AI is fundamentally changing how perfume is made
In the traditional way of creating perfume, the client presents a concept or image, and the perfumer repeats compounding and correction through compounding tests lasting from several weeks to several months. It can take six to 18 months from concept decision to store availability, and even longer for luxury products. However, the creation of scents using AI could shorten the perfume manufacturing process and significantly shake up the fragrance market.
How AI infiltrated perfume | The Verge
Osmo, a Manhattan, New York-based technology startup, operates a lab that digitally analyzes, reconstructs, and translates the scent of plums into a fragrance code.
According to Arabelle Sicardi, a perfume expert who works on machine learning systems at technology startups, when Osmo's plum scent was exhibited at a conference, many people commented that it was too clean and didn't have the slightly rotten heat of real plums. Still, Sicardi said, 'It had a strangely strong smell, so strong that you could smell the plums from a few meters away. It was genetically modified, but it was the real thing.'
Osmo has developed its scent digitization technology into a fragrance blending service that delivers samples within 48 hours of customer inquiries. This significantly shortens the perfume creation process, which often takes years to cultivate and months to blend. Osmo founder Alex Wiltschko said, 'Only about 100,000 fragrances have been created so far. I want to increase that to millions. New tools using AI will play a key role in increasing the beauty of the world.'
It's not uncommon for AI to be used in the fragrance industry, and all global fragrance companies are integrating AI into their pipelines. For example,
Givaudan launches 'Carto', its artificial intelligence powered tool - YouTube
AI is also used on a daily basis by DSM-Firmenich, a global fragrance company. Frank Völkl, head perfumer at DSM-Firmenich, said of the benefits of introducing AI: 'When I started working as a perfumer, we didn't have emails, we communicated by fax. At that time, we wrote the formulations by hand. The great thing about AI is that it manages regulatory concerns, stability, phase and performance issues. These tools are very helpful in solving technical problems, and allow us to focus more on the creative process, which requires imagination, emotion, intuition and the human element. It's like being an office worker.'
In addition, AI is not only being used in product labs, but also in fragrance education around the world. Heather, who is training as a perfumer in France, said, 'Most people use AI to solve every project and question.' According to Heather, while older generations treat AI as a secondary resource like a search engine or inspiration board, Gen Z uses AI as an extension of the creative process, from selecting materials to adjusting the fragrance, and for new creators, AI is becoming an important infrastructure rather than an assistant.
Pierre Voorhees, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, one of the most cutting-edge educational institutions in the perfume and cosmetics industry, said, 'Mixing things by hand, knowing the exact amount of each ingredient, measuring them out yourself. These tasks will disappear. Are these tasks really important? AI can reduce the cost of creating fragrances, so it can be said that it has 'democratized' fragrance. At the same time, it raises the question: Where has the craftsmanship gone? Where have the perfumers gone?' He pointed out both the benefits and losses of AI.
Some perfume retailers and perfume consultants have expressed critical opinions about AI-based perfume creation. Matt Belanger, co-owner of New York fragrance retailer Stéle , said, 'Some brands say they're perfumer-led, but in reality they're using generators to copy existing works. The reason we love fragrance is that it takes time, courage, and strength to decide your own journey. It's not like pressing a button and getting something right away,' emphasizing the significance of human perfumers creating perfumes. Perfumer Michael Nordstrand also pointed out that Osmo has not revealed any transparency about AI, expressing his concern that 'if we (perfumers) don't take the lead and discuss the position of AI in perfumery, the industry will get out of our hands.'
in Software, Video, Free Member, Posted by log1e_dh