Sensegen: Sensory shifts at crossroads of wellness, sustainability and biotechnology
21 Mar 2024 | Sensegen
Personal Care Insights looks into fragrance trends with Angélique Burke, VP of Fragrances at Sensegen. We discuss the impact of societal shifts on scent preferences, how biotechnology is revolutionizing fragrance production and highlight eco-sensitivity through innovative approaches like precision fermentation.
Hello Angelique.
Welcome back to Personal Care Insights interview.
I'm Vaya Patel, senior journalist at Personal Care Insights.
Could you please introduce yourself and Sensogen?
Hi Vena, it's good to see you again.
I'm Angelique Burke, VP of fragrance at Sensogen, the biotech fragrance South.
Thank you for intro for introducing yourself.
Today we will be discussing what's happening with fragrance, trends and how biotechnology is used, in, in sensogen.
So let's just jump into the questions.
What I wanna ask first is, so what is happening in society and culture right now that is impacting fragrance trends?
What's happening in society?
You know, I think we're, we're still emerging from COVID, and what by this is that we are slowly feeling more comfortable traveling and that gives us desire to adventure because we've been cooped up for too long.
And what we see as far as trends are concerned is two diametrically opposed trends.
So that desire to adventure is making us crave fragrances that transport us, that are accelerating and different and sophisticated, and we wanna be.
We want to be out of those four walls.
On the other hand, there's a big wellness trend.
So I'll give you that this need for wellness is nothing new.
It's, however, been really amplified by an increased collective awareness of the holistic nature of our health.
You know, there's no doubt now that we need both a healthy mind and a healthy body to be happy and grounded, and that.
Really takes us to nature and this is really where essential oils absolutely fit into that trend of fragrance because they give us single notes that are pure, that bring us comfort, that make us feel good, and that's that's the second active trend.
Now, the trick thing is how are you going to marry those two seemingly opposite trends.
So based on this.
What role does biotechnology play in meeting these aspirations?
As you know, Sensogen is the biotech fragrance house, and more than just a role player, we see biotech as an enabler for these trends.
Think about it in terms of the ministry who's going to officialize the marriage because On the one hand, essential oils are the best tool to answer the need for wellness, and they absolutely have a role to play in fragrancing.
But on the other hand, if you only have essential oils, it's going to be a little challenging to make fragrances that are.
Sophisticated that are taking you to places where you haven't been because, you know, how can something that brings you comfort also brings you crazy newness that you're not expecting and that's where really biotech molecule come in because they allow that sophistication while retaining the seal of naturalness.
So that's the role that biotech's playing.
And so aside from the olfactive range, what makes biotechnology eco-sensitive and also an alternative option to natural essential oils?
OK, so I'm glad you're mentioning, you're reiterating the importance of the, the wide breadth of olfactive direction that biotech molecule can bring, but really more than this.
Biotech molecules allow for stability and consistency of the supply chain because, say, think about the trend for wellness and the need for essential oils.
This really put crops at risk of being overharvested, and the crops themselves are at risk of unpredictable weather patterns.
So, on the other hand, if you think about precision fermentation.
You only need a tiny piece of the plant to create those flavors and fragrance molecule, and that in turn allows you to allows us to lessen the burden on the crops, to really lessen the burden on the environment as a whole, and to support biodiversity.
And so do you think beauty, specifically personal care, is ready for biotech?
Oh, absolutely, yes, yes, yes, we are, you know, we are at a pivotal moment because we're seeing biotech bubbling to the surface, in direct to consumer publications, and we really believe that this is fueled by the curiosity of the consumer and the consumer now is an educated consumer, right?
He doesn't let, he doesn't let himself be hoodwinked by.
Additional buzzwords like green, clean, safe, and I'm saying a pivotal moment because some personal care brands are literally putting biotech first and foremost.
So what we're seeing, what we're forecasting is that soon because of that educated consumer who knows what they want, who are very aware of the eco-sensitivity of the situation, they're going to ask for biotech.
To be a worthy alternative to naturals.
Mhm.
And how can Sensogen fast track this biotechnology, advantage for consumer product fragrances?
OK.
So, you know, Vena, that we have entered some strategic relationships, and it is our mission to positively impact people and the planet.
So we are very open to collaborative partnerships because as far as we're concerned, the broader, the sooner the better, right?
We can get together and together we can work to decrease the footprint of fragrance to just a tiny fingerprint.
It was great to hear the insights prepared today by Sanjin and by you.
Thank you so much for sharing, Angelique.
Oh, Vinya, thank you for giving us the chance to talk.
It was nice to see you.
