IFF celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and has many achievements to be proud of since opening on the NYSE. The company is focusing on transforming its ingredient offerings and using its investments to put money towards things that will improve customer experiences, such as artificial intelligence. IFF's leaders agreed that customers want more ingredients in a faster time, leading to the investment in artificial intelligence tools, for example.
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IFF celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and has many achievements to be proud of since opening on the NYSE. The company is focusing on transforming its ingredient offerings and using its investments to put money towards things that will improve customer experiences, such as artificial intelligence. IFF's leaders agreed that customers want more ingredients in a faster time, leading to the investment in artificial intelligence tools, for example.
IFF's chief executive officer Erik Fyrwald and president of IFF Scent Ana Paula Teles de Mendoçona shared the company's recent milestones and where they believe the fragrance side of the business will go next.
IFF
New York, New York
2024 Sales: $11.5 billion
What are some of the most important initiatives IFF is currently pursuing, and how do they align with the company’s long-term goals?
Ana Paula Teles de Mendonça [AP]:
Ana Paula Teles de Mendonça, president and chief commercial officer, IFF ScentCourtesy of IFF
Our perfumers are the heart and soul of our company, creating joy with every scent. In 2024, we celebrated the promotion of 19 perfumers worldwide, advancing their careers from junior perfumers to vice president positions. We also welcomed two exceptional fine fragrance perfumers, Alexandra Carlin and Alex Lee, to our team.
We kicked off 2025 by bringing together 130 members of our global perfumery team, including chemists, scientists, agronomists, and senior leaders, for a Global Perfumery Summit. This event celebrated the 100th anniversary of our Benicarlo plant, a pioneer in fragrance ingredients manufacturing and process R&D, also dedicated to reimagining the future of perfumery.
Leadership Changes in Scent R&D to Accelerate Innovation Pipeline
We are thrilled to announce Dr. Charbel Bouez as our new Senior Vice President of Scent Research & Development. With decades of experience at L’Oréal, Charbel is a renowned innovator in the beauty industry, bringing tremendous expertise to our team. Under his leadership, we are transforming our ingredients catalogue and collaborating with top innovators globally to drive scent transformation.
We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of LMR, a pioneer in natural ingredients, with the launch of groundbreaking citrus extracts that are winning over our perfumers and customers.
Another significant milestone was the introduction of Ylanganate, a versatile fragrance ingredient that enhances the performance and complexity of fragrances in white floral accords, and is highly effective at low dosage levels.
Regional Commercial Footprint Expansion
We continued to expand our presence in targeted growth regions to meet our customers' needs. This was demonstrated by the opening of a state-of-the-art creative center in Shanghai last year, designed to meet the needs of the burgeoning Chinese fine fragrance market and its local brands, and the inauguration this month of the new Dubai Perfumery Art Studio to serve one of the strongest growing regions.
How is IFF leveraging new technologies to enhance fragrance creation and experiences? What excites you the most?
[AP]: At IFF Scent, we are at the forefront of innovation, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance fragrance creation and experiences.
Our recently launched Science of Performance program is a comprehensive, science-driven suite designed to increase efficiency and precision in managing scent intensity and malodor control, along three innovation tracks: fragrance engineering, delivery systems, and additive materials.
In addition, biosciences are paving the way for novel sustainable fragrance ingredients. Thanks to a stronger partnership with our internal bioscience team, along with the Danish Technical University, one of the top three institutions in the world for biotechnologies, we hope to accelerate our discoveries.
The integration of AI, sustainable practices, and advanced scientific research allows us to create more personalized, high-performing, and environmentally friendly fragrances, aligning with our commitment to sustainability and innovation.
As CEO, what is your long-term vision for IFF? How do you see the company evolving over the next decade in terms of innovation, market leadership, and sustainability?
Erik Fyrwald [EF]: At IFF, we transform everyday products with sustainable solutions that enhance wellness, delight the senses, and elevate
Erik Fyrwald, chief executive officer, IFFCourtesy of IFF
Our goal is to remain an innovation-driven company, serving diverse sectors such as home and personal care, food and beverage, and health and wellness. Our primary focus is on delivering solutions that resonate with our customers. We achieve this by strategically investing in locations, technologies, and talent, enabling us to continue creating breakthrough innovations that improve lives and benefit the planet. We have been doing this for years in Scent and Taste using naturals and synthetic chemistry. Now we have our leading biosciences capabilities that will help further drive innovation across all our BU’s. Two great examples of this are “super carrot” in Taste and “Envirocaps” in Scent.
I am confident we have the right strategy to lead the market for years to come.
[AP]: Looking ahead, my vision for IFF is to continue leading the industries in which we compete. Today and for the foreseeable future, our strategy is built on four key principles:
- Develop and grow our people. If we win a customer’s business, it’s because our people make it happen. We’re focused on developing the strengths of our people, both individually and as a team. That means giving them the resources they need to thrive professionally. It’s not just about training, though that is a big part of the equation. It’s about giving our people the opportunity to flourish, to grow and to mentor others along the way. We want to be an employer of choice, both internally, and externally, and we know that one of the best ways to attract great talent is to cultivate great talent.
