The purchasing department is responsible for guaranteeing a stable and constant supply of the raw material: plant-based ingredients for natural captives and the precursor chemicals required for synthetic captives. The Eurofragance sourcers explore all the possibilities offered by the transformation of natural ingredients: upcycling of waste and residues, essence purification, and other specific extractions.
The financial and logistic aspects are not overlooked: industrial forecasts are calculated, and production at scale and its economic spinoffs are assessed.
The technical compliance department plays a vital role in the development of captives by providing teams with the information they need on the viability of their approach, thus ensuring the future of the new ingredient. It also assesses the environmental impact, from supply up to elimination. “In particular, throughout the chain we study and measure the captive’s potential impact on carbon emissions, water use and any associated ethical issues,” says Diana March Bladé, Chief Sustainability and Technical Compliance Officer at Eurofragance.
The department commissions tests carried out by external bodies to ensure the captive is safe. “One of the best known tests concerns the CMR trio,” explains Diana March Bladé. “It is used to identify any carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic effects. But there are also sensitization tests designed to confirm that the captive does not have allergenic properties.”
Once it has been established that the product complies with regulations, Eurofragance approves the new captive and initiates its commercialization.
As the product launch date approaches, the communication team comes into play, leveraging a range of tools to win over existing and prospective clients: “The captive’s name and definition must be appealing, and since we’re addressing fragrance brands of all sizes, we need to make it perfectly clear what qualities it offers, what it adds to a composition, and how it can act as a differentiating factor in the end product,” explains Gloria Rosique, Corporate Communications Manager at Eurofragance.
The company also counts on the final consumer’s keen interest in perfumery ingredients and on certain increasingly famous captives. “With our captives, we are playing our part, at our scale, in the expansion and improvement of the perfumer’s palette,” concludes Gloria Rosique.
Special thanks to Felipe San Juan Tejada, Oliver Anthony, Diana March Bladé, Stéphanie Marze and Gloria Rosique.
For more informations, you can visit the Eurofragance website.
Photo : Felipe San Juan Tejada, R&D Scientist et Magdalena Rey, Technical Perfumer
Credit : @ Eurofragance
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