In 2025, it seems almost natural for artificial intelligence (AI) to shape fragrance creation. But if you take a look back at the beginnings, it becomes clear what a pioneering spirit the Holzminden-based company Symrise once displayed: In 2018, Symrise teamed up with IBM Research to present an industry-first AI platform called Philyra, consistently geared toward creativity.
At the time, the idea of using AI as more than just an efficiency tool still seemed bold. Today, Philyra is regarded as the epitome of technological innovation in perfumery, precisely because it thinks outside the box and promotes sustainable solutions.
The birth of Philyra (2018-2020)
Philyra already caused a stir in 2018 and 2019. Remember the Brazilian cosmetics company Boticario, which launched the first fully AI-generated fragrances from Symrise on the market under the brand name Egeo. The AI suggested surprising compositions, such as the combination of a warm chai latte with a classic fougère. For the perfume world at the time, AI messages in marketing campaigns were a novelty and an eye-catcher, especially among younger consumers. That’s how Symrise cemented its reputation as a visionary player early on in an industry that until then had rarely relied on state-of-the-art technology.
Sustainability moves into focus (2021-2022)
In around 2021, Symrise began strategically adding sustainability criteria to the system. The idea was to give greater priority to ingredients that are biodegradable or renewable. This was an important development as consumer behavior was changing at the same time: More and more consumers were calling for – also triggered by discussions about environmental and climate protection – sustainable products. Philyra 2.0 fitted perfectly into that era. It was not until the end of 2022 that Symrise achieved a breakthrough with several international collaborations in which brands specifically focused on the new “green” formula analysis.
Humans and machines in tandem
In interviews at the time, Symrise perfumers repeatedly stressed how important it was to develop Philyra from the outset not as an automation tool but as inspiration. Philyra was therefore based on more than 3.5 million formulas and around 1,500 raw materials, enabling it to combine fragrance character, performance and complexity in more than 20 dimensions. Pierre Gueros, Senior Fine Fragrance Perfumer at the time, described the interaction as follows: The AI didn’t attend perfumery school, so it thinks in an unfamiliar way, which is a huge boost to the creative process. AI and humans were constantly exchanging ideas, thus allowing fragrances to evolve out of pure inspiration. That’s how, as it were, a “fragrance Alexa” was created: She wasn’t a replacement for experienced perfumers but rather their innovative sparring partner