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Browsing by tag: givaudan

Kind of like ketchup

Posted by Robin on 21 April 2026 Leave a Comment

“[Captives] are kind of tools to compete. You do get the competitive edge with them,” said Givaudan perfumer Christine Hassan. She described Akigalawood, derived from patchouli using biotechnology, as having a spicy, but clean and fresh woody aroma.

“Akigalawood is such an amazing material. What’s beautiful about it too is you can play it in all realms. It’s a very universal scent. It’s not typically masculine or typically feminine. You can really play with it across the palette,” said Hassan. “It’s one of those ingredients that kind of hits every note. Kind of like ketchup, where it hits every part of your tongue at once.”

— Read more in What’s that smell? It’s Akigalawood at Glossy.

Mango but brighter, zestier and more complex

Posted by Robin on 15 April 2026 Leave a Comment

“Somebody came to me recently and said they wanted a fragrance that smelled like a rainbow mango,” [perfumer Stephen] Nilsen says. “I was like, I don’t know what that is. So I came in here and said, What might be there? Ethyl butyrate, some citrals, some green notes—a green apple, a little pear. Some peach.” He taps these notes and more into Carto, and the mechanism swings into action, measuring the ingredients into a sample vial. Nilsen removes the result as though from a vending machine and hands it to me to sniff. It smells like mango but brighter, zestier and more complex. A mango I might even want to wear on my skin.

— Red more in How chemists engineer the signature smells of luxury perfumes at Scientific American via Yahoo.

Silent receptors without known matches

Posted by Robin on 6 November 2025 4 Comments

Givaudan states that for 30 years, researchers struggled to study many of the receptors in a laboratory due to their low sensitivity, leaving silent receptors without known matches.

Human smell senses rely on 400 olfactory receptors, each working like a lock waiting for its scent molecule key. The company’s latest innovation has successfully activated previously unresponsive receptors, unlocked 20 specific human odor receptors, and detected natural scent molecules. It says that it is now possible to pinpoint specific odor molecules to particular receptors.

— Read more in Givaudan scent receptor research unlocks unexplored molecules for fragrance at Personal Care Insights.

Four European and American fragrance makers must face lawsuits

Posted by Robin on 25 February 2025 Leave a Comment

Four European and American fragrance makers must face lawsuits accusing them of conspiring to inflate prices of ingredients used to make cosmetics, cleaners and other household products, a federal judge in New Jersey has ruled.

U.S. District Judge William Martini on Friday rejected efforts by the companies — Switzerland-based Givaudan and Firmenich, which has merged with DSM Group; U.S.-based International Flavors & Fragrances and Germany's Symrise — to dismiss three proposed class action lawsuits filed in 2023 by consumers and other buyers.

Read more in Global fragrance makers must face price-fixing case, US judge rules at Reuters.

A prospective class action

Posted by Robin on 25 July 2023 5 Comments

A prospective class action filed in a New Jersey, US court last week has become the latest case mounted against fragrance giants Givaudan, Firmenich, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Symrise.

The lawsuits follow the announcement of investigations by antitrust authorities in Switzerland, Europe, the UK and the US into suspected pricing collusion earlier this year.

— Read more in Lawsuits mount against Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF and Symrise amid fragrance antitrust investigation at Cosmetics Business.

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