alpha aromatics®Fragrance sourcing is part of a new and different age of discovery.
While not the quest for a spice route to the New World and a perilous voyage across waters inhabited by fire-spitting dragons and leading to the abyss of a flat world, it is in its own way a trek into a new and lucrative frontier.
The pursuit is for untapped raw materials for perfume creations developed by master perfumers.
This unique breed of explorer also seeks the knowledge of how these potential ingredients can be used by studying new methods of cultivation, talking to local populations and learning about agronomy, which is a branch of agricultural knowledge that concerns field crop production and soil management.
Almost anywhere on the map of the world, except for maybe Antartica and Tierra Del Fuego, can be desirable destinations for an ambitious perfume manufacturers that source fragrance materials.
This is the magnet on the human imagination that propels the adventure, and while there is no official record of how many people make a living this way, according to some sources, there are only between 15 and 100 of them working in the world today.
The parameters of the job have changed dramatically over the years and also entail ethical and economic standards to protect the environment, which were not a concern a few decades ago.
Why Is The Fragrance Sourcer Important?
While being paid to explore the world may seem like the dream adventure for many, fragrance sourcing is a real job with heavy responsibilities.
Scouring ancient lands and extracting their unique essential oils aids the powers-that-be fueling the perfume industry, who are constantly seeking to stay above the competition and broaden their scope of products and consumer base.
There is no underestimating the commercial potential of a perfumer who has integrated an exciting, new ingredient into a dynamic palette of scents.
Sourcers can work independently or for large global companies that are known to create specific brands but do not employ in house “noses.”
Consumer Demands And Fragrance Sourcing Companies
Modern consumers have done their homework and demand complete transparency and traceability.
This includes: knowing the origin, exact contents and production methods utilized in the creation of the products they buy.
These expectations have transformed the olfactory explorer into a much more thorough and complex observer, and ultimately, a reliable connection between the producers and masterful perfumers.
Balancing these new expectations and avoiding supply chain disruptions have expanded former job specifications and their tool boxes, so to speak.
The modern fragrance sourcer needs to both discover and analyze raw material. Two new vital implements are headspace and a glass bubble connected to a pump.
The former is a kind of enclosure that captures the plant’s unique aroma and records its diverse compounds, while the latter, which is the plant, flower or bark, is placed in a glass bubble machine, which evaluates the nature of the air inside to create an identity for the particular plant studied.
How Do Fragrances Sourcers Affect Supply Chains?
The labyrinth of commercial effort that defines the perfume supply chain is highly sophisticated and enmeshed with varied factors that concern sourcing raw materials, blending, packaging, distributing, selling and managing the flow of returns and waste.
It is the fragrance sourcer who provides major brands with the sustainable raw materials that meet their strict standards and specifications.
The bond of trust that exists between these two aspects of perfume manufacture maintains the stability of the supply chain and is reinforced by long term relationships with ethical suppliers.
Global flower farms, plantations or extraction facilities are frequent suppliers of botanicals.
These locations ensure confidence that the selected raw materials are of the highest quality and have been produced sustainably before they are infused into the manufacture of perfume and scented products.
Still, the olfactory explorer must become his or her own master of the complex maze that comprises the supply chain.
He or she must serve as the eyes, ears and nose of the perfume brands that enlist their services.
This requires a high level of creativity, research, and development, as well as collaboration and communication all the way across the supply chain.
Competition is fierce and standing out among others forces brands to constantly differentiate themselves with new launches, eye-catching design, artificial intelligence and enticing descriptions of splendor in the grass and feats of derring-do that captivate the imagination of the modern consumer.
New and unique raw materials are always tempting and exciting to a dynamic, fickle, and frankly, saturated consumer base.
Olfactory explorers need to identify and acquire a diverse range of natural and synthetic ingredients, including essential oils, absolutes, resins, and fixatives.
Both the sourcers and the brands that employ them have to deal with the volatility of pricing when it comes to desired raw materials as well as risks of contamination.
Success requires a circular economy production and consumption approach, which maintains materials that are in use and minimizes waste.
