IFEAT’s Berlin Conference proved to be an overwhelming success partly reflected in the many positive postings on social media and in trade magazines. IFEAT Conferences are a truly global event. and the range of activities and presentations illustrated the expanding role of IFEAT in the F&F and related ingredient supply sectors. There were a record number of over 1,600 attendees (including 1,535 delegates, 44 accompanying persons plus speakers and guests) from a record number of companies (692) and countries (66).

 

Attendance at the presentations reached record levels, with standing room only at the opening Monday morning sessions, while the Conference’s final presentation on Thursday saw the lecture hall capacity of 350 people almost full. Over the four days there were 32 companies exhibiting next door to the main Conference hall and all 37 meeting rooms and 16 meeting tables were taken. The IFEAT Dinner and the Closing Banquet, in appealing and very different locations, attracted 325 and 1,000 delegates respectively. The two Conference workshops on aromas and fragrances were a sell-out. For the first time IFEAT had sole occupancy of the Conference hotel over the five days, which facilitated the Conference organisation as well as security, and proved to be an ideal location for networking and facilitating the wide range of activities on offer. Another first was the recording of the Conference in the form of a daily cartoon with the composite picture exhibited and auctioned for charity at the Closing Banquet.

The Conference was certainly the longest in terms of preparation – thanks to the pandemic. As Jens-Achim Protzen, the Conference Chair, said in his welcoming address:

“It took us six years, 15 committee members, four Events Managers, three IFEAT Executive Committee Chairs, two Conference cancellations and about 20 personal visits to Berlin to get this organised – there were a few constants in this equation namely: Berlin, the Intercontinental Hotel, some staff members, and me…!”

The Plenary Sessions were held in Potsdam III, with superb video and sound reproduction systems, providing an excellent location for the four days of presentations, including the IFEAT AGM and Business Session, the morning legislative and regulatory session on the EU’s Green Deal, and an afternoon “Roundpanelshop” on sustainable sourcing. Last year’s innovation of a professional Master of Ceremonies, to introduce the speakers and moderate the Q/A sessions, ensured the programme ran to time and was a great success. The Conference programme was opened on Monday morning by the Conference Chair who explained the theme was “Trade, Tradition, Modern Spirit” and outlined some of the key highlights of the extensive Conference programme.

To facilitate the Conference programme the Whova app was available to delegates before, during, and after the Conference. Delegates were able to use the app to obtain information on the various Conference delegates, presentations, and events, as well as communicate directly with each other. In addition, just prior to the start of the Conference, and throughout the Conference, the organisers were able to communicate with delegates using the app. Presentations are available to Members via the IFEAT website Conference Proceedings page here.

Regulatory and Legislative Issues

The key theme of the Monday morning sessions was the uncertainty faced by essential oils because of the unintended consequences of the upcoming EU regulations relating to the Green Deal and its Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). Four important and informative presentations were made to an overflowing lecture hall.

At short notice, the organisers were able to arrange a presentation by Maria Spyraki, an MEP (Member of the European Parliament), on The EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and its Impact on the Essential Oils Industry. She is playing a key role in tabling amendments to the proposed legislation aimed at protecting the production and use of essential oils. She shared her up-to-the minute insights on how the forthcoming events are likely to play out and how the European Commission’s chemical policy revisions could impact essential oils. She also gave her views on other ambitious chemical policy revisions including the EU’s Classification, Labelling, and Packaging (CLP) regulation and how they could still have an impact on the essential oils industry.

Manolo Donaire, President of EFEO (European Federation of Essential Oils) followed with a presentation entitled From the Lavender Fields to the EU Green Deal: Current State of Play and Impact on the Essential Oils Sector. He shared his views on how the EU’s Green Deal and the CSS and its corresponding CLP and REACH revisions could be a direct threat for essential oils and why this is not only an EU issue but also will have a global impact on the essential oils sector. He outlined the EFEO’s position, focusing on the upstream supply chain, particularly the impact on SMEs which play a vital role in the sector. In addition, he spoke about the recent joint advocacy initiatives aimed at influencing the actions of the EU Commission, Parliament, and Council.

Since mid-June, IFEAT has considerably expanded its EU advocacy activities with the ultimate objective ensuring business continuity for IFEAT Members involved in essential oil production, aroma chemical manufacturing, flavour and fragrance compounding, trading, and consumer product manufacturing. These were outlined by Susan Schneider of FGS Global, Brussels in her presentation on IFEAT’s Response to the EU’s Regulatory Tsunami. FGS Global is working with IFEAT and outlined two key initiatives, namely, to amplify IFEAT’s voice on key pieces of EU legislation and to enhance the perception of the sector among key stakeholders ending with a call to action among all stakeholders.

