Flavour and scent giant IFF's digital immersion hub charts the path to Asian senses
The company on Thursday (Jul 10) launched its 'immersive-experience' facility at its innovation centre in Singapore's Biopolis research hub. The 75 sq m facility is kitted out with 360-degree video technology that replicates scents, tastes, sounds and textures, simulating what can be sensed in real-world environments.
'It enables virtual tours, contextual tastings, fragrance immersion and real-time co-creation,' said IFF in a statement.
Its clients – consumer-goods giant Procter & Gamble and fine-fragrance brand Yves Saint Laurent, for example – can thus work with the centre to experience or design flavour and fragrance profiles that are 'life-like, emotionally engaging', said the company.
Such experiences, said IFF's general manager for scent in Greater Asia Ramon Brentan, are key to tailoring products that are in line with the contexts and preferences of the Asian consumer, given that the group is seeking to tap the region's enormous market potential.
The upshot of using the technology is that product design can be done more quickly and be aligned to what the client wants, and reduce time to market, IFF said.
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It added that businesses would also be able to respond more quickly and accurately to evolving consumer demands.
Guests at the launch of the 'immersive-experience' facility were given an insight into how the technology is able to recreate the scent and flavour profiles that corporate clients may want. Visitors could, for example, taste and smell complex local flavours, presented as laksa-inspired cupcake frosting and Hainanese chicken rice-flavoured mayonnaise.
Brentan said the immersion-experience hub is part of a broader push by the company to integrate digital tools and consumer insights into its regional expansion.
He noted that one region would often consume products in a different way from another region. For example, the monsoon rains in Indonesia would change the way fragrances are perceived.
'The immersion-experience hub can thus help the customer make sure that his product smells good in a simulated monsoon environment,' he said.
The New York-listed company had announced at the launch of its Singapore innovation centre in 2022 that it would expand its presence in Asia significantly.
'By 2030, Asia is projected to account for 60 per cent of global economic growth,' chief executive Frank Clyburn had noted. 'For IFF, Asia has demonstrated consistent growth, and we see tremendous opportunity in the future.'
The innovation centre, along with its Singapore Flexiblend plant in Tuas launched the same year, had set aside S$30 million to invest in Singapore, which the company said would expand its regional footprint.
The centre's digital tools are used in conjunction with consumer insights through foresight tools and panels, said the company. 'This space allows us to turn those rich insights into innovation,' said Prakash MG, senior vice-president of IFF Taste for Greater Asia.
Speaking at the event, Kelly Lai, vice-president and head of chemicals and materials at the Singapore Economic Development Board, said Singapore supports such strategies that leverage cutting-edge digital technologies to support and accelerate innovation.
'IFF's decision to set up its immersive experience hub in Singapore reflects strong confidence in our innovation ecosystem for the flavours and fragrances industry,' she added.
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