- An obsession for our customers. Embedded in everything we do must be the pursuit of partnership and customer satisfaction. If we listen to our customers, work closely with them, and aim to exceed their expectations in everything we deliver, that will, in turn, help them grow their business and ours.
- Focus on innovation. We need to ensure we can maximize the talent and expertise of our teams, use the best tools and technology that we can access and push the boundaries of research and development to offer new, better, and more efficient innovations that don’t just offer a solution, but do it with sustainability, delivering on our promise to do more good. Drawing from knowledge and resources from across our organization, we’ve already shown that this is possible.
- Operational excellence. It’s not enough to deliver great things if we can’t do it effectively. We need to hold ourselves accountable to make sure we’re making intelligent and strategic investment decisions, whether it’s about a meeting or a major expansion.
IFF has various innovation hubs and research centers globally. Can you share how these hubs contribute to the development of breakthrough technologies and products?
[EF]: Our innovation hubs and research centers are the heart of our technological advancements and product innovations. These centers bring together multidisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, and creative experts who collaborate to push the boundaries of what’s possible in flavor and fragrance creation, and health and biosciences. By leveraging local insights and global expertise, these hubs enable us to:
- Foster a collaborative spirit, one of IFF’s trademarks, bringing together best-in-class perfumers and olfactive experts in state-of-the-art centers, such as our new Shanghai Creative Center which brings together our full capabilities, across business units.
- Develop new and sustainable ingredients that meet evolving consumer preferences and regulatory requirements, such as our Citrus Innovation Center in Florida which will officially open next year. We’re fostering a transformative holistic citrus development ecosystem that supports global citrus research and development. Citrus represents a key family of ingredients for perfumery and flavors that hasn’t changed too much over time. Today, with our technology in the heart of our US citrus capital we can now pool the full power of our R&D, coupled with agronomist experts to create exciting new innovations in citrus.
- Create innovative delivery systems that enhance the performance and longevity of our products.
- Utilize advanced analytical techniques to understand and predict consumer preferences, ensuring our products resonate with diverse markets.
- Foster partnerships with academic institutions, startups, and industry leaders to stay at the forefront of scientific and technological developments.
What is your proudest achievement for IFF in the past year?
[EF]: Team IFF has many achievements to celebrate! Since joining the IFF Team early last year, I have had the privilege to travel around the world to visit dozens of our sites, meeting with thousands of dedicated IFFers and valued customers and feel the passion that drives our people.
Early in 2024, we made a strategic decision to return to basics, creating end to end business units including the Taste business with Yuvraj Arora as President and we named Ana Mendonca President of the Scent business. We did this to better focus on the core aspects of each business to deliver leading innovations more effectively and strengthen customer relationships. We also encouraged and are seeing better collaborations across BU’s where they create value.
We recently celebrated 135 years in business and 60 years since IFF first became publicly listed on the NYSE. I couldn't be prouder to be part of this remarkable company and its many achievements. In addition, we opened innovation hubs in Shanghai, Florida and Dubai that enhance our ability to co-create with customers to bring exciting products to market faster.
With a major focus on functional scents, what type of research is your company conducting/investigating in to meet these consumer demands? Can you share any insight into recent innovations?
[AP]: At IFF, functional scents are a major focus. Our journey of exploring the connection between scents and emotions began in the 1980s and has developed over time into the IFF Science of Wellness program, at the forefront of our research efforts. To understand the emotional perceptions and cognitive benefits of scents, we have built a robust database with several billion data points, incorporating advanced neurosciences and proprietary AI tools. This program allows our perfumers to create scents that drive specific emotions and imagery, aiming for particular benefit spaces.
The growing trend of creating scents to drive emotions has been evident through a series of successful body wash launches as well as fine fragrances, such as the Charlotte Tilbury fragrance collection, Vyrao The Sixth, and Paco Rabanne Phantom, all embedding specific targeted emotional benefits.
Recently, we have expanded our research to link color, texture, and now sound to olfaction, thus creating more immersive experiences, like a multi-sensory experience of joy, with sound lab partner Ircam Amplify.
With these technologies, we can create scents that have a profound impact on emotions, self-expression, and well-being, delivering superior products that resonate deeply with consumers.
How has the flavor and fragrance industry changed since IFF first entered the market, and how has IFF adapted to those changes?
[AP]: The flavor and fragrance industry has undergone significant transformations since IFF first entered the market. These changes have been driven by evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and a growing emphasis on sustainability. IFF has adapted to these changes through continuous innovation and a commitment to sustainability.
We now have a completely global market where consumers in any part of the world are equally sophisticated, with expectations of benefits and functionality. Obviously, going way back, we saw the development of many companies that catered to the specific demands of their local consumers. As the world began to do more business across borders, so too did many of the small perfumeries, who also began to grow and compete at various levels. Today, what we have is a concentration of competitors resulting from mergers and acquisitions. It’s interesting to note that the same has also happened with our customers, many cases. Ultimately, we now have a market where fewer players are competing to serve customers of all sizes around the world.