A presentation on Natural Oils in a New Landscape: Regulatory and Legislative Trends in North America was made by Dr Dan Selechnik, Director of Regulatory Science, Fragrance Creators Association, a trade association that represents most fragrance manufacturers in North America. He outlined how the North American legislative and regulatory climate is highly active and rapidly evolving both at the Federal and State levels, including fragrance allergens, labelling, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microplastics. In addition, he discussed the worldwide ramifications of the EU’s Green Deal.

Finally, the four presenters joined Dr John Cavallo in a “fireside chat” to exchange views on the changing regulatory environment in the F&F sector.

Keynote Presentations

There were two earlier presentations opening the morning session by two speakers from the host nation Germany. The first was Tillmann Miritiz’s keynote address on The Global Essential Oil and F&F Market: Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow in which he reflected on some of the substantial changes and consolidations during his three-decade involvement in the F&F industry and essential oil sector, especially citrus oils. Among the topics covered were changes in technology, global supply chain dynamics, ownership, regulations, price volatility and raw material pricing, evolving consumer preferences, and an increasing emphasis on sustainability.

This was followed by Dr Maja Zippel’s (of Frey and Lau) superbly illustrated and informative presentation on Essential Oils Past and Present Under the Scrutiny of Analytical Chemistry. She reflected on the historic role and expanding popularity of essential oils in flavours, fragrances, cosmetics, phytopharmacy, and increasingly in aromatherapy applications. Increasingly users of essential oils and other natural ingredients need to be aware of their natural origin. An excellent overview was provided of state-of-the-art and classical analytical methods used to analyse and determine their origin, such as different isotopic analytical methods, GC, chiral GC, residual impurities, etc. Some methods are used in producing countries, facilitating a sustainable supply chain, while others are used further along the supply chain. 

Understanding the strengths of analytical methods provides the entire supply chain with the opportunity to strengthen natural products, facilitating consumer safety by ensuring the identity of products, and to act on regulatory issues rather than to react to them. With very different players using different analytical methods with a very different degree of background knowledge, it is key that the essential oils industry and the trade take control and know their products on a chemical level to defend them.

IFEAT AGM and Business Meeting

As usual Tuesday morning was devoted to the IFEAT AGM and Business Session and the IFEAT Medal Lecture. Catherine Crowley, the Chair of the IFEAT Executive Committee, gave a detailed report on IFEAT’s 2022 activities and accounts, and two new Executive Committee members were elected – Sergio Davalos and Ruben Francot. Two Executive Committee members also retired – Antonella Corleone and Raúl Amigo. Retiring President Alastair Hitchen welcomed IFEAT’s new President Ramón Bordas.

Presentations were made on the next IFEAT Conference in Bangkok from 10-14 November 2024; two past Study Tours to South Africa in November 2022 and Spain in February-March 2023; two future tours to Italy from 21-27 January 2024 and Turkey from 2-7 June 2024; reports on the IFEAT-supported Reading University Flavour and ICATS Perfumery courses and medals were presented to the best student on each course.

The IFEAT Business Session was followed by Dr Matthias Vey’s IFEAT Medal Lecture on Three Decades Working in and for the Fragrance Industry – a Personal Perspective. In his presentation he shared his wide-ranging and unique experiences of a career dedicated to fragrance. Initially trained as a perfumer, he moved to a creative role in the cosmetic sector followed by a position as a quality assurance manager.  In 2000 he was appointed Director of Scientific Affairs – and latterly Vice President –  of the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), where he has driven the Association’s commitment to science, in particular through the IFRA Standards that underpin the safe use of fragrance around the world. He is now firmly part of the fragrance establishment, and has had the opportunity to see, and shape, some of the evolutions and changes that the fragrance industry has undergone over the past three decades. His unrivalled experience is helping him lead IFRA into capably handling the challenges the rapidly changing sector is facing, pushed partly by internal factors, and compounded externally by expansive changes sought by global regulators.

 

Tuesday also saw the new IFEAT Members “Meet & Greet” meeting at which 17 representatives from new Member companies met up with some Executive Committee members and IFEAT staff for an introduction to IFEAT and to meet each other and ask questions over a drink.

Sustainable Sourcing and Beyond

The only afternoon session was the “Roundpanelshop” on Sustainable Sourcing and Beyond – Initiatives in the Global Flavour and Fragrance Industry on Tuesday. This was a hybrid of a round table, a panel discussion, and a workshop, lasting for two and a half hours. Unlike previous IFEAT Conference round tables, the attendee numbers were not limited but they had to register and accept “Chatham House Rules” under which participants are free to use any of the information and opinions discussed but cannot disclose the information’s source or who participated.

