Fragrance Selection Criteria for Personal Care and Home Care Products

Fragrance plays an interesting complementary role in consumer products. It supports the message intended to convey about the product's functionality. It plays a key role in end-consumer satisfaction and contributes to a pleasant product experience. Supporting consumer products; cleaning, freshness, and softness—essence designs can be created that reinforce such feelings. Moreover, fragrance has a significant impact on how consumers recognize the product and brand, and how they distinguish it from others. We can observe consumers who recognize a product by its scent alone, without seeing or using it. This is an effective message for product managers and brand managers supporting the product's recognition. Fragrances can be created by fragrance experts and perfumers working together, using more than 1,000 ingredients—both natural and synthetic.

How do we design fragrances that can create this complementary effect in consumer products, and by what criteria do we select them?

When initiating the fragrance creation/selection process, fragrance experts ask certain defining questions: 1. Who will this product appeal to? Target audience, 2. Product main formulation details (pH, active ingredient properties), 3. Product usage stages, 4. Benchmark establishment, 5. Which countries the product will be launched in, 6. Consumer safety suited to product use, 7. Product's main claim, 8. Total price range allocated for fragrance.

1. Who Will This Product Appeal to? Target Audience

Identifying the target audience guides us in screening and defining fragrance preferences. For example, fragrance preferences of female consumers aged 18-30 may differ from those aged 30-50. Generally, even age, gender, and the city of residence can produce different results in fragrance preferences.

2. Product Main Formulation Details (pH, Active Ingredient Properties)

Each product group has its own chemical characteristics. In fragrance selection, the most determining factor is the pH of the product formulation. Fragrances designed for low-pH products do not perform well in high-pH products. The same applies in reverse. Fragrance degradation or sourness (particularly in citrus-type scents), cloudiness if the product is transparent, or in some cases color changes in the product can be observed when there is pH incompatibility. The interaction of fragrance with active ingredients is also a point of attention. The chemical structures of fragrances can be seen as alcohols, ethers, ketones, aldehydes, and esters. In particular, fragrance content with aldehyde structures can encounter oxidation, and ester-structured content can encounter hydrolysis. For example, enzyme and percarbonate content used in laundry detergents are influential information in fragrance creation and selection. Although some fragrances may not show effects at T=0, during routine 3-month stability tests, fragrance degradation can be observed due to interactions with percarborates and enzymes. In this regard, 3-month routine stability monitoring is important in all product groups. During these stability tests, the product is monitored by experts. Generally: 4°C, 25°C (room temperature), 45°C. In certain special cases: -10°C (if the product will be used in very cold countries like Russia), 50°C (if the product will be used in very hot countries like Saudi Arabia) can be added to stability conditions. These 3-month stability tests report to us the stable lifespan of the product and whether it can remain in proper conditions until reaching the end consumer. Otherwise, a product released to market without stability testing, if produced without technically appropriate fragrance, may earn consumer dissatisfaction with its bad smell upon opening the packaging itself. This is a situation very difficult to correct for brand perception. While technically correct fragrance selection brings the product and brand to the forefront, skipping these steps can push the brand and product to the background. For this reason, this 3-month stability technical compatibility check is very important.

3. Product Usage Stages

Another point in fragrance selection is the product's usage stages. These key points in fragrance design are of great importance for consumer experience satisfaction. For example, when we look at shampoo, as we have seen through experience, the fragrance's diffusion power during hair washing and the fragrance's longevity on the hair are the stages most valued by consumers. Fragrance experts, after confirming the fragrance's compatibility with the shampoo formulation, make final fragrance recommendations by also examining its performance at these key points. A fragrance that is very pleasant on its own can take on a completely different character when added to a product formulation, or it may not perform well in product experience. Another example can be given from the laundry product category. Fragrances used in laundry detergents and fabric softeners are created through much more technical work than fragrances in personal care products. They are designed with special ingredients so they can remain on fabric during the laundry washing process without washing away. In this regard, when selecting essences for this product category, trials are monitored according to the end consumer's experience. From the moment the product is purchased from the store, filling the washing machine, the wet scent of clothes after washing, the scent when hanging clothes, diffusion, and the scent after clothes have dried are evaluated in detail by experts and reported. In laundry products, fragrance longevity is generally desired to last 1-2 days or in some cases "for weeks". To achieve this, longevity is attempted to be increased by using musk and sandalwood derivative molecules. Another method is micro-encapsulated fragrance technology. This topic will be covered in more detail in the Product Main Claim section.

4. Benchmark Establishment

Determining target benchmark products from the market together with product managers is a concrete starting point for clarifying expectations. By pointing to any market product as an example and specifying criteria such as same performance or better performance, fragrance selection can be approached more rationally. Fragrance experts can make creations and eliminations more clearly according to the given benchmarks and criteria.

5. Which Countries the Product Will Be Launched In

This criterion is important for determining several issues. First, in fragrance selections, different fragrance preferences stemming from country cultures can be encountered. Second, different cosmetic regulations may be in effect in some countries. For example, America, Europe, China, and Japan have different cosmetic regulations from each other. Within Europe, Germany, in addition to general European regulations, may request criteria in a different regulation called Öko-test. Although Öko-test-compliant fragrances are possible, they can be addressed with a more limited collection. For example, some intense floral fragrances may cause difficulty in Öko-test compliance.

