Firmenich, Sensegen and Conagen usher in a new era of “truly novel” biotech-crafted fragrances

18 Nov 2022 --- Biotechnology-based solutions in the fragrance space are paving the way for a sustainable future while promising the scalability of rare novel fragrances. PersonalCareInsights speaks to experts at Firmenich, Sensegen and Conagen, who reveal what is upcoming in this space and the benefits and the potential of biotechnology for clean cosmetics.

Sarah Reisinger, chief research officer at Firmenich, defines biotechnologies as the process of harnessing biology to produce products.

“Biotechnologies are like mini-factories powered by sugar-hungry microorganisms. Biochemists start with the end molecule in mind and figure out how to produce it. They are essentially likened to enzyme tamers,” explains Angelique Burke, VP of fragrance and senior perfumer at Sensegen.

“Scientists recently engineered yeasts to harbor biosynthetic pathways that make fragrance molecules. And those fragrances can be made by fermentation of those engineered microorganisms,” adds Yisheng Wu, senior director at Conagen.

Compared to natural ingredients made by traditional plant extraction methods, biotechnology solutions respond to demands in weeks versus months or years, Wu notes. Moreover, biotech solutions are not affected by the weather and seasons like plants are.

Biotechnology use can result in “unique” scents that would be difficult to make via chemistry and are not found in nature, notes Laurent Daviet, VP of biotechnology and natural process development at Firmenich.

Similarly, Burke adds that: “biotechnology helps bring to market truly novel molecules that either nobody ever smelled – because they were only present at an incredibly low level in plants – or which did not make economic sense to make them by organic synthesis.”Burke says that biotechnology helps creating novel molecules that either nobody ever smelled or which did not make economic sense to make them by organic synthesis.

Harnessing biotech for ingredient sourcing and creation
Burke explains that Sensegen’s partner, Conagen, uses biotechnologies for fragrance ingredients sourcing via deep collaboration for research innovation.

“This ‘sourcing’ of ingredients goes both ways. The first way is for R&D scientists to constantly experiment and have perfumers evaluate products. The second way is for perfumers to develop an ever-growing wish list of molecule ideas.”

On the other hand, for fragrance creation, it is possible for biotech to quickly make a molecule slightly different from what creators were used to, continues Burke.

“To commercialize specialty ingredients – our creativity is challenged daily to make fragrances with novel palettes. The challenges hone our expertise in formulating natural and sustainable fragrances, which are better and compete in quality and performance with synthetic ones.”

Ilaria Resta, president of perfumery at Firmenich, highlights that the most significant issue discussed at IFRA Global Summit, São Paulo, Brazil last week was sustainability, where biotechnology played a key role. 

“The challenge is to develop the next generation of ingredients, which will be conscious by design, with a responsible and sustainable palette that does not sacrifice hedonics and performance.”

“Renewability and environmental responsibility are becoming increasingly important; individuals and companies alike are looking at how they can minimize their impact on the planet,” says Daviet.

Synthetic fragrances and essential oils
Wu elaborates on Conagen’s partnership with Sensegen to create new compounds, such as a class of plant-based musk through precision fermentation.Wu says that biotechnology-based fragrances are cost-effective, provide consistent quality and have sustainable profile.

“For years, macrocyclic musk, a class of expensive synthetic aroma compounds, was created by chemists after the use of natural deer musk was banned for inhumane reasons. Still, they weren’t used as much for cosmetics as their cheaper polycyclic and nitro musk counterparts,” she continues.

“Synthetic fragrances became the mainstream turn of the 20th century when petroleum-based synthetic chemistry was celebrated. Since then, synthetic has become accepted as the mainstream and synonymous with simply ‘fragrance’ – as there wasn’t a difference between natural and synthetic fragrances.”

Moreover, Wu notes that essential oils have gained popularity over the past few decades. However, purity and raw materials were challenges in producing them.