Certainly “sustainability” has come to the forefront of many company’s operations in recent years, but it is a complex concept that means different things to many people. It is a dynamic balance between economic, environmental, and social matters and it is now evident that sustainability begins with the production of raw materials and moves all along the value chain. In recent years many producers have been required to meet a myriad of rules and regulations regarding renewability, traceability, sustainability, organic, labelling and packaging of products, to meet the requirements from purchasing companies and other organisations and these are monitored and certified by a range of certifying bodies. As some presenters pointed out, these additional constraints have proven to be very demanding, especially for many small producers, who lack the personnel or expertise to complete the paperwork being requested.

A range of presenters and discussants presented their views on this wide-ranging topic and attempted to answer a number of questions on the main hurdles, drivers, achievements, industry expectations, and what motivates them to keep going further and faster. Presenters included Sven Ballschmiede (IOFI) and Martina Bianchini (IFRA), both trade associations who presented the guiding principles of the IFRA/IOFI Sustainability Charter which aimed to turn theory into practice. Rik Kutsch Lojenga of UEBT (Union of Ethical Biotrade), an association and certifying body that promotes “sourcing with respect, and Deborah Vorhies of the Fairwild Foundation, an international organisation providing a global framework for sustainable and fair-trading of wild collected plants and ingredients. Several specific case studies were presented: Ralf Kunert of naturamus GmbH, on its work with a Turkish rose company, Filip Lissicharov of Enio Bonchev, a Bulgarian rose producer, Eduardo Mattoso on Kappi’s Brazilian biodiversity initiatives in the Amazon Basin, and Raja Palaniswamy of Jasmine CE of India. Dominique Roques (Balsam Consulting) chaired the Q&A session following the presentations.

Although not part of the “Roundpanelshop”, but directly related to sustainability issues,  was Elisa Aragon’s presentation entitled Natural F&F Ingredients can Protect and Promote Biodiversity: Peru Balsam, a Case Study Using Satellite Image Analysis. This explained how sustainable management of the Peru balsam tree, native to Central America, can protect and promote biodiversity. This is in the context of companies and brands aiming to facilitate the UN’s Global Biodiversity Framework’s objective of halting future biodiversity loss. Using satellite spatial analysis, the research clearly demonstrated the ability to generate a sustainably managed healthy forest resource in El Salvador.

Education and ICATS

A recent major IFEAT initiative has been the start of efforts to expand its educational role in the F&F sector, including the takeover of ICATS in 2023, an organisation it has been supporting for many years. One beneficiary of its educational programme is Ashish Jhunjhunwalla who was awarded the IFEAT “Best Perfumery Student” in 2002. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in revolutionising the fine fragrance/deodorant and body spray market in India and has been the nose behind a lot of fragrances used in the Indian and international market. His presentation on Perfumery & Essential Oils: As Diverse As It Gets – An Insight into the ICATS Diploma gave the audience an insight into the learning opportunities available via the ICATS Diploma. This is a distance learning programme with modules focused on both F&F pathways in addition to logistics, regulatory, commercial, and foundation science. The modules can be taken individually and at the student’s own pace, thereby offering continuous professional development opportunities across an organisation.

Despite access to thousands of synthetic aroma molecules, it is pure essential oils and other naturals that have always been close to the heart and nose of most perfumers. The presentation highlighted why essential oils are preferred over reconstitutions and how different varieties of oils increase a perfumer’s pallet multi-fold. For example, if a perfumer wants a warm, woody, fresh cedarwood character, many varieties of cedarwood are available with different and diverse analytical and olfactive profiles.

The presentation included a smelling session by the audience whereby they were able to experience the diverse olfactive profiles of oils like cedarwood, geranium, vetiver, frankincense, lavender, and chamomile, to name a few.

Workshops

Two workshops were held during the Conference, both of which received very positive feedback from participants. The Flavour Workshop led by Dr Michael Zviely, ran over two afternoons, leaving delegates free to attend the plenary sessions. The programme was split into five sections namely:

• An introduction to the chemical senses: odour, taste, and flavour
• The F&F market and product groups covering various aspects of the global chemical market and ingredients, including future projections
• Maillard reaction products, seasonings, condiments, and savoury flavourings
• The main principles of flavour creation
• Sweetening agents and sweet taste modifiers

 

The Fragrance Creation half day workshop was led by Marianne Martin, Past President of the British Society of Perfumers. It was an interactive introduction to the world of fragrance covering:

• A brief history of fragrance
• The psychology of fragrance perception
• How essential oils have been the creative jewels in fine fragrances over the
• decades
• How aroma molecules have given rise to modern perfumery
• Fragrance families

Using this knowledge, the participants were guided to blend their own unique fragrances.

