In Paris🇫🇷, we had 3 off-site class sessions, visiting the offices of McCann, Chanel, and Firmenich. Even though I had long been fascinated by these remarkable companies, people could only build a truly complete picture of them when we were there.


The most memorable tour for me was the one in Firmenich. As one of the largest companies in the flavor and fragrance industry, Firmenich’s mission is to create positive emotions to enhance wellbeing, naturally.
Commercial Director Bernie Perez introduced us to the fragrance development process, opened the door to the world of fragrances to us. I was impressed to get a professional perspective on fragrance. Its amplification, for example, can tell stories. And from the sense of smell, one can make visual associations. This phenomenon is also tacitly known in Chinese culture as 通感, the interconnectedness of the sensations received by different sense organs.


The staff sprayed a dozen scents belonging to different categories on different paper strips for us to try in turn. Before that, I was only aware of some of the fragrance products launched by different brands. Learning about the category concept, I can say that fresh citrus 🍊and sweet fruity 🍇 scents are definitely my cup of tea.

Before we left for Paris, Maria, Phuong, Nathan and I were placed into a group to develop a fragrance concept proposal. I thought it was just an ordinary assignment, and I never imagined that Firmenich would turn our "SAKURA 🌸TEA" into a reality.

When we got the shower gel, perfume, body lotion, and scented candle, the surprise was overwhelming.
The cherry blossom scent belonging to all four products is equally mild yet each is subtly different touched with tens of millions of olfactory sensory neurons... but all I can say is, I love them!
After the session, I had the pleasure of speaking with professional perfumer Kira, who shared with me her story of going from a chemistry major to a colorful career in the fragrance industry. I was touched by her love and passion, and also felt a wonderful honor to be able to connect with an industry expert.

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