“Botanical fragrance raw materials have limitations compared to modern, synthetic, petroleum-based fragrances. They are limited in their technical performance in sillage and long-lastingness. And botanicals are rarely ‘clean’ due to allergens, irritants and agricultural residues. Furthermore, they have a heavy environmental footprint due to the use of land and solvents for extraction,” she flags.

Bringing more than naturality
Reisinger says that within the beauty space, biotechnology is seen as an answer to meeting the rising demand for natural actives. This also avoids the pitfalls of sourcing rare plant-based substances, she notes. 

“With breakthrough technological advances in biotechnology and the increasing importance of sustainability to consumers, we expect biotechnology will become a key lever for innovation in the beauty space in the coming years, going beyond actives by providing renewable sources for many ingredients for beauty products,” she comments.

Daviet adds that Firmenich has recently explored a promising research avenue in biotech ingredients with multiple functionalities. “Dreamwood [a fragrance ingredient made from sugar] provides multiple skin benefits in addition to exceptional olfactive qualities.”

Wu adds that another reason why more consumers turn toward clean-label products is for cost efficiency. “Bioactive peptides, for example, are in high demand and it’s very costly to make by chemical synthesis.”

“Historically, people have embraced fermentation-based ingredients in the beauty space. The penetration of ingredients made by biotechnology is relatively easy because consumers accept fermentation-derived ingredients.”

Commenting on other areas of the clean beauty revolution, Burke remarks: “There is a growing desire for multifunctional ingredients, allowing simplified labeling, for example, to support clean beauty. Specialists in traditional folk medicines already know the value of plants and natural extracts for health and beauty. Pleasant smells make us feel at ease inside, radiating beauty,” she continues. 

Burke also highlights the history of essential oil in treating various skin ailments. “It is possible that single ingredients designed biotechnologically smell pleasing and display cosmetic activity.”

Scalability of biotech
Resta thinks that biotech ingredients are an answer to preventing the growing strain on nature’s resources.Resta highlights that at IFRA’s summit, biotechnology played a role in discussion on sustainability.

“Obtained by a natural fermentation process, these bioidentical synthetics offer natural-identical, renewable, biodegradable and cost-efficient solutions. This merge of science and nature will offer additional sustainable paths for new generations of ingredients and eco-efficient extraction technologies to be utilized in future fragrance formulations.” 

“With biotechnology, we can reduce pressure on raw materials, energy consumption and waste. We can also protect natural resources while expanding our perfumers’ palette, like Clearwood, which is a woody note like patchouli, but less earthy and leathery – something new our perfumers can create with,” she continues.

Toward the sustainable scaling of biotech ingredients, Daviet comments: “Biotech ingredients generally have a reduced carbon footprint compared to traditional technologies and synthetic ingredients.” 

Furthermore, he notes the benefits of biotech processes that can avoid the use of endangered natural resources by using renewable feedstocks such as sugars. “For example, Firmenich’s Dreamwood provides a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to the botanical oil extracted from vulnerable sandalwood trees.” 

Era of green chemistry
Reisinger highlights that biotechnology ties in with Firmenich’s green chemistry agenda. 

“Biotechnology is helping to shape the fragrance palette of the future – developing new ingredients that represent the scent of renewability and delivering the performance consumers expect.”

On the other hand, Burke says Sensegen’s New Naturals creation stands tall compared to their synthetic counterparts. “They can unlock myriad new smells because some of those molecules are novel. In the era of biology, it is an exciting time to be a taste and smell creator.”

“Biotechnology is bridging the gap between the consumers’ desire for natural products and their expectations regarding fragrance quality and performance. It implies that biotech ingredients allow creators to formulate fragrances as high performing as synthetic ones,” she continues.

Additionally, Burke thinks that blends of essential oils, which used to be synonymous with natural fragrances, cannot compete with combinations of synthetic materials. “The olfactive character, or the performance, is simply not there.” 

“It is like trying to make a painting with ceramic squares representing various images versus using a brush and single colors to draw the image you want precisely. Biotech affords us molecular precision; therefore, natural ingredients smell the same as their synthetic counterpart,” she concludes.

By Venya Patel