Innovation and Research

Alongside the rapidly expanding regulatory environment faced by the industry is the wide ranging innovation taking place in the sector. The four remaining Wednesday presentations provided considered and thought-provoking insights into some of these innovative and research developments being undertaken in the sector:

Stephen Johnson and Andy Thornton spoke on Using Blockchain to Unlock Value in Difficult Supply Chains: Lessons from frankincense, rosewood, and palm. Regulatory and consumer pressures have necessitated that supply chains become more transparent but for some products, such as those that are wild harvested or produced in conflict zones, this has become very difficult. Thornton and Johnson explained how blockchain technology can meet many of these challenges by allowing widespread data collection at source, with the data preserved in an indelible tamper-proof ledger. Using several case studies, they argued that it reduces risk in sourcing natural materials, increases brand values, and is “a cost-effective, scalable solution to prove good practices and demonstrate positive environmental and social impact, even in particularly difficult supply chains”. 

Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and their residues are a major concern in the production and trade in essential oils. This is because compliance with regulations on maximum residue limits (MRLs) is mandatory in marketing oils, especially for organic certified products. IFEAT is funding research in this area and Hans Braeckman and Sibel Erkilic Horsman presented some of these findings in their presentation on Plant Protection Products (PPP) in Naturals – Identification, Quantification, and Interpretation. They discussed how despite the considerable progress made in analytical technologies there are still considerable challenges in how to evaluate the concentrations of contaminants in essential oils given their complex nature. They highlighted the practical and analytical difficulties and how this can create tension between laboratories, business operators, and regulators.

Despite concentrating on a relatively unknown botanical, the  presentation on Creating innovative fragrance materials using new botanicals from Africa: Marula Fruit provided a unique perspective from three speakers from diverse backgrounds: Marc vom Ende, (Perfumer), Sascha Liese (Director of Corporate Sustainability and Pietersarel de Bruyn (organic farmer and essential oil producer). They analysed and selected innovative processes and products to utilise marula skin and pulp in the F&F industry and other uses while creating employment, and establishing a sustainable supply chain. In addition, to discuss the challenges involved, they emphasised the sustainable and ethical impact on local communities and the use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol and UN Protocol on Biological Diversity.

In many countries, and sometimes for many centuries, essential oils have been produced by traditional, labour intensive, time consuming, energy intensive processes. Innovative processes offer a key to unlocking new possibilities and efficiencies. The final presentation of the day was on Next-generation Essential Oil Extraction: Introducing D.I.C. Technology by Victor Lefrançois, an IT engineer and the CEO of a family engineering company that aims to establish a cutting-edge technology known as D.I.C. (Instant Controlled Pressure Drop) as a new standard for essential oil extraction, promoting greener and more efficient practice. The presentation outlined the technical intricacies of D.I.C.’s revolutionary approach to essential oil extraction, which optimises extraction capacities, significantly reduces processing times, thus ensuring the preservation of delicate compounds in the oils and reducing energy requirements. By harnessing the power of pressure drop, this technology seeks to enhance extraction efficiencies, deliver superior quality aromas, and contribute to a greener extraction line. The session closed with a Q&A with all the presenters, moderated by the MC Ralph Cochrane.

Minty Notes

Mint oils are the second largest group of essential oils after citrus oil with annual production exceeding 30,000 MT. As Dr Geemon Korah PhD, the Chair of this session pointed out, in recent times there have been many comments posted on social media by large F&F companies that synthetics are more green/sustainable than naturals. This session aimed to respond to this in the context of natural mints and menthol, to demonstrate the impact that natural oils have on the environment, farmers’ livelihoods, the supply chains that depend on them, and the sustainability of naturals.

