NOTABLE NOSES
and then the U.S. the next hour, and what you
see by doing that is how conservative some
markets are. For example, my sense is that
the consumers in North America are quite
traditional in their approach to laundry scents.
Generally, they seem to want their clean clothes
to either have no smell or to convey a sense of
“freshness.” In other parts of the world, such
as Latin America and Southeast Asia, you can
get away with more sensorial, or perfume-like,
fragrances, such as gourmand, sweet notes.
So, you have to temper some of what you’re
doing for the North American market. If you
try to be too creative, you are less likely to be
successful. Knowing that, knowing how far
you can push the boundaries on any brand or
variant, is a real asset.
DANGELICO: What fragrance trends are you
expecting to see in fabric and home care for
2019 and beyond?
MARR: For fabric enhancers, I think there
will be a much greater blurring of the lines
between fragrances that are typically used in
the more sensorial variants (more perfume-like)
and those used in the base ones. Consumers
who generally buy the base variants will
accept a much more sensorial fragrance
than they did before. As for detergents, we
will see more sophistication. Fragrances
designed for enhancers, which are generally
more sophisticated, will make their way into
detergents. We will also see more and better
technology employed in these products,
especially in the areas of malodor control
and long-lasting freshness… The future will
become more about performance, delivering
all the right cues at the right time. We will also
see fragrances aligning themselves better with
brands’ emotional communication strategies.
U.S. directly after someone else has used it.
By contrast, it’s a matter of life and death in
some other countries. We are trying to change
the culture in a country like India to encourage
people to use public latrines as opposed
to open defecation, which in turn causes
sickness, disease, and death. Using fragrances
in cleaning products with malodor control
technology in them is one way to make these
environments more attractive to use.
At Firmenich, we have partnered with
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which
has brought together toilet manufacturers,
NGOs, government organizations, technology
companies, and others to help end open
defecation in these developing countries. I
have been a part of this work for several years,
and we’ve gone on field trips to Uganda,
Kenya, and India. We’ve been to some of the
undeveloped areas in these countries and seen
first-hand the state of these latrines and how
they are or are not being used, and we’ve been
able to test products and technologies right
on site. We’ve interviewed people in those
areas and seen the benefit of the work that
we’ve done in the lives of these people. The
big incentive is to move people out from open
defecation into controlled, cleaner latrines,
and the fragrance industry’s malodor-control
technology is key in this effort. When you see
the number of child deaths caused by diarrhea
each year in India, they’re staggering. And if
we can have even a small impact on that, then
that’s really motivating to see and encourages
my involvement even more.
DANGELICO: Where do you go for inspiration
or creative outlet?
MARR: I travel a lot. I get inspiration for new
ideas from being outside my own comfort
zone, from watching and “living” in others’
worlds. For example, I love the vibrancy and
noise of a place like Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh.
Other people say, “Why do you like the chaos,
clamor, and pollution?” To me, I don’t have
to live there, but to visit and to see it is just
inspiring. I admire how people approach living
in that environment and how resourceful it
makes them. They don’t necessarily have a lot
of resources at their fingertips, but they achieve
so much. And when you see what they achieve
with so little, for me that’s inspiring. I think
people who haven’t visited these places would
benefit a lot from going.
But really, inspiration can come from
anywhere, from the least-expected times and
places. You hear, see, or feel something and
that can spark the very beginning of a creation.
I also like to think about how, through our
work, we are interacting with consumers from
the moment they get up to the moment they
go to bed. I don’t think a lot of people realize
that. There are so many special moments
and memories in life that are colored and
sometimes even created by scent, and many of
those scents are being created by perfumers like
me and our industry. That is truly rewarding. FN
DANGELICO: Can you talk a bit about
malodors and your work in this space?
MARR: Malodors are a big topic these days,
everything from bathrooms to bodies, kitchens,
and fabrics. Consumers have moved on
from just expecting their products to smell
nice. They want more—anything that can be
considered an added functional benefit that
can be delivered through the fragrance in the
product, and malodor counteraction is one of
the biggest.
Malodor counteraction has varying
levels of importance depending on what market
you look at. For instance, it’s inconvenient
or unpleasant to use a public bathroom in an
established market like Western Europe or the
Issue 3, 2018 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | 13