What Fragrances Are Made of: Givaudan, Part 3

by: Serguey Borisov

One more interview I was planning touched on the field of perfume bases, perfume synthetics and natural raw materials. Givaudan let me speak to the most important specialist in this field, Hervé Fretay, Global Director of Naturals and Fragrance Ingredient Marketing, who answered all my questions, starting with the company's history. 

Hervé Fretay, Givaudan Global Director of Naturals and Fragrance Ingredient Marketing

Hervé Fretay: Givaudan was based as a chemical company and we have been producing synthetic chemicals for perfumery since the beginning of the 20th century, and then, step by step, we started to create bases—mini-accords that could be used in soaps and perfumes. And then the directors thought, "Well, why don`t we create final products, like fine fragrances?" So, Givaudan became the first company that created a fragrance for a fashion designer. It was Shocking for Schiaparelli in 1937. That's how the company evolved into fragrance creation. 

But I like to say that the DNA of Givaudan is not only in synthetics. It's a lot into naturals as well, when in 1964 Givaudan purchased Roure and later merged the two companies in 1991. Roure was very famous for its naturals, with a production unit in Grasse and advanced development, being, for instance, the inventor of the Absolute. With the acquisition of Quest in 2007 our company has added the expertise of Quest chemists and Chiris naturals. So Givaudan now stands on both pillars of perfumery: naturals and synthetics. 

Sergey Borisov: Bases are a very interesting subject. Essential oils can be bought in herbal stores and some molecules can be purchased as well, but bases are less popular. And, are there any Givaudan-created bases or pure synthetics that have legendary status?

Hervé Fretay: You are right; Givaudan has been creating a lot of iconic synthetic materials. When you are talking about green notes, you can mention Undecavertol and Stemone both discovered by Givaudan, and more recently novel green fruity notes like Spirogalbanone and Pharaone; we have also still some captives in the area of Green notes like Shisolia and its famous shiso leaf smell. In the floral area, the famous Lilial was originally a Givaudan molecule. And now we still have one of the broadest palettes of Muguet notes, like Florhydral or Dupical, which probably is the most powerful Muguet material in the market. And we are continuously developing new molecules like our latest addition in 2014 with Mahonial, which brings a floral density as well as volume and longevity to flowery accords.

Sergey Borisov: Come again, what's the name?

Hervé Fretay: M-a-h-o-n-i-a-l. Mahonia japonica is a small yellow flower that has a diffusive Muguet smell and hence the name Mahonial. So as you can see, in a lot of families Givaudan has been creating blockbusters and iconic synthetic materials that became standards in all Perfumers' palettes like Undecavertol and Methyl Pamplemousse. 

Mahonia japonica, evergreen plant from Taiwan

And if we talk about sandalwood notes, you could show the evolution from Sandela, to Sandalore, Ebanol, and to the most powerful one, Javanol [it stays on a blotter for several months!]. Givaudan has clearly created landmarks on the synthetic arena. 

When we invent a new synthetic molecule, it is first kept internally for our perfumers, and that's why we call it a “captive” material. Our perfumers need to play with it, they need to domesticate it, and it requires a lot of time before they can really use it best. This is especially the case with powerful products where using it straight in a fragrance is not always easy … this is why we are creating bases as a way to make it nicer and easier to use in fragrances. 

Givaudan has been then developing a lot of iconic bases, I can name one base, which is very famous: Dewfruit  built upon the Neocaspirene molecule, a powerful Cassis note. Using this kind of strong Cassis note was not easy 30 years ago—but now perfumers know how to use it either via the base or directly as the molecule. This base is used not only by Givaudan perfumers, but also by all the perfumers as a way to access Neocaspirene! And now Dewfruit has become an iconic base for fruity notes.

Sergey Borisov: Do you mean Angel by Thierry Mugler?

Hervé Fretay: Yes, but there were many more uses before Angel! I think that the very first fragrance to use Dewfruit was a product of The Body Shop called Dewberry.
 

