Senior Perfumer/ Principal Scientist, Procter & Gamble Co. Singapore
Work Profile: Fragrance Design
Firm Profile: Fast Moving Consumer Goods.
‘Professionally’ Unique
I started off in Mumbai with P&G as a Technical Brand Manager. When I was offered the chance to get into the P&G Perfumery College (in-house perfumery traineeship), I asked the question, “what is a perfumer?”. Honestly, at that time, I had no idea that there is such a profession (more a vocation). When the offer included going to Kobe, Japan, for the perfumery course, I immediately reacted, “where do I need to sign”? That was 27 years ago. And what a journey it has been! This journey has taken me to various P&G locations: Cincinnati, Ohio, 3 years; Kobe, Japan, 9 years; Brussels, Belgium, 7 years and now in Singapore for 8 years. In that journey, I got married; my first daughter was born in Japan and the second one in Belgium. So we are true-blue global nomads.
A Job of ‘Trust’
My job is a super-specialization. Think of me as the master chef in a restaurant (I am not the restaurant or kitchen manager). I am creating the recipes which will delight the customers (while the kitchen does most of the cooking) and make them rave about my creations. Build loyalty and trust in the brand of the restaurant. In an FMCG context, this means creating perfumes for P&G’s products (such as laundry, hair care, air fresheners, etc.), which will delight consumers and create trust and a love bond with the brand.
While this is a centuries-old vocation/ craftsmanship, I approach the arts of creative perfumery with an infusion of science and technology. Superior freshness and fragrance experiences can only be designed and delivered when you bring the best of arts with the latest know-how from science and technology.
Where I find my motivation is in the fact that I am building an emotional connection between the product and the consumer. I am creating moments of delight in the everyday mundane moments of life and household chores. So, I am creating new recipes, I get “in the zone” and lose myself in the creative process. No different from what musicians, painters, etc., experience. So, in the corporate world, this is the ultimate gamification of work.
Strong ‘Alone’
So yes, there are cons too. As I said, this is a super-specialization domain. This means there are not that many of your peers and not that many employers in the profession. They say that there are more astronauts than perfumers in the world. P&G is quite unique to have an in-house perfumery. To my knowledge, there are very few FMCG employers of perfumers (Kao and Henkel). And since this is a vocation (like medical practice), there is a saying, “once a perfumer, always a perfumer.”
An education background in Science helps. But not necessary. And you need to have a basic sense of smell (basic only, since most of it is taught). I think the most important thing is to have the courage and curiosity to learn something that you, your parents, and your educators have completely ignored in your formative years.
And like a movie star, you are only as good as your last perfume. After a couple of flops, your equity can suffer badly. Unlike in most corporate jobs, most success and failures are attributed to teams, not in perfumes. A (commercially) failed perfume or a successful perfume eventually belongs to only one person: the perfumer.
India: Perfumery
India is where the action is. No need to wait for 5-10 years. It is happening now, and it is exploding. India is a young nation with raging hormones. India is a teenager who loves to look good and smell good. And the fragrance industry in India can indeed take on more smart technologists with a “hatke” bent of mind and a spirit of adventure. There is so much to do. How can we make fragrances safe, sustainable, smarter, and irresistible? This industry is a late-comer into the digital world and it surely could be amp-ed up.