IFF saw the need to adapt very early on, gaining local expertise and developing relationships with customers at a local level and a deep understanding for consumer preferences. While we have a track-record of first-to-market innovations, one of the best examples of how IFF changed the dynamic of the market was in the collaborative perfumery creation process. IFF was the first to make a significant shift from where the perfumer was the “superstar,” in a sense – working alone and rarely sharing formulas – to a new way of working in which the perfumer is almost exclusively creating as part of a team. Such teams include folks of different ages, levels of experience, functions and geographic regions. This revolutionized the market and truly represents how we make joy through science, creativity and heart.
By making a strategic decision to work in a new way, our Scent teams have increased the complexity of fragrance, accelerated our speed to market and meet the intensity of new consumer demands.
Can you share any recent breakthroughs or innovations that highlight IFF’s contribution to the industry?
[AP]: Some notable breakthroughs include:
- Launch of IFF Science of Wellness in 2022 – a program aimed at designing scents with specific wellness benefits, combining 40 years of data, with neurosciences and our perfumers’ creativity. Since the launch, several brands have embedded the capability into successful consumer products across a variety of categories, from fine fragrances to personal care and home care products.
- Launch of Ambernat, in 2021 – 100% biodegradable and renewable amber molecule.
Furthermore, over the last few years, our in-house natural ingredients capability, LMR, also launched several remarkable extracts and collections of ingredients, including the LMR Active Essences that leverage the cosmetic power of natural essences, the LMR upcycled collection, which is anchored in values of sustainability, repurposing waste into noble naturals, such as LMR turmeric extracts for perfumery, or the LMR Citrus heart collection, which proposes pure and traceable citrus extracts.
Our Innovation strategy is purpose-based and focuses on doing “What matters for planet and people.” We believe that to achieve product superiority, sustainable innovation needs to be driven though a holistic approach, balancing the regenerative agenda along with the environmental impact.
As mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence and digital transformation are pivotal in the ongoing evolution of our industry. These technologies help us streamline processes, enhance creativity, and meet regulatory requirements efficiently.
How do you envision the fragrance industry evolving over the next 5-10 years?
[AP]: The fragrance industry is set for significant evolution over the next 5-10 years, driven by emerging consumer trends and technological advancements. Consumers are adopting a pragmatic approach to health, preferring practical and natural options that deliver instant enhancements and proven results. The integration of AI is revolutionizing personalized health and wellness, making it more accessible and affordable. Health and well-being are becoming intertwined with every aspect of life, with a growing focus on living better as we age. Our Science of Wellness program responds to this trend by creating scents that promote cognitive and emotional benefits.
The climate crisis has heightened awareness and commitment to sustainable living. Consumers are investing more time and money in finding ways to live sustainably and create a regenerative future. Eco-ethical values are paramount, with a focus on becoming responsible global citizens. Transparency, honesty, and trusted sources are increasingly important as people seek reliable information and solutions to political, moral, social, environmental, health, and safety issues.
Consumers are expanding their definition of hedonism, seeking new and innovative ways to experience pleasure and infuse their everyday lives with joy and sensory delights.
Looking ahead, what are some of the key areas where IFF plans to focus its growth and innovation in the coming decade?
[EF]: IFF has a long-standing history of investing in research and development, and in hiring and supporting the development of the world’s leading Perfumers and Flavorists. And with our top talent we forge strong partnerships with customers, academia, startups and other leading organizations to advance our science. We have built a rich database with decades of knowledge in ingredients and consumer insights, spanning both fragrance and flavor.
The development of new technologies, such as AI, has accelerated our ability to leverage advanced knowledge of trends, consumer experiences and product testing. This enables us to create solutions more efficiently and bring them to market faster. Additionally, we are collaborating with our customers in innovative ways, using their experience and vision to create products that meet evolving consumer demands. This keeps us ahead of the dynamic nature of consumer trends in fragrance, flavors and food ingredients.
We will do what it takes to stay at the forefront of understanding, meeting and in many cases creating the trends in flavors and fragrances.
[AP]: Our commitment to innovation is unwavering. By combining human expertise with advanced technologies, we ensure that we remain at the forefront of the industry and continue to deliver high-performing products that resonate with our customers.
IFF Panoptic is our exclusive global consumer trend compass. It provides specific insights into evolving lifestyles and major societal and cultural trends, understanding the impact of these trends on the scent industry and ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.
Our best-in-class perfumers and leading science experts are at the heart of our innovation. Supported by an end-to-end organization designed to increase operational excellence, we are perfectly equipped to anticipate and respond to the rapidly changing landscape.
We are constantly evolving our leading technologies, from AI to biotechnologies and delivery systems. These innovations are led by our team of innovators who continue to push the boundaries of scents. Our achievements range from bringing a rose into space to reinventing the enfleurage extraction method and more. By integrating cutting-edge technologies, we enhance our fragrance creation process and meet the evolving demands of consumers.