6. Consumer Safety Suited to Product Use

IFRA (International Fragrance Association) is an organization that clarifies rules determining allergen amounts in fragrance content of consumer products. These rules are published according to product groups. To date, 26 allergen fragrance raw materials have been reported here:

List A. Most commonly known allergens:

Amyl cinnamal, Amylcinnamyl alcohol, Benzyl alcohol, Benzyl salicylate, Cinnamyl alcohol, Cinnamal, Citral, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Hydroxymethylpentyl-cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde, Isoeugenol.

List B. Less commonly known allergens:

Anisyl alcohol, Benzyl benzoate, Benzyl cinnamate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Hexyl cinnamaldehyde, Lilial, d-Limonene, Linalool, Methyl heptine carbonate, 3-Methyl-4-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-yl)-3-buten-2-one.

List C: Naturally sourced allergens:

Oak moss, Tree moss. The usage limits for these allergens have been determined as 0.01% in rinse-off products and 0.001% in leave-on products. (Source 1) These declarations are supported by specific special tests conducted by experts within IFRA. According to IFRA's website, in 2015, 3,999 raw materials determined to be used as fragrance ingredients were examined. (Source 2) Consumer products using essence/fragrance have been classified by IFRA into a total of 11 categories. Restrictive allergen rules differ for each product group. The most distinctive differentiating feature of categories is whether the product is rinsed off or not. For example, if you have a shampoo product, the rinse-off hair care products category is consulted. For this, the product type must follow category-9 allergen rules, and allergens exceeding those in the fragrance content to be used must be noted on the product label. (Figure 3). IFRA rules are also used in Turkey. Every serious fragrance company shares IFRA certification and MSDS when procuring its essence.

7. Product's Main Claim

We encounter different claims from each product group. Stating this clearly to the fragrance expert is important. Based on this, they can recommend appropriate fragrances in a more realistic and compatible manner. For example, if the product will be a hypoallergenic detergent, citrus and lavender-type fragrances with high allergen content according to IFRA criteria will not be suitable. We frequently encounter claims related to fragrance longevity. There are different methods to support this. The most commonly used methods are: fragrance designs where experts using high-longevity raw materials determine longevity through tests up to certain days, and another method is the increasingly widespread micro-encapsulated fragrance technology.

Micro-Encapsulated Fragrance Technology In brief, the essence of this technology:

Fragrance oil droplets are trapped in micro-sized capsules by a special polymerization method. The structure of these microcapsules is generally melamine, with a diameter between 5-50μm. (Figure 1) These capsules are not affected by temperature; they only break through friction to release the fragrance inside. In this way, the consumer feels the freshness effect more effectively as they use the product. They feel the freshness effect for a longer period compared to normal classic fragrances. In classic fragrances, fragrance content evaporates according to volatility order, meaning fragrance longevity gradually diminishes. With micro-encapsulation technology, microcapsules come into play as support to classic fragrance. Microcapsules broken by friction release fragrance oil again and provide the freshness effect as if it were "freshly washed." (Table 1) We see this technology being used intensively in fabric softener products. We also observe it beginning to spread in deodorant and hair care product categories.

"Natural"- "Synthetic"

A topic that needs clarification regarding fragrances is the definitions of "natural" and "synthetic". Not all synthetic is bad, nor is all natural good. (Source 4) A conscious approach is needed on this matter. When considering the 26 allergens mentioned by IFRA, the allergens at the top of the list are found in high concentrations in natural orange oil. These analyses can be monitored by gas chromatography. (Tables 2, 3) On the other hand, it is possible to create hypoallergenic fragrances using synthetic raw materials. Fragrance companies are conducting work on creating molecules with improved allergenic properties that can provide a natural-like fragrance character. For example, if a hypoallergenic claim is to be made, the use of natural orange oil and natural lavender oil in that product is restricted. Because both contain natural allergens in high concentrations. At this point, it is recommended to follow the product's suggested usage dosage.

8. Total Price Range Allocated for Fragrance

Fragrance price ranges vary for each product group. Generally, fragrance prices for personal care products are higher than those for household cleaning products. This varies according to the purity level and natural content of the fragrance raw materials used. Specific criteria that raise the price can be listed as: high purity raw material content, natural content, and special raw materials that increase longevity. Prof. Dr. Ersin Serhatlı / Istanbul Technical University / Faculty of Science and Letters / Department of Chemistry Fulya Yahya Özsan / Global Fragrance / Manager Namet-Rub / Givaudan Aroma and Essence Ltd. Co.

References 1.http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/perfume-allergies/en/l-3/1-introduction.htm 2. http://www.ifraorg.org/en/ingredients#.Wcojh_Og-M8 3.http://formulation.org.uk/images/stories/ie14/09Katherine%20Thompson%20-%20RSC%20-%20FSTG%20-%20Innovations%20 in%20Encapsulation%202014.pdf 4. The Secret of Scents, Lucan Turin, pg 23-25. 5.http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/supelco/g005486?lang=de&region=DE 6.https://www.purenature.co.nz/shop/Essential+Oils/Practitioner+Only+Products/Essential+Therapeutics.html