For perfumer Neha Okhade, great fragrance creation is about more than getting the notes right. It is about creating that immediate emotional connection that makes a consumer stop, remember and engage. In this profile, the Agilex Fragrances perfumer reflects on the creative breakthroughs, consumer insights and formulation challenges that have shaped her career, including the tiny addition of cardamom oil that transformed an otherwise complete sandalwood fragrance.
Okhade: Fragrance creation is an art! I strongly believe fragrance is the face of every consumer product. It’s the first point of contact between the product and a consumer in the consumer goods world, while in fine fragrances it acts as an accessory where it personifies the aura of a person.
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For perfumer Neha Okhade, great fragrance creation is about more than getting the notes right. It is about creating that immediate emotional connection that makes a consumer stop, remember and engage. In this profile, the Agilex Fragrances perfumer reflects on the creative breakthroughs, consumer insights and formulation challenges that have shaped her career, including the tiny addition of cardamom oil that transformed an otherwise complete sandalwood fragrance.
What led you to the fragrance industry?
Okhade: Fragrance creation is an art! I strongly believe fragrance is the face of every consumer product. It’s the first point of contact between the product and a consumer in the consumer goods world, while in fine fragrances it acts as an accessory where it personifies the aura of a person.
Emotions play a key role in this dynamic industry. The fragrance industry has a very strong association with consumers all around the globe … [A]s a perfumer I can connect with consumers all around the globe, which attracted me to this marvelous industry.
I strongly believe the fragrance industry plays a key role in the consumer market. This amalgamation of creativity, emotions and science inspires me every single day. It’s been almost 15 years that I have been part of this industry, and still the passion and drive to learn and smell something new still remains the same.
Can you share a defining moment or breakthrough in your career as a perfumer?
Okhade: In this digital age where everything is surfacing on the internet, social media plays a vital role in validating success and the happiness of almost everyone’s life.
I came across a Reel on social media where an influencer was giving product reviews of some candles. As a perfumer it's always satisfying to see your products on the shelf, but that day I saw the review of my fragrance (candle) … followed by lots of positive feedback from customers in the comments. This was the first-of-a-kind moment where I saw direct reviews from the consumers and saw their excitement and happiness about my fragrance, which gave me tremendous satisfaction and joy! I was able to share the review with my friends and family. For a perfumer, the biggest feedback is experiencing the happiness of customers as they interact with the fragrance. Interactive feedback like these are always inspiring.
Along with this, one of the biggest breakthrough moments which I will always cherish is as a perfumer I was invited as a speaker at the World Perfumery Congress 2022. Representing Agilex and presenting my thoughts on “Effects of Fragrances on Emotional and Physical Well-Being of Consumers” in front of my very own fragrance fraternity will always remain the most proud and cherished moments for me as a perfumer!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when entering the perfume industry, and how did you overcome them?
Okhade: The biggest challenge I faced while entering the industry was connection with my consumers and developing fragrances as per market requirement. In the world of fragrances it is very important to understand the consumer trends and market expectations.
I was born and brought up in India. After moving to the United States, the biggest challenge I faced was to understand the market requirements. I studied lots of market trends, spent hours in shops smelling fragrances and understanding the U.S. market trends from consumer’s olfactive preferences as well as how it’s driven culturally.
I refined my perfumery skills to create more strong, convincing gourmand notes, which plays a key role in the U.S. fragrance industry. Today, I strongly believe I have the best of both worlds and in this era of globalization I am enjoying making fragrances as they are expected by our consumers.
Can you describe a time when a fragrance formulation didn’t turn out as expected? How did you address the issue?
Okhade: It’s a very common scenario faced by almost every perfumer of our industry. I believe the creative field never gives you a dull moment!
There were lots of times when I faced this challenge. One of the most vivid times … was when I was creating a sandalwood fragrance. During the creation process we made lots of trials … This fragrance turned out exactly the way we wanted; however, something was missing! Top, mid, base notes—everything was perfect—burn was good, but still something was missing.
Fragrance development managers (FDM) are a strong pillar of our industry. The FDM I was working with suggested the hook to the fragrance was missing. As per the FDM, the fragrance had everything but still it was not appealing. That first hook which will interact with the customer; that first impression with the consumer was not present.
In such a scenario, I knew I had to try some more experiments just to give that spark to the fragrance. I tried a touch of cardamom oil, and it did the magic. Suddenly, fragrance became more sparkling, more interactive—almost as if we have given life to the fragrance!
These small drops of magic creating major impressions still leave me amazed and still inspire me!
How do you find the right balance between artistic expression and the technical precision?
Okhade: This is a beautiful topic to go through. These are challenging times where, as a perfumer, we must maintain our creativity, yet we need to be compliant with the technical requirements. Sometimes it's challenging, but, as we say, nothing is constant and we are always evolving—and so is with our fragrance industry!
I must say, our R&D and innovation team is working rigorously to provide us the help required when fragrance needs to be technically sound along with creativity. We have a huge support from our parent company dsm-firmenich. We always collaborate with their technical expertise and try to bring the best of both worlds!
Regulatory requirements are becoming more strict every day; however, with the collaboration of our parent company we dive into innovations of new raw materials which help us to create compliant fragrances yet allows us to be more artistic at the same time.
As a perfumer, we have access to different tools which help us to utilize different technologies to create sustainable, environmentally friendly fragrances without interrupting the creative process.
Are there specific skills or knowledge areas you believe are crucial for a perfumer to master?
Okhade: As a perfumer it's very important to have a strong olfactive memory. Smelling is the key in this industry!
However, I believe along with olfactive expertise, connecting with your consumer culturally and emotionally is the key to creating winning fragrance! Fragrances and nostalgia are intertwined; consumers associate fragrances with nostalgia. Understanding consumer requirements not from strategic perspective but from their emotional and cultural perspective is very important.
For example, whenever I create a fall fragrance, I always think of crisp fall mornings, the fall foliage and that whole aura which the consumer is trying to capture in my fragrance. My vision while creating a fall fragrance at that point is to give an experience to consumers which they can correlate! I try to bring life to my fragrances by adding some memories from the past and sparkle of the dreams which my consumers want to relish in their future!
