Meet our challenge solver - Sophia Lin

Challenge

With Asian consumers increasingly looking to use fragrances as a tool for escapism and self-expression, our technical personal care experts were quick to reckon with the opportunities to make business sense out of scents. But first, they needed to enrich our portfolio of specialty ingredients for olfactory purposes. Around that time, a leading European fragrance house, was orienting to expand its business into new territories in Asia Pacific. A successful mutual introduction resulted in a handshake, a swift go-to-market strategy, and a valuable supplement to Connell Caldic’s personal care offering.

Since the start, evolving market trends have continued triggering our experienced chemists to explore new avenues. Partnering with this fragrance house, in what was a new market for them, on innovative long-lasting scented products for both skin and home applications was a challenge we couldn’t wait to take on.

Solution

Upon carefully evaluating our personal care portfolio and the emerging consumer trends in the Asia-Pacific region, we agreed that availing ourselves of the promising potential of the fragrance market was the right strategy.

With the fragrance house’s growth ambitions aligning with ours, it was the perfect moment to work together and collectively expand our businesses.

Our research revealed a growing consumer demand for scented products that are not limited to perfumes. The shift towards products that use smell to create sensory associations and indulgences meant that whether it is a leave-on or rinse-off product or aromatherapy applications – fragrance played a significant role in the formulations of all types of cosmetics and household items. We used this as the entry point to attract customers.

At the other end, we also took into account the challenges faced by the customers themselves. In the training sessions and joint meetings with the company, we identified how minimum order requirements and packing sizes complicate stock and deliveries. While our teams worked with the company to provide customized sizes, our technical teams used their knowledge to enhance and adapt the formulation to the requirements of the customer. Their expertise proved invaluable when they supported the customers in creating perfume fixatives – substances to stabilize ingredients and increase odor tenacity – using raw materials from the company supporting the trend of long-lasting scented products.

Soon after initiating the partnership, customers from Taiwan and Vietnam began placing substantial orders. This success incentivized further expansion of our partnership with this European fragrance house to develop new opportunities in other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.