Barcelona, 25 May 2022. As has become a tradition in the framework of spring, the city of Barcelona and its surroundings have hosted a series of activities around the science and culture of perfume. The Beauty Cluster, together with Teià City Council and Ainea Perfums, have been responsible for shaping Barcelona Olfaction Week (BOW) 2022. In this third edition, professionals and lovers of the sector have been able to enter the exciting world of perfumery from a more technical point of view, with the IV Barcelona Perfumery Congress and a round table on biotechnology, and from a more transversal and experiential approach, with the V International Perfumery Competition -Mouillette d’Argent- and V Maridatge dels Sentits.
IV Barcelona Perfumery Congress
More than 150 professionals from the fragrances, scents and perfumery sector gathered on 25 May at the Hispack 22′ trade fair facilities (Fira de Barcelona – Gran Via) to take part in the IV Barcelona Perfumery Congress. A scientific and technical event, organised by Beauty Cluster, supported by Iberchem, Eurofragance and Quadpack, and created to address fragrance science, scent technology and olfaction-related research from a 360º perspective.
In addition to being a unique opportunity to meet again and strengthen ties within the industry, all attendees were able to catch up on the latest solutions in the market from national and international experts.
The institutional welcome was given by Dr. Patricia Gisbert and Marisa Ferré, head and specialist respectively of the cluster’s innovation department. Then, and continuing with the purpose of giving visibility to projects within the perfumery industry, Maxime Baud presented ScenTree and its proposal to create an innovative, interactive and collaborative classification of perfumery raw materials.
Biotechnology, how the perfume industry is adopting it, and the wide range of possibilities it opens up for the supply of ingredients, was one of the stars of the day. MANE showed us how they used it to obtain fruity notes, while Ventós used this technology to produce esters.
Sustainability was another of the day’s other verticals. On the one hand, Dr. Ana María Yáñez, researcher at CSIC, told the audience how climate change and deforestation were changing the essence of the planet and the Amazon rainforest. On the other hand, Babette Pettersen gave an example of how industry was trying to counteract these effects. From Lanzatech, they had managed to harness emissions from other industries to ferment carbon dioxide emissions and produce ethanol, among other products.
A raw material, because it is of natural origin, does not necessarily have to be more sustainable, as Ana Ripoll from Iberchem made clear. But, in many cases, it can be a more environmentally friendly alternative, as Pierre Antoine Henry demonstrated with the new closure solutions that Quadpack had developed.
The other main protagonist of the morning was the consumer. Cristina Jialing from Beauty Cluster was in charge of contextualising the day by providing data on the perfumery market. Later, Soizic Beaucourt from Eurofragance shared his knowledge of trends and Gulf culture. Finally, Guillem Oña showed us how AirParfum (Puig) was committed to technology and innovation to educate and connect with the end consumer.
The programme was closed by Seila Leiras from Sigillum with the latest regulatory updates, and Rita Ribau from Olfasense, showing the audience the tools available for sensory analysis in perfumery.
