Symrise has opened its new Scent Creative Center in Singapore, advancing its business and growth strategy in Asia. Designed around the way consumers experience products in everyday life, the center combines creative expertise, consumer understanding and advanced evaluation capabilities under one roof. As part of a multi phased cross-business expansion in Singapore, the center translates the ONE Symrise strategy into tangible customer value: faster collaboration and differentiated fragrance solutions around how consumers experience products in everyday life.
Building an integrated ecosystem in Asia
Taking the Symrise ecosystem to the next level, the center connects Consumer Fragrance, Fine Fragrance and Oral Care expertise while tapping into capabilities from Care & Wellness and Taste, Nutrition & Health. This ONE Symrise ecosystem combines perspectives around shared consumers and opens opportunities for multi-sensory solutions across categories. Singapore’s strategic location provides an additional advantage, connecting global capabilities with customers and consumers across Southeast Asia and the wider region.
“Singapore plays a strategic role in our ambition to grow with our customers in Asia. We continue to build an integrated ecosystem that connects our global capabilities with regional understanding and outstanding local talent. The new Scent Creative Center brings ONE Symrise to life and strengthens our ability to turn insights into long-term value for customers and consumers,” says Michael Friede, President Scent & Care, Symrise.
With its new Scent Creative Center, Symrise adds another chapter to its long-term investment in Singapore. Over the past ten years, the company has invested more than €80 million in the country and expanded capabilities spanning neuroscience, AI and automation. Its partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has supported this development for more than a decade and has allowed Symrise to develop state of art equipment and expertise.
“Symrise’s new Scent Creative Center and Global Skin Cleansing Center of Excellence reinforce Singapore’s position as an innovation hub for the flavor and fragrance industry. The expansion strengthens Symrise’s ability to tap Singapore’s research capabilities and talent base to develop innovative, consumer-focused solutions for markets in Asia and beyond. We welcome Symrise’s continued investment and look forward to supporting its next phase of growth in Singapore”, explains Kelly Lai, Vice President & Head, Chemicals and Materials, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).
A creative center that feels like home
At the heart of fragrance development, the center places customers and consumers. Instead of conventional evaluation settings alone, dedicated spaces recreate environments in which consumers experience products. Skin cleansing facilities resemble a bathroom, hair care takes fragrance evaluation into a salon environment, while a dedicated fabric-care room recreates the laundry experience.
These real-life settings help perfumers, fragrance development managers and customers evaluate fragrance performance closer to the moment of use. A sensorial inspiration room complements the concept and encourages creative exchange and the development of distinctive signatures. Customers can collaborate with Symrise experts, integrate regional consumer insights and move promising concepts toward market faster.
“Our customers expect fragrances that connect with consumers and perform in real life. Our new Scent Creative Center brings creation, evaluation and consumer understanding together in one inspiring environment. It gives our teams and customers differentiated capabilities to co-create relevant fragrance solutions faster and turn consumer insights into competitive advantage,” says Ricardo Omori, President Scent at Symrise.
Global expertise for everyday cleansing rituals
Singapore is also home to the newly created Global Skin Cleansing Centre of Excellence. From there, Symrise will build and share expertise across bar soaps, shower gels, handwash and emerging cleansing formats, support global customer briefs and develop fragrance solutions around evolving consumer expectations in health, beauty, wellbeing and sensory experience.
This choice of location reflects the strategic importance of both the category and the region. Asia Pacific represents the world’s largest skin cleansing market, accounting for €12.1 billion of a €38.9 billion global market according to Euromonitor data referenced by Symrise. Combining perfumery, sensory evaluation, consumer and market intelligence and innovation, the Centre of Excellence translates knowledge across markets into differentiated fragrance solutions.
“The opening of our center represents a key milestone for Symrise in APAC and globally. With a second key milestone coming up in Singapore very soon, we are further elevating the development of our innovation capabilities for Scent.” says Laurent Soubiran SVP APAC for Consumer Products.
In the first quarter of 2027, Symrise continues its journey and plans to complement the Creative Center with an adjacent Innovation Center. It will expand analytical and research capabilities in Singapore and create further opportunities for co-creation with customers and universities. Together, the Scent Creative Center, Global Skin Cleansing Center of Excellence and upcoming Innovation Centre strengthen Singapore as important pillar of Symrise’s global network connecting creativity, science and consumer understanding to drive growth in Asia and beyond.