Sergey Borisov: Do you remember any old Givaudan bases, like, what were the very first bases?

Hervé Fretay I’ve got the old Givaudan bases catalogue in my office, and as far as I can remember, old bases were mimicking natural smells, like Lilac base, Rose base. Those bases were not such a creative bases as they are now; they were made to make the perfumer’s life easier. Apple accord, Muguet accord—they were made to simplify their work, like prefab short-cuts for the perfumer. In the late 60s we started to create real innovative bases, creative bases. And that’s turned out to be great—as, for example, we have a great creative base called Ultrazur, which is based upon our captive molecule Azurone, with a strong marine and ozonic freshness, it's very substantive especially on fabrics.

Sergey Borisov: As far as I know, almost every new captive molecule has the name of a perfumer on it, while there's no base with a creator’s name.

Hervé Fretay: You are right that sometimes molecules have the name of a chemist attached to them. Of course, perfumes have got the signatures of their perfumers-creators. However technical perfumers, who create bases, almost always remain unknown to the public.

Sergey Borisov: Let`s return to the naturals. As far as the science can take us, what are the newest breakthrough technologies in the refining of natural oils and absolutes?

Hervé Fretay: Givaudan has two strong pillars related to naturals: Ethical Sourcing at Origin and Innovation. Both support our constant aim to get the best palette of Naturals for our perfumers. 

First, it's ethical sourcing of the natural materials at the origin. We are going directly to the sourcing locations of the material. Cutting out the intermediaries to be sure of the quality of the naturals and to seek the quantity we need for our production, at the right quality and the right price, and at the same time generate innovations.

With ethical sourcing we clearly secure our demand, but we also support local communities with social actions, like giving them a possibility to go to school or other opportunities, depending on their needs. Givaudan was the pioneer of the approach in early 2000, we were the first to set up an Ethical Sourcing program in the fragrance industry and we are still the company with largest amount of these kinds of programs in the world. This approach is clearly different from the historical model of sourcing naturals, especially in Grasse. They were treating the local naturals from the region but also they were receiving all kinds of raw materials from the French colonies, but they were not so much in planting at the places of origin. They were buying from traders and intermediate companies, and finishing all the products in Grasse. Instead, we are going to the locations and working with the local communities directly, to know and meet their needs. 

Our second pillar is about innovation. When we talk about innovation in perfumery, we usually think about molecules and synthetics. There are also a lot of innovations that can come from the natural field. We strongly believe that we can shape naturals for our perfumers in a new way! The innovation and ethical sourcing at origin are building the best palette of perfume materials for our perfumers. A broader palette, more variable and adapted costs, the best quality materials, and most innovative. It's about bringing different materials, not only about the very best natural materials. Remember the Chanel couture collection made of jersey—the material was cheap, but the jersey collection of Chanel was fantastic! So it's not only about using most exclusive and expensive qualities like the silk in couture!

Sergey Borisov: She made it to be different! You are either different and memorable, or you’ll die amongst the same copies.

Hervé Fretay: Exactly, and I like your point, it’s about being remembered. It’s about bringing different sensations in your final product. Yes, it could be done with the best quality of rose or jasmine or vetiver (we have a program of ethical sourcing of vetiver in Haiti), but you have to make different and innovative materials. New innovative materials will bring new creative stimuli to our perfumers and make Givaudan perfumes really unique.

Sergey Borisov: So you can discern Givaudan perfumes from the fragrances made by IFF, Robertet or Takasago perfumers on the market?

Hervé Fretay: There are people that could do that, I guess. We have some signature materials. For example, we have an exclusive quality of mint from Morocco, called Mint Nanah (nanah means mint in Arabic). This mint is the signature of the most recent masculine fine fragrances created by Givaudan like Montblanc Legend or Prada Luna Rossa.