It is a modern solution for extracting as much value as possible from natural resources used within the supply chain via recycling and reducing, while simultaneously decreasing environmental impact.
The Diverse Stages In A Fragrance Supply Chain
The perfume supply chain covers the enormous range of the entire process from raw material procurement via a fragrance sourcer to final retail placement and sales.
The breakdown of multiple stages are as follows: sourcing raw materials; blending and fragrance creation; manufacturing; quality control; packaging; warehousing; distribution and retail sales.
Throughout the entire process, sourcing, production, quality control, and distribution are the most critical of all
Understanding The Raw Materials
The importance of ethical sourcing practices of both natural and synthetic raw materials and compliance with strict rules and certifications cannot be understated.
These ingredients derive from a plethora of sources which include: plants, animals, minerals, or laboratories.
Some of the factors that affect sourcing are: availability, which both limits their supply and increases their cost; quality, which varies according to method of extraction, storage condition and means of transportation; sustainability, the lack of which can adversely affect the environment; loss of biodiversity; water pollution; deforestation and both human and animal cruelty violations.
Regulations vary across regions and markets, and as such, they can pose many challenges, especially for the sourcing, formulation, and testing of the raw materials and ingredients.
These can derive from numerous sources including: plants, animals, minerals and laboratories. Some ingredients are rare, seasonal, or endangered, which limits their stable supply and increases their cost.
To maintain availability, some perfume companies have resorted to synthetic alternatives or made investments into conservation and cultivation.
The cost of researching raw materials is very high and there is constant pressure to discover new scents to support the next competitive edge between brands.
Blending And Formulation of Fragrances
The extracted oils are blended by perfumers to create fragrance compositions based on consumer demands.
The fragrance blends are incorporated into finished products such as: perfumes; lotions; body sprays and detergents.
This step in the perfume supply chain is to transform the fragrance concentrate into a ready-to-use perfume product that can be sold to the end consumer.
This process involves: dilution with a solvent; maturation from a few weeks to a few months; the filling of the perfume from storage containers to final packaging; delivery to warehouse until it is ready to be shipped; and transport to final customer location. (Whew!)
The Challenges in Fragrance Sourcing
The removal of many natural ingredients used in perfumery such as: creamy sandalwood, erotic musk, and romantic rose oil, have taken a terrible toll on the world’s eco systems.
The conservation of biodiversity on planet Earth is of the utmost concern to the seeker of new raw materials. This limits availability and causes fluctuations in pricing.
There is also the challenge created by the increasing destructive occurrences of climate change.
Drought has taken its toll on the availability of American Virginia Cedar wood and rose centofolia and lavender in France.
According to Lisa Hipgrave, Director of the International Fragrance Association:
“Natural materials are particularly affected by the weather extremes – droughts, cyclones, tropical storms and flooding have hit many countries including France, China, Brazil, India, Madagascar and Indonesia, affecting all manner of the crops which supply many of the ingredients our perfumers use.”
Alpha Aromatics Fair Trade Commitment To Sustainability and Fair Trade
We are both a pioneer and leader in the modern perfume industry.
Borne in the post-war years of the late 1940s, their clients are as diverse as the world’s populations and cultures, and they represent a myriad of diverse industries.
As an esteemed member of the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), we are a five-star, family-run conglomerate that personifies the mission to ensure the safety and sustainability of fragrances produced and used all across the globe.
Long before sustainability because a household word, the perfumers at Alpha Aromatics have been at the forefront of of eco friendly strategies and solutions.
Compliance has never been a stumbling block for their chemists and researchers. It is, rather a catalyst for exploration and innovation.
The fragrance sourcers of today are so much more than just cogs in the giant wheel of perfume production.
They represent the foundation of the industry; providers of the mortar from which a perfume composition is structured.
Although they may pass like unseen ghosts among us, without them, the perfume industry would suffer tremendously.
Tip your hat to one if he or she passes by; that is, if you can recognize him or her. It’s not that they hide; it’s just that their accolades are privately received and these little known experts like it that way.
