Febreze Innovates to Bring People Closer Together

With the power of science, and the craftsmanship of perfumery, Febreze developed and recently announced its third annual Scent of the Year, Romance & Desire. Rafael Trujillo, Vice President and Master Perfumer, worked with the Febreze Fragrance Group, a special division within P&G’s Innovation Foresight of Fragrance and Ingredients sector, to discover what scents consumers are craving in 2024.

Research and global-trend forecasts reveal that whether it’s a romantic or a platonic relationship, people are craving meaningful connection. Romance & Desire is a new scent created to evoke that sentiment with notes of pink rose petals and the effervescent excitement of champagne.

Perfumery used to be a complex and time-consuming art of trial and error, but Trujillo is credited as the driving force behind marrying artistic expression with scientific process through use of consumer-centric digital innovation tools and artificial intelligence. Codifying the process allows the team at P&G to deliver more innovative fragrances faster by leveraging digital modeling and simulation along with the science of olfaction — our sense of smell.

Scent plays a key role in our daily lives, and the majority of consumers prefer scented versions of household products. Trujillo explains this preference in a novel framework that he and other experts proposed in a recently published piece of academic literature titled, “A three-factor benefits framework for understanding consumer preference for scented household products: psychological interactions and implications for future development.” The framework defines the three benefits as:

• Functional benefits, such as malodor mitigation, base odor coverage and freshening
• In-use experience benefits, such as cleanliness, efficacy and pleasure
• Emotional benefits, such as increasing confidence, mood and nostalgia

Additionally, scent plays a central role in cognition, wellbeing, motivated behavior, and social interactions.

“With the rise of social media and many people continuing to work from home, we’ve seen an uptick in those craving in-person connection in our digital-focused world,” said Trujillo. “As society continues to evolve into a digital universe, we can’t forget that as humans our primary need to thrive is human connection. Febreze Romance & Desire reminds us of our love for love — it’s a passionate scent that ignites your inner need to bond with others.”

Febreze has claimed 2024 as the year of connection and specifically formulated Romance & Desire to create a mood that encourages camaraderie and bringing people together in person to fulfill their need for personal bonding and closeness. Coming in a variety of forms, Romance & Desire can suit all areas and needs. It is available as an air mist, plug-in and across the Small Spaces line.