India dominates mint oil and natural menthol production accounting for more than 80% of global output. Two of the presentations concentrated on India, the first by Vaibhav Kumar Agrawal on Regenerative Mint Farming – The Next Big Step in the Sustainable Mint Supply Chain. Until recently the sector provided economic security for more than two million smallholders but in recent years it has been in crisis due to a combination of low mint prices, reduced  yields, rising cultivation costs, environmental issues including climate change, escalating farming issues, and competition from synthetic menthol. There is a great danger of mint farmers losing interest in the sector unless major action is taken. The presentation outlined various strategies involving the adoption of sustainable and regenerative farming practices to make mint farming financially sustainable and an economically secure livelihood,

The next presentation was by Tony Phan on Sustainable Menthol: Addressing the Environmental and Social Challenges of India’s Natural Menthol Industry provided a comprehensive overview of the impact of natural menthol production in India, the world’s largest producer and exporter. In recent years the production and use of natural menthol in India have come under scrutiny due to potential environmental impacts. Tony Phan’s passion for sustainable development combined with the use of a tool he had developed based on green chemistry principles enabled him to give an illuminating evaluation of the environmental, social, and economic impact of Indian natural menthol production. The various stages of the production process, including cultivation, harvesting, distillation, crystallisation, and refinement were outlined along with the positive role of mint and menthol production in improving livelihoods and bringing benefits to local communities. The impact of menthol production on climate change and ecosystems (biodiversity, water consumption, GHG emissions) and the use of synthetic menthol as a substitute for natural menthol were analysed. The presentation concluded by outlining practical solutions (such as the use of traditional cultivation and production techniques, modern technologies) to mitigate any negative impacts and to ensure the benefits of menthol production are positive.

The final mint presentation was by Alan Brown on United States Mint Industry – The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same. This discussed the major changes in the industry over recent decades including the significant reduction in the area cultivated due to a variety of factors including competition from India and China, verticillium wilt, and more attractive crops. Despite the many changes that have often unfavourably impacted mint farmers and service providers, dealers of American mint continue to see repetitive trends and behaviours by stakeholders. The reduced availability of US mint oils has not led to any impetus from the large end-user conglomerates to support the American mint farmer, which will lead to continued future price swings.

After each of three speakers discussed these topics from different perspectives, there followed a lively panel discussion moderated by Dr Korah.

Citrus Market Trends

Crop reports were a recent innovation at IFEAT Conferences and the final presentation in Berlin – given to an almost full lecture hall – was Karin Bredenberg’s Crop Market Report on Citrus. In an excellent presentation she provided market updates on the major citrus oils: orange, lemon, lime, mandarin, clementine, tangerine, bergamot, and yuzu. For each oil she discussed the main producing origins, the current situation, market dynamics, and forecast.

The Conference programme had provided many wide ranging and thought-provoking in-depth lectures and discussions on a wide range of topics and issues affecting the F&F sectors – ingredient availability, excessive regulatory environment, scientific research and innovation, sustainability, and education, The speakers had obviously spent a lot of time preparing their presentations and it is impossible in this article to do them justice. Readers (Members) are strongly recommended to watch the presentations here.

Food, Social Events, and Entertainment

Overall, the Conference facilities and catering were excellent. During the four days of presentations, exhibitions and meetings, a range of refreshments and snacks was available in several of the hotel’s public areas. Similarly, a wide range of hot and cold lunches was served at strategic points during the lunch break from 12.00 to 14.00. Official Conference events included the Welcome Reception, the IFEAT Dinner, and the Closing Banquet while companies hosted offsite and very inventive cocktail evenings, including Miritz at the Stue Hotel, Ultra at the Adlon  Kempinski, and Ventos at the Berlin Zoo.

As usual, the Conference began with a very crowded and noisy Welcome Reception on Sunday evening when delegates met up with old friends and customers and made new friends. The IFEAT Dinner, sponsored by Lebermuth, was reactivated after four years, and convened on Tuesday evening in the extensively renovated Wasserwerk, a state-of-the-art events location initially built in 1906 as a water pumping station. Much of the historical architecture and some of the pumping equipment had been retained. The delegates were entertained by brass and string orchestra players from the Berlin Philharmonic.

The final Conference event was the Closing Banquet, sponsored by Ventos, held in Station Berlin and some 1,000 delegates had a sit-down buffet meal and were treated to excellent entertainment including an award-winning break-dancing group and the DDC group, which encouraged many delegates to venture onto the dance floor until just after midnight.

During the evening, Jens-Achim Protzen, the Conference Chair, took to the stage again. He thanked the many Conference sponsors and delegates, and invited onto the stage those who had made the Conference such a success, namely the Berlin Conference Organising Committee and the IFEAT staff. The IFEAT Founder’s Award was given in absentia to Jens-Achim’s father, Klaus-Dieter Protzen, who played a key role in the founding of IFEAT and its early development. Each year since then IFEAT Conferences have moved between continents with new companies and countries participating. The Berlin Conference provided a clear indication that IFEAT has weathered the pandemic and is going from strength to strength. Next year sees the Bangkok Conference – we look forward to seeing you there!

View the Berlin Conference photos on Flickr