Color collision: Pantone, Firmenich and Givaudan paint a portrait for 2023 NPD

08 Dec 2022 --- As Pantone sets a vibrant hue for 2023 with the Color of the Year Viva Magenta 18-1750, symbolizing vim and vigor, PersonalCareInsights catches up with Givaudan and Firmenich on how the shade will influence future NPD. While Firmenich has created a magenta-inspired perfume in partnership with Pantone, Givaudan hints at primary colors to make a splash for the coming year.

“In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. Pantone Viva Magenta descends from the red family and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at Pantone Color Institute.

A spokesperson at Pantone tells PersonalCareInsights that this crimson red tone is both warm and cool. The versatile color can be applied in personal care appliance designs, such as a blow dryer or be mixed with other shades to create a statement shade. 

“For cosmetics and beauty, Viva Magenta is an ideal color for packaging. As a red shade, this is an advancing color that immediately draws you in, instantly standing out and captivating the eye. It could also work for candle NPD, for injecting drama, adding vibrancy and infusing positivity,” says the spokesperson.

Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year is described as powerful and empowering.Inspired by Viva Magenta, Firmenich is presenting a fragrance, Live Bold Eau de Parfum, in partnership with Pantone.

“Earlier this year, we partnered with renowned trend agency LSN Future Laboratory to identify prevailing trends. The report showed that boldness, strength and optimism, characteristics expressed by Viva Magenta, were core values that we should embrace in the future,” a Firmenich spokesperson shares with us.

“A specific emerging trend that identifies with Viva Magenta’s characteristics is what we call the “Pleasure Revolution.” This trend points to pleasure and radical moments of self-care and self-love. Consumers will adapt to a bold attitude, embracing freedom and becoming more experimental.”

Living bold
Gabriela Chelariu, senior perfumer at Firmenich intends to bring a multi-sensorial experience to inculcate the complexity of Viva Magenta for the Live Bold Eau de Parfum. 

Inspired by the perfumer’s vision of a spectrum of magenta, key fragrance accords of beet and magenta vetiver were combined with Firmenich’s flavor of the year 2023 – Dragon Fruit Smell-the-Taste.

Chelariu combined the watery freshness of Dragon Fruit Smell-the-Taste with the earthy element of beet to drive a sense of naturality and intrigue. Additionally, she integrated a rich base of magenta vetiver to ground the fragrance in sensuality and depth. This same olfactive theme was utilized to create an accompanying Live Bold candle fragrance.

Regarding the year’s flavor, Firmenich shares that as part of its Human Insights capability, the company’s Trenz forecasting team spotted a post-COVID-19 rise in dragon fruit across almost every major city worldwide.Firmenich named dragon fruit its flavor of the year 2023 following the Viva Magenta suit.

“While always popular within niche segments, the exotic fruit began showing up more universally across diverse markets and food service venues, as well as product applications, from the more intuitive juices and smoothies to less traditional formats like tea and cooked savory dishes,” the spokesperson elucidates.

Crimson dyes on the horizon
In the same way that Pantone’s Color of the Year captures the emerging themes seen in the world, Firminech’s Flavor of the Year translates new signals into positive sensory experiences.

“Dragon fruit and Viva Magenta share a similar color, so it was an intentional pairing. This year’s message is about daring to be original and brave enough to make a bold statement in an unconventional way,” the spokesperson at Firmenich says.

Meanwhile, Yohan Rolland, personal care category manager at Givaudan Active Beauty, tells PersonalCareInsights that the market is ready to welcome natural ingredients.

“For many years, we have heard that natural colors are less stable, difficult to formulate and don’t allow a lot of shades. This is not true nowadays,” he says.

“Efforts from suppliers pay off in the end. It is increasingly possible to design natural formulations with good stability and performance. And we still have a lot of natural sources to explore.”

Firmenich partnered with Pantone to create Live Bold Eau de Parfum (Image Credit: Firmenich).Popping pigments
Earlier this year, Givaudan launched a vegan pigment – New Purple 23641 – for makeup formulations after Pantone named Very Peri, a purple shade as 2022’s color of the year.

Extracted by green fractionation from radish, the new pigment was launched as a sustainable alternative to synthetic pigments like the New Red 1805 introduced in 2020.

Regarding emerging product developments for 2023, Rolland says: “The color of the year is announced a few weeks before the end of the year, for one year. This is incompatible with the time we need for a new ingredient, which is then available for years to formulators.” 

However, he hints on Givaudan’s color strategy that will focus on primary colors for the upcoming year.

“In the last few years, we launched a new red and then a new purple. This year, we plan to focus on a primary color, available in several versions for several kinds of the formulation. Stay tuned!” he quips.

By Radhika Sikaria