Innovation

In the fragrance industry, finding your signature scent is everything. It’s how big brands make millions and how master perfumers win global renown, praised for their technical and sensory skills. Dominique Ropion, for example, is one of the world’s most prominent “noses” and has won awards for creating iconic fragrances like Lancôme’s La Vie Est Belle, Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb and Thierry Mugler's Alien. Niche brands like Diptyque, Parfums de Marly and Maison Francis Kurkdjian all lure in customers with their narrative storytelling. Dawn, by Frederic Malle, is not a beginner’s scent, but a connoisseur’s choice…never mind the R30 000 it costs per 100ml. And it’s a booming market, worth around $80bn by 2029, according to Ken Research analysts.

And then there’s AI, which is disrupting every sector, including scent. Imagine if you could simply tell a computer what you like and then get a personalised fragrance according to your specifications? At Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent, this is exactly what was on offer. In between all the cloud talks and workshops, there was one pop-up that had attendees queuing for hours – the Fragrance Lab.