Bell Flavors & Fragrances recently hosted its 2013 Fragrance Workshop at the Chicago Botanic Garden, gathering Bell employees and guests to discuss leadership and business development, working in the fragrance industry, and inspiration and trends that are impacting new and future projects. The event focused on the development candles and how to create effective fragrances for them, but also looked at soap and sulfate-free beauty product development and how such products incorporate fragrance, discussed how Bell works to customize and develop scents for clients, provided information on olfactive mapping and descriptions, and included a presentation on fragrance trends in beauty and personal care overall.
Mintel analyst Meredith Hollihan presented the fragrance trends for beauty and personal care in a talk titled "Fruity Fragrance Trends in Personal Care," as Mintel research points to fruity notes being popular in beauty products in the near future. Holliahan noted that beauty products have a strong fragrance component often have an edge in the marketplace, as a quality fragrance is becoming a distinct branding marker in beauty, and that younger consumers name scent as a top attribute when selecting bath and body products.
Hollihan also identified 10 fragrances that are currently trending strong in the global beauty and personal care marketplace and noted that these fragrance trends also likely have staying power. Those fragrances are:
- Lychee (recently saw a large uptick in its use in deodorant products)
- Acai (many hair care brands are including this ingredient, often for its antioxidant benefits)
- Passion fruit (although it slipped a little in 2011, passion fruit regained its place in beauty products in 2012)
- Blackberry (often seen as a mainstay, its increasingly popular in soap and bath products; also often use seasonally for holiday-themed products)
- Lemon (another mainstay, many beauty products are building off its scent to promote "energy-enhancing" benefits)
- Mandarin (the orangey scent has been gaining most in deos, but also in fragrance and soap and body products)
- Ginger (another ingredient gaining presence in deos, it is likely affected by more people seeking—and becoming comfortable with—more international cuisine; it also offers functional ingredient benefits)
- Coconut (with strong growth in soap and body products, the coconut is also popular in hair care products and might be seeing a boost from the popularity of coconut water)
- Tomato (a huge growth ingredient in 2012, it offers many skin-beautifying benefits and is already familiar and has a comfort level with many consumers)
- Noni (a pungent offering, this ingredient isn't big—yet—in Western markets, but the Asia-Pacific region has been an area of distinct growth)
Hollihan also noted passion fruit, acai and tomato are likely the biggest beauty ingredient and fragrance players to look out for in the near future. The strong growth of passion fruit in product is helping propel its momentum significantly forward. For acai, more and more consumers are becoming aware of it and its benefits, making it more and more desirable for inclusion. And tomato, with its qualities being associated with thing that are inherently good, will likely help segue consumers into a broader range of scent selections.