Perfumery Professions: Stéphane Piquart, olfactory ingredient “sourcer”

Stéphane Piquart, how would you define your profession?
My profession consists in “sourcing” natural ingredients in a way that respects the environment and is respectful and fair to the people who produce them. One of my goals is to discover ingredients that are capable of catching perfumers’ and brands’ interest, while at the same time fulfilling health and safety criteria and the capacity for long-term supply. All of that within the context of reconciling producers and consumers.

How did you get into it?
It came about through encounters with people. With my Australian friend Steve Birkbeck, we managed to introduce a new sandalwood – Australian sandalwood – and establish it as a key ingredient in fine perfumery. Our business model, which is something of a precursor for sustainable development, respects local indigenous populations, particularly Aborigines. Encouraged by that business model, and wanting to develop new ingredients for that specific market niche, I decided to found my own company, BeHave.* It allows me to propose new ingredients that respect both the environment and the populations that produce them. These new ingredients include Namibian myrrh, a.k.a. Himba gold; a new ylang-ylang that is distilled in under an hour, and a green vanilla.

So what do you actually do on a day-to-day basis?
I go to meet producers of new, natural ingredients that might be able to capture the market’s interest. I check out the olfactory effect, the ingredient’s non-toxicity, the quantities that can be produced without harming the environment, and discuss a fair price and the financial impact for the producers. Lastly, I commit to full disclosure and to transmitting the results. The ‘discovering new ingredients’ side couldn’t happen without the help of the NGOs I work with, who make sure BeHave’s selection criteria are respected. In addition, my contacts and exchanges with perfumers and brands allow me to understand their needs. Thanks to them, I can orient the market’s needs.

The people side seems at least as important as the ingredients themselves. Could you explain your connections with the local populations?
A good relationship with local populations is essential for understanding both sides’ constraints and expectations. Because what’s fair for one side isn’t necessarily fair for the other. It involves listening carefully and sharing those important elements, but also an awareness of possible ancestral use of the ingredients and the rights and legal issues that stem from that. The use of hoodia** a few years ago, to the detriment of the Bushmen,*** is a perfect example of what we have to watch out for and take into consideration. It also takes both diplomacy and perseverance to discover new ingredients. That’s why I try to work on several ingredients at once, involving different tribes, in order to provide secure future income for them. But it’s always a crapshoot, because we have no crystal ball for the potential success or failure of these new discoveries. The ingredients I propose through BeHave are clearly more expensive, but they come with an added value that justifies their price.

So what do the local populations stand to gain from your work?
Better pay. To begin with, there is no comparison between the prices I pay and the price of comparable ingredients, but by cutting out the middlemen, I can still price them competitively. Secondly, the fact that I commit to full disclosure about each product’s sales figures, and that I work with several ingredients at the same time, allows them to adapt and helps to provide some long-term security. Time is an important factor for both sides, but by working in the long-term, BeHave commits from the start to results that may take a little longer to achieve, but which are also more reliable.

Do your clients and business partners go along with your methods?
Globally, there is a movement towards sustainable development that affects our economy, and everyone wants to take advantage of it… without necessarily paying the price. There are, however, some brands – not just new ones like Aveda and Natura – that have the concept in their DNA, and that still work within that philosophy. There is also a certain number of brands that want their share of this new pie, but they only want to pay for what’s visible – the cherry on the cake – and to take advantage of other companies’ investments. I have already had to deal with companies’ breaking their commitments; because of the economic crisis, they have changed their minds. Despite that, I maintained my ingredient purchases in order to support my producers. That’s why I’m always looking for partnerships, in order to share both the risks and the success.

Which ingredients inspire you the most?
I love ingredients that have meaning for me. First of all, the ones that are long-lasting and have fixative properties, like sandalwood, myrrh and ambergris. But I also like the ones that generate emotion, because they are like travel souvenirs – reminders of my encounters with Aboriginal peoples and the Himbas. I am currently working on an extraordinary ingredient, with a tremendous ancestral history, and a wonderful scent of frankincense and benzoin. I’m also working on another ingredient that is already used in perfumery, but worked in a way that they used to do it 50 years ago. The grandson of a major perfumer gave me the recipe…

Can you tell us a little more about Australian sandalwood: the main concept, what it brings in olfactory terms and how it is grown by TFS and Mount Romance****?
Australian sandalwood isn’t a new ingredient per se, because it has been around for a long time. But it had disappeared from most perfumers’ palettes, replaced by Indian sandalwood. Very widespread in Australia, used for thousands of years by Aborigines, it is an ingredient that has come back into the spotlight because of the massive deforestation of Indian sandalwood forests. To cope with the problem of eventual deforestation, my Australian friends at Mount Romance decided to plant 12 trees for each tree they cut down, to share a percentage of their profits with the Aborigines and to start planting santal album***** in Northern Australia. Today, Australian sandalwood can be found on every perfumer’s palette, where it can be used without moderation. The whole tree is used – steam distillation burns up the waste wood (NB: to heat the water), and the water is recuperated. Recently, we came up with an interesting possibility for the fruit of the sandalwood tree that could appeal to the cosmetics industry. Indian sandalwood****** will be available by late 2012. It was planted back in 1999, and by the end of the year, it will cover an area of some 10,000 acres. A new economic model is being constructed for this product from India but planted in Australia. Part of the sales generated will go to a local Indian NGO that helps free children from working in mines and send them to school, as well as working to increase women’s economic power.

Which items on the market can we find your ‘eco-friendly’, sustainable and fair products in?
Hermès’s ‘Voyage d’Hermès’ and ‘L’Eau des Merveilles’, as well as Lanvin’s ‘Arpège pour Homme’, Yves Rocher’s ‘Voile d’Ambre’ and the Quiksilver fragrance. You can also find them in the Kiotis cosmetics lines (Yves Rocher group) and the Cade range, by L’Occitane.

What are your plans for the future?
I have new projects in the works in Africa and New Zealand, as well as a partnership for two existing essences: Indian sandalwood with my friends from TFS, and some new Australian products.

(*) Combining “be” and “have” to make “behave”.
(**) Hoodias are succulent plants that grow in desert zones. Hoodia gordonii, which grows in South Africa, is in great demand in some labs for its possible hunger-suppressing qualities, but it is an endangered species.
(***) The nomadic Bushmen are generally considered to be the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa.
(****) TFS group is the world’s largest supplier of sandalwood. Mount Romance is a subdivision of the group. It is specialized in distilling sandalwood to produce essential oil.
(*****) Santalum album, or “white sandalwood”, is the botanical name for the variety of sandalwood that is native to India. The botanical name for native Australian sandalwood is Santalum spicatum.
(******) It’s the variety that is native to India, but which has been planted in Australia.