Лако-красочные материалы — производство

DAVID PYBUS

Chapter 5 illustrates how a fragrance house is structured around its lifeblood: the receipt, response to and winning of client briefs on a regular basis. Before developing a response to the Business Scents ‘Eve’ brief, it is worthwhile outlining what the main considerations of the brief are, as this reflects on the chemistry of the final fragrance choice and submission.

Briefs come in all shapes and sizes, and can be subject to many types of interpretation. Often the client is not exactly certain of what is wanted, or is not capable of translating the requirement into the language of perfumery. It is the work of a fragrance house to help the clients translate their gut-feel, or verbalize their inner sense of market opportunity into a viable fragrance direction for the product.

Thus, when a fragrance house is asked for the ‘smell of an Arabian souk’, it is well aware that the client means the fruit, spices and incense from such a scene, but naturally does not wish to include the inevitable environmental malodours which may come with the territory. A customer wanting ‘the smell of the funfair’ seeks chocolate, vanilla, fudge, toffee apples, candy floss, the cordite of the rifle range and the sharp ozone smell of dodgem car sparks.

The word ‘fresh’ can mean a multitude of different things depending on the language and culture in which we are dealing and, indeed, the olfactory experiences of the same.

In the main, however, the task is simplified by guiding clients by means of a printed ‘Perfume Brief Document’ or by catalysing their thoughts by using an aide-memoire, which sales and marketing people carry in their faithful filofaxes! The majority of briefs received are not

Table 6.1 Perfumer’s rule of 13: an aide-memoire

The thirteen ‘P’s that constitute the building bricks of a substantial fragrance brief, with a general outline of the key thoughts linked to them, are:

What is the product formula? What chemical environment will the perfume face? Does the product have colour, or any other physical characteristics such as base odour? Any special ingredients?

What is the intended market positioning of the product?

Is the product intended for the national, regional or global marketplace?

What production process will the product undergo, at what time and how will it be dosed?

Can the packaging (e. g., aerosol canister lining, soap wrapper) be affected by the nature of the fragrance?

On what platform is the product to be promoted? Are there key words, such as smooth, gentle, caring, hardworking, which the perfume will need to evoke?

What time-scale does the brief have? If very short, perhaps a shelf product will suffice; if long term and a significant brief, market research may be feasible and a prerequisite.

Is the product new or a range extension? What competition, if any, is it up against? What is the key objective for the product?

Cost per tonne of finished product is a better focus than cost per kilo of product, as it gives flexibility on dosage. Keep within the parameters set (relevant to fragrances for func­tional products).

Ensure you understand the nuances of the country. What does ‘green’ or ‘fresh’ mean in the context of the customer’s requirements? Never presume anything about any aspect. Who are the competitive fragrance houses in the brief? What are their known strengths and weaknesses?

Does your final submission meet all the criteria above? If the customer mentions a fine fragrance by name is that parti­cular brand or fragrance direction really meant? Probe. How much fragrance is required for the brief testing? What regulations must the fragrance meet?

On submission, what margin (profit) suffices so that the winning of the business is worthwhile? A balance must be struck between what is realistically achievable and what is uncompetitive. Between what the client can afford and the true cost of what is being asked for.

for exotic fine fragrances, which are low-volume, high-value perfumes, but for the low-value, high-volume perfumes required for functional products (such as personal wash or household brands). Figure 6.1 and Table 6.1 give a brief description of the kinds of response and back­ground that are being sought, in both list and visual form. The idea is that the more is known, the less likelihood of error and the more likely a successful win in the brief.

These initial focii for thoughts are, of course, only the beginning of a process that to be truly successful involves continual and frank discussions with a client on an ongoing basis.

It is along the lines developed in Figure 6.1 and Table 6.1 that following early discussions with Business Scents Ltd, the brief outlined below was received.