Firmenich’s AI Formulae Generator for fragrances and flavor wins Digital Innovation of the year

16 Nov 2021 --- Fragrance and flavor company Firmenich’s Formulae Generator won Digital Innovation of the year at the Digital Economy Award 2021 in Switzerland. The AI-augmented solution enables tailored perfumery and taste solutions with speed-to-market. It is hailed as a milestone in Firmenich’s digital transformation across its value chain.

“AI is a cornerstone of Firmenich’s innovation that allows us to marry research and development with the expertise and creativity of our perfumers and flavorists,” says Gilbert Ghostine, CEO at Firmenich.

“The Digital Innovation of the Year 2021 award is a tribute to the work of our d-lab, digital, Perfumery and Taste & Beyond teams on augmented creativity.”

Smart data-driven flavors and scents
The system connects the initial composition with data, such as specific applications and the olfactive descriptors of scent and taste. It helps creators understand which ingredients to use in products, including shampoo, soap, body spray, beverages, dairy and meat analogs. This provides a base from which Firmenich creators can build tailored creations for customers.

Building on this know-how, the Formulae Generator opens new possibilities and boosts perfumers’ and florists creativity by learning from the previous work of Firmenich formulas and ingredients.

In 2020, Firmenich launched the “first” AI-augmented laundry care fragrances and created the first-ever flavor by AI.

Firmenich’s d-lab and technology
Firmenich’s d-lab is an innovation hub located at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Established in 2018, the laboratory brings together Firmenich experts and key AI and Machine Learning scientists to accelerate digitalization across fragrance and flavor creation.

The annual Digital Economy Award, organized by the trade association swissICT, digitalswitzerland, and publisher Netzmedien AG, recognizes the most digitally advanced organizations in Switzerland and the most innovative digital projects in eight categories.

“Firmenich has taken a refreshing approach, which combines humans and technology in such an emotional field – the sense of smell,” adds Lukas Bär, jury president of the Digital Innovation of the Year award.

Firmenich previously introduced Scentmate, an AI-enabled platform that simplifies co-creation to deliver fragrance solutions for independent brands.Formulae Generator opens new possibilities and boosts perfumers’ and flavorists’ creativity.

AI use increases in food industry
As digitalization continues to grow, technology is seeping into every area of life. Considering this, Innova Market Insights’ third top trend for 2022 is “Tech to Table,” where innovation opportunities for the F&B industry have been created through technological advances.

Industry players have been honing in on the potential of AI. At the Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit, AI was spotlighted to bring new combinations of ingredients to create a variety of colors, smells, and textures.

In August, Danone partnered with Brightseed to discover hidden health benefits in plants using AI technology. Meanwhile, Bartle Frere Bananas learned about “data-driven horticulture practices” achieved through AI and sensor technology.

By Nicole Kerr