Today's consumers are constantly looking for solutions to improve their daily well-being. This quest is particularly evident in their beauty products, which makes them more demanding in terms of the solidity of the evidence provided on the action delivered, physical and/or psychological.
Symrise Consumer Fragrance is committed to meeting this essential demand for balance and serenity, and has thus deployed two large-scale olfactory programs highlighting fragrances that offer both cosmetic and emotional benefits for the beauty world.
Perfumes with cosmetic benefits
Growing consumer interest in the benefits of skin care has resulted in a growing demand for products that combine the need for comfort with the need for health for the largest organ in the human body: the skin.
Thus, the cosmetic characteristics usually attributed to the face - sharp and targeted - are now a selling point for beauty products intended for the body. The benefits, features, textures, formats and ingredients initially exclusive to facial care are now found in other beauty care segments such as hair care, bath and shower, and deodorants.
Discerning consumers expect products with concentrated active ingredients; therefore, skincare has become more demanding and science-infused. If the future of skincare lies in the active powers of ingredients, fragrances have the opportunity to come into play to deliver effective cosmetic benefits to the skin, thereby enhancing product performance.
In order to be as close as possible to consumers' concerns and to respond to this increased need for care, Symrise Consumer Fragrance has developed Fractive, an exclusive and innovative fragrance technology.
Fractives, an exclusive technology with skin care benefits
Symrise Consumer Fragrance's Fragrance and Cosmetic Ingredients divisions have worked hand-in-hand for several years of research, with the goal of creating a unique synergy that brings together the best of both worlds. Going beyond fragrance through the exploration of biological activity, more than 300 fragrance raw materials have been tested for proven activity, resulting in the Fractive Symrise fragrance portfolio; the first fragrances with skin care benefits, shaking up both the fragrance and beauty worlds.
Fragrances with emotional benefits
Fragrances have the power to positively influence both the mood and the body. In a post-pandemic context, consumers are demanding value-added olfactory solutions that target their moods and thereby influence their feelings. This is why Symrise has just launched the new ActiMood fragrance platform internationally, with the objective of offering fragrances that act on emotions and promote well-being.
Actimood, an innovative platform with fragrances that act on emotions and promote well-being
" Scientists have long proven the impact of fragrances on our well-being. Pleasant aromas make us happier, but they can do much more than that. They can improve our health. One key reason: many scents are linked to our memories. The olfactory cortex has direct connections to key brain regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus, structures that play an important role in emotion and memory. Indeed, our sense of smell provides a direct link between the environment and our central nervous system and activates more intense emotional memories than vision or other senses. " Ashutosh Shukla, global category manager for beauty.
Based on this research, and thanks to Symrise's proprietary neuroscience program, Gen-lsys, the Fine Fragrance and Consumer Fragrance units have created ActiMood, a unique platform of patented emotion-activating fragrances.
This innovative and pioneering program was developed both internally, in a synergistic manner, and externally, in close collaboration with open innovation partners in the field of neuroscience, including an external certified clinical center in neuroscience, Spincontrol. In order to confirm the robustness of the results, this development was carried out in several approval stages, from the scientific validation of the raw materials to the validation of the final compositions. Each of them resulted in an approval for the targeted emotions such as energy, well-being, sensuality, self-confidence, relaxation, etc. In the final creation phase, the fragrances were validated with 900 consumers in six major markets (United States, Brazil, France, Germany, China and India - study conducted in 2021). Several parameters were taken into account and studied using a unique methodology combining biometric, psychometric and neurometric measurements. With ActiMood, Symrise is able to propose fragrances with a proven impact on:
- The emotion felt
- The intensity of the stimulation
" With Fractive and ActiMood, we are fully entering into the 1st value-added fragrance category, in addition to their olfactory and sensory dimensions. Through this approach, combined with our palette of natural, renewable, and biodegradable ingredients, Symrise offers a holistic 360° approach to fragrance around benefits for the skin or patented fragrances that activate emotions, enliven the senses and enhance our well-being. "Anne Cabotin, Senior Vice President Consumer Fragrance
