The beauty industry has long harnessed biotechnology — namely taking the most powerful skincare ingredients in nature and recreating them using science to make them more potent, stable, skin-compatible, and environmentally friendly. As these processes have developed and become more commonplace, uptake and investment have increased, costs have come down and new possibilities have emerged.

Initially slower to incorporate such technology in a widespread way, the fragrance sector is now steadily moving biotech processes from the fringes to the forefront of its development plans, with iconic perfume houses like DSM-Firmenich and Givaudan, incorporating lab-grown ingredients into both new and heritage fragrances.

Far from replacing perfumers, today biotech expands their tool kits, helping them move toward more sustainable practices, solve supply-chain challenges, spare rare raw ingredients, and in some cases, resurrect scents we thought were lost forever.

“The fragrance world has long used biotech in its creation, mixing synthetics with naturals to create sustainable, consistent scents,” explains Eloise Kennett-Brown of iconic Belgravia fragrance destination Les Senteurs (lessenteurs.com). “Initially it was viewed with a suspicion that this was a means to take out cost and individual touch from the creative process, but today we view biotech in fragrance with kinder eyes, seeing it as a green approach, providing a viable alternative to the resource-intensive sourcing of natural ingredients.” After all, the world simply can’t produce sufficient rose petals harvested at dawn…

Future Society Haunted Rose (Future Society)

Kennett-Brown is quick to add that not all synthetics are created equal, and that you tend to get what you pay for, while some brands have been experimenting with synthetics much more openly, and for longer than others. Boundary-pushing, fantastically-cool French fragrance brand Etat Libre D’Orange is an example of a house that has long looked to push boundaries with their use of synthetics “extending the perfumer’s palette beyond nature’s limits.”

At the more experimental end of the spectrum, fragrance brand Future Society — launched in 2023 — uses DNA sequencing from preserved botanical specimens collected at Harvard University’s Herbaria to reconstruct the scent profiles of extinct flowers. Perfumers from houses including Givaudan then helped translate these bio-engineered notes into perfumes such as the very beautiful Haunted Rose (£73.44, shopstyle.co.uk), a move that is, of course, clever marketing, but also a glimpse into what may be possible at the intersection of biology, technology and creativity in the future.

Further evidence of the shift comes with the recent relaunch of New Zealand-born fragrance house, Abel. Previously known for its natural ethos, the brand took things further by slowing down production and reformulating its entire line with biotech-enabled ingredients. In doing so, it has strengthened its natural, thoroughly modern philosophy, enabling consistent access to sustainable naturals that were once difficult, slow or environmentally costly to extract. The new nine-part offering feels elevated and contemporary; my pick, The Apartment, (£160, abelfragrance.com), is an addictive, grown-up gourmand inspired by the warm, velvety, heady surrounds of a Parisian abode, with tart cherry, rum, cacao, tuberose and myrrh.

Here, Abel founder Frances Shoemack shares six ways in which biotech can inform the present and future of perfumery.

1. Most fragrance molecules today come from fossil fuels. Biotech can change this

“Around 95% of conventional fragrance molecules are petrochemical derived. Biotechnology provides a renewable alternative by creating the ‘same’ scent molecules (chemical structure), from plant sugars instead of fossil fuels in a fundamental shift in how fragrance can be made.”

2. Bio-tech ingredients are still natural

“There’s a misconception that “high-tech” means “unnatural”. In reality, biotech uses plant sugars and a fermentation process — similar to winemaking — to produce scent molecules. Instead of fossil fuel derived, they’re nature-derived.”

(Abel)

3. They unlock complexity that naturals alone can’t achieve“A decade ago, naturals meant a narrow palette of essential oils and absolutes. Bio-tech opens the door to precision molecules with incredible nuance, giving natural perfumers creative freedom once only possible with synthetics.”

4. Bio-tech can improve the longevity and performance of natural fragrances

“Natural perfume has previously had a reputation for poor performance and longevity. Biotech ingredients deliver natural tools for extending the overall performance in perfume making. They do this because the biotech molecules are stable and more long lasting than traditional, more volatile natural ingredients like essential oils.

**5. It makes sourcing more sustainable and consistent **

“Fossil fuel-derived ingredients have obvious environmental impacts, but natural ingredients like essential oils aren’t always the most sustainable option, either. Rather than relying on vulnerable or endangered crops, biotech can produce rare scent molecules using a fraction of the land, water and energy. It’s scalable, consistent and avoids putting pressure on fragile ecosystems while removing the volatility of nature’s harvest cycles. This stability is crucial for maintaining continuity in fragrance formulas over time.”

6. It’s feeding into other areas of fragrance innovation.

“Bio-tech often sits hand-in-hand with future forward and circular approaches. Ingredients like Abel’s tart cherry note which features in The Apartment, is extracted via Symtrap technology from fruit industry wastewater, show how scientific processing can transform discarded material into something extraordinary.”

In short, whether the goal is sustainability, performance or pushing scent into uncharted territory, biotech has much to offer the future of perfumery.

Read More

Best beauty baubles for your 2025 Christmas tree

Best Christmas beauty gift sets

Refy founder Jess Hunt on Pamela Anderson, perfect brows & top London beauty spots