The pandemic marked a before and after in the business world as well. In particular, in addition to having emptied the streets and altered the routines of thousands of businesses and consumers, it affected the key equation in mass consumption industries. “COVID brought, in addition to the most serious effects, an unexpected consequence: the threat of losing the sense of smell and with it the loss of taste and the closest experience of the consumer,” he recalls. Maria Eugenia Mariscotti: Head (leader) Givaudan Southern Cone Commercialthe Swiss company whose purpose is precisely the search for new experiences around smell and taste. The company has grouped its activities into two large divisions: Flavors and Fragrances, which supply the food industry, on the one hand, and personal care and perfumery, on the other..
According to the executive, when choosing, many issues intervene in this process and the smell is a determining element, as much as the visual. “We see that people smell and close their eyes, as if making an effort to concentrate on the smell: 80% of these decisions are caused by emotions and the fragrance is very strong because it takes you back to your own experiences (beautiful or ugly), something that has happened to you. marked with force”, explains Mariscotti. The secret of the smell, for example, for this industry is to link it with experiences that are familiar and make you feel good. In this case, it is as if the sense of smell goes directly, without a filter, to later find a rational explanation for it.
Another effect of the post-pandemic market was the growth of the flavoring category, mainly as a result of setting up spaces set inside the house, which during those months was home and office. A lot of interest was also generated to learn more about perfumery. “The fragrance is not only one more ingredient, but it has a sophistication when designing and creating to achieve a certain objective. It is all an art, very sophisticated and with a particular aesthetic”, details Mariscotti. It is that many times we lose sight of the fact that behind that bottle of perfume there are more than 100 ingredients. A soap, for example, can have 30 ingredients and there is all the possible gradation depending on the positioning that you want to achieve.
R&D. Another side of this industry lies in the requirement of permanent innovation, which is verified in the patenting of molecules to achieve the sought-after products. Due to company policy, for some time now they have ruled out those of animal origin, for those that are pure natural or synthesized from these elements. Through
They are of natural origin (we have not used animal origin for a long time) and others are synthesized. Biotechnology, algae, waste recycling, etc., everything is being used to achieve new materials. Different types of technologies were also developed: to release the fragrance with a determined “timing” (for example, in deodorants) to last longer, or appear later; Various ways of combining the ingredients were obtained to achieve certain effects, such as “covering” various odors by combining some molecules.
The Givaudan tradition goes back more than 250 years and that influences your learning. Thus, a gigantic database was generated on which technologies and patents were developed.
Recent trends. Although everything is already invented in terms of categories, from time to time a new one appears and is explored. “It depends on the season, consumers are leaning towards fresher or sweeter fragrances, etc. But what does distinguish the local market is that, in the inputs for mass consumption, it is required to maximize prices and seek more productivity.
In this sense, fine perfumery customers are more sophisticated and there are specific niches. For example: there are fragrances developed that help to “feel happier”, energized, or even improvements in the quality of sleep have been proven.
The production is chained from the creation of the fragrance on the basis of the studies to achieve what was sought, then the application of said fragrance in a vehicle. It can be a softener for washing sheets or for fragrances, a liquid soap for the shower, a shampoo or a deodorant.
Work networks. The multinational has creative centers around the world that carry out their work with the participation of scattered teams that are fed by the data obtained: they are the evaluators (technicians who study the market and consumer habits). This information is being shared and looking for similarities, maps of olfactory preferences are being outlined (by gender, age, place of residence, etc.).
In Argentina, for example, there are specialists who know the Argentine market and its peculiarities, which distinguish it from others, such as Brazil or Mexico, in the uses and application of various products, which may have more or less “impregnated odor”, or that fragrances are used in some and not in other products. Differences that with a visit to any global supermarket in these countries are obvious, or rather smell: they estimate that 90% of the products displayed on their gondolas have a specific flavor or smell..
Origin and present. Givaudan is a global company of Swiss origin founded in 1895 whose objective is to innovate in the field of food and beverages and to create experiences in the world of essences and personal care items, whose activities are grouped into two businesses: Flavors and Fragrances. With headquarters in Vernier (Geneva, Switzerland) it deploys its work in 166 subsidiaries around the world. Its shares are publicly traded and its latest market capitalization (end of February 2023) was 27.68 billion Swiss francs (US$28.67 billion). Its Chairman is the Swiss Calvin Grieder, since 2017 and its CEO since 2005 is the Frenchman Gilles Andrier, with a past at Accenture until he joined the Fragrances division in 1993.
by Marcelo Alfano
