Meet a Scent Design Manager

Many people have not heard of the Scent Design Manager (SDM) role here we take you inside IFF and spotlight some of the people in the role.
For us the role of the SDM is the critical connection in the management of fragrance development. They provide olfactive guidance and sources of inspiration to stimulate perfumers’ creativity. Their role encompasses many disciplines including interpreting project briefs and specifications consumer insights and marketing as part of the creative process and ensures that both technical as well as creative customer requirements are met. It involves balancing creative innovation understanding the technical aspects of fragrance formulation high consumer appeal and client strategy as well as a broad knowledge of the market categories brands consumers and the ability to translate these insights into guidance for Creation.

About the role of the SDM:

• Inspires and guides perfumers in the creation of fragrances
• Balances creative innovation with strategy
• Connects market and consumer needs to find new opportunities

For those considering a role in Fragrance as a career path we invite you to meet some of our people. Though their backgrounds are diverse and they work at different IFF Creative Centers around the world they all share their passion for their profession in this conversation.

Below are some highlights from our video:

Francoise grew up in the Paris area and in La Réunion island. She studied Economics and Management in Versailles. She attended ISIPCA for her Master’s degree and has an Advanced Graduate diploma from ESSEC Business School. With over fifteen years of experience in the fragrance industry she found the parameters of the SDM role suited her personality and interests. She is now a Senior SDM Manager in Fine Fragrance getting ready to move to a new assignment in New York city. Here’s what she shared:

“Sometimes it is difficult to explain the job…but I can tell you that when wake up every morning I’m really happy to come to the office. For me working in fine fragrance I have the feeling that of being a midwife of perfumery because I am helping perfumers to give birth to their creations – and it’s amazing that I’m part of a creative team behind beautiful scents that we can smell every day. Behind each scent there is a Scent Design Manager!”

“Always be curious open minded passionate with perfume and determined! The job of Scent Design Manager is a magical profession which the two sides of our brain: the right brain for creativity open-mindedness olfaction and the left brain for the project management part organization and strategy to build brands identities.”

Sumukha grew up in Bengaluru India and has since lived in France the Netherlands and will be moving to Singapore soon. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from BMS College of Engineering Bengaluru India he was drawn to the fragrance industry and discovered the Master of Scent Design and Creation program at ISIPCA. His first job in the fragrance industry was an internship at IFF Mumbai as part of his program at ISIPCA.

“I graduated from the first class of the IFF sponsored ISIPCA Masters. I had a great three years at ISIPCA in France. I moved from India to France to pursue my dream to work in the world of fragrance. During my time at ISIPCA I learned so much from great teachers and learned more about the fragrance industry. I had great opportunity to work as an intern at two IFF creative centers the Netherlands and Singapore. For me personally the SDM role is a great fit. I love that you’re sort of a linchpin in the whole ecosystem. Anytime someone picks up a product from the shelves in a supermarket or wherever they shop and they smell the product and are happy with how that product smells and performs – it makes me really happy that I had some part to play in that product.”

“I get many questions from applicants and students from ISIPCA who always ask “Why SDM?”. I enjoy encouraging them to become an SDM. It’s a very dynamic role. You wear multiple hats you’re a project manager you’re a scent designer you’re sometimes a lead for many projects. It’s a job where you interact a lot so you’re in constant interaction with multiple teams sometimes with the customer sales and technical teams. All of this apart from the designing of scents that you do with the perfumer. The thing I like the most is the combination of managing the projects while still designing using your creativity.”

“Being an SDM has been an inspiring experience for me. It lets me be creative and allows me to explore a broad olfactive spectrum of products from different which has helped me understand tastes and preferences of people from across the world. It’s a dynamic role that has helped me build olfactive expertise teamwork decisive decision making resilience and technical grasp over the design of fragrances. It is an exciting experience and has helped me grow significantly on the professional front.”

San grew up in a small city called Sungai Petani in the north of Malaysia. His diploma is in Applied Food Science and Nutrition and then he further studied in Business Management. He joined IFF as a lab technician but quickly envisioned himself in the role of Scent Design Manager. He was intrigued by the diversity of the role and the mixture of technical creativity and business aspect. He attended IFF’s Scent Design school in the Netherlands. Following an assignment in Singapore he moved to Brazil for his current Senior SDM role.

“When we talk to perfumers our role is kind of a translator. We can explore creativity and also there’s also the discipline of project management so that we can always be on to deliver the product…so I agree that this role is really a mixture of skills.”

“Go after for your dream & passion and work on it!!! Be proud of our role where we could be part of the team to create a better experience for the people for the planet and for a better world”.

Marina is from Sao Paola Brazil and has lived in Vancouver and Madrid. She has been at IFF for over 9 years and is now a Senior SDM at IFF’s office in Sao Paulo Brazil on consumer Fragrance. Her degree is from Pontificia Universida de Catolica de Sao Paolo and has an MBA from FIAP in Brazil.

“Every product at the end of the day has a huge story behind it that only SDM and Perfumers know about. A part that is gives me a lot of satisfaction is when we create a scent for the product – and then when you see the product on the shelf I feel like wow my product is on the shelf and everyone is using it. When you hear “Ah I love this product” (especially from someone like a friend I think it is so amazing I was the one that had a big role in working with a perfumer to create that product – and that satisfaction is wonderful for me.”

“It’s amazing how we create partnerships especially with perfumers. We develop relationships based on trust. It’s a daily work that you need to keep doing and you need to keep pushing them and pushing yourself to understand. It’s a really a vibrant alive environment.”

Fiona was born in Berlin. Her dad was in the army so she lived in over 20 different locations including England Germany and Gibraltar. She’s always loved history and is particularly fascinated with culture of the senses – taste and smell. Her first job at IFF was as an assistant in Sales and Marketing. She is now based at IFF’s office in Neuilly France on Consumer Fragrances. In her current role of Scent Design Manager – Product Design Beauty Care she often runs workshop on creativity for the perfumers and SDM teams.

“It’s all very vague at the beginning and then you enter it and then it’s like entering a whole new brave new world. It’s a very unique role – it’s very magnificent especially if you are a curious person. I’ve always described it as being like an editor or a publisher. I’ve once heard it said we are like thoroughbred horse trainers.”

“In order to inspire others you have to inspire yourself and so in order to inspire yourself you have to go out in the world and find new ideas from different sources from all walks of life.”

“We are a global community but also we’re a global community of experts and I love that.”

Vishala was born in Trinidad and lived there until she moved to Florida as a young teenager. She studied biochemistry and taught high school before earning a dual degree – a Masters in Personal Care Science and an MBA. She is based at IFF’s Bell Works Creative Center in Holmdel NJ working on consumer fragrances.

“We’re probably one of the few roles within IFF where we’re in contact with every other role. We really are the glue that keeps all of these projects together because our hands are in all of the pots. My favorite thing is that we get to interact with everyone on an everyday basis – it’s never the same day twice.”

“You get to call your mom and say “Mom go look on the shelf!”

About our ISIPCA Masters Scent Design and Creation

IFF has partnered with ISIPCA the world’s premier fragrance school to offer the first and only accredited program of its kind. This highly selective Master’s program immerses students in the foundations and pioneering advances of the profession at a state-of-the-art campus in France the historic heart of perfumery culture. Graduates will be well prepared for careers as perfumers scent design managers technical perfumers marketing and sales executives and related roles in the fragrance industry.