In the terms of innovation for naturals you could work on the terroir like for wine, because every plant can be grown in different countries (the difference is known for so many plants, from grapes to rose, and from vetiver to mint). Or you can work in terms of technology, as you know: you could fractionate the oils, you could do a CO2 extraction …

Sergey Borisov: So what are the most advanced production technologies that make Givaudan proud?

Hervé Fretay: What’s next? For me it's definitely biotechnologies, as they allow us to modify existing naturals or create new naturals while retaining the naturality.

Sergey Borisov: Could you please elaborate?

Hervé Fretay: Natural materials can be treated by enzymes or micro-organisms, in order to produce something different. Biotechnology transforms a natural material (either complex, like essential oil or simpler, like sugar or fatty acid) into another natural, with a different odor profile. 

And this is a completely new arena for perfumery! These biotechnologies are already used a lot in human activity: you can find enzymes in medical preparations, in pharmaceuticals, in cosmetics, in food (beer and yogurt are biotech transformers!), in washing powders and soaps.

For perfumery it’s a sort of a brand-new trend, while our flavor divisions are already using biotechnologies more widely  to get natural molecules. So we could apply this enzymatic transformation to a natural oil or absolute—we do that, for instance, to our Clary Sage oil, and by doing that we modify the smell.

Clary sage 

Sergey Borisov: Can we smell the difference?

Hervé Fretay: Of course, we can! [He opens the box of his natural oil samples library.] We call it Clary Sage Enriched, because enzymatic treatment enriches the oil with some specific components. It smells more fruity, because the treated oil is enriched with fruity esters. But you also still have the background of the dark woody cigar box effect of Clary Sage absolute. So the new Enriched Clary Sage is in-between fruity Clary Sage Essence and dark woody tobacco-like Clary Sage Absolute. Our perfumers just love it! You see you can create something hybrid-like.

Sergey Borisov: Yes, I love Clary Sage Enriched, too—it's a really magic smell!

Hervé Fretay: I love your term “magic.” Biotech creates some magic with naturals, while using the Clary Sage Essence from France, but now it has a bit of magic in it. 

Or you can make something that is COMPLETELY different. I am going to show you a new natural captive from Givaudan called Akigalawood. To create it we made a specific enzymatic transformation. [dips blotters into dilution of Akigalawood]

You could feel its peppery woody accent but in a clean way, with no earthy moldy effect at all.

Just keep it, and if you bring it to a room, it will fill the room completely, whereas it will not being overwhelming. There's a perfume with the note already, it`s masculine cologne Natura by Brazilian brand #Urbano. So the future of breakthrough naturals innovation is in the field of biotech.

Sergey Borisov: What about Roman Kaiser technology?

Hervé Fretay: Scent Trek! The technology is about capturing volatile molecules of specific flowers, wood, fruits, or just in the forest—and then reconstituting it with molecules. We have gathered more than 500 Scent Treks from all around the world, and we still capture the smell of the world in this project. You can capture the smell of your favorite roses—and then create a fragrance based on its Scent Trek! 

We also have a unique technology called Freezeframe. It's like a Scent Trek, to get headspace molecules, but we do it with frozen fruits. For instance, we take a mango, put it into liquid nitrogen, so the mango becomes solid. And then we do a headspace of the frozen fruit just starting to melt. And you got the effect of a fresh bite of the fruit, somewhere in Asia—mango, ginger, litchi, any other tropical fruits for fine fragrances— and then we reconstitute them. And Freezeframe ginger is completely different from the traditional ginger oil. It's a burst of freshness!

Sergey Borisov: But you haven't stoped searching for new synthetic molecules: Musks, Ambers, Woods?

Hervé Fretay: The search for new-smelling molecules for perfumery is still intensive and Givaudan invests a lot into it. But it takes a lot of time and money to create new molecules, to make them not only new and special, but also totally safe and effective. Again, we can expect that the future of new molecules will be driven by Green Chemistry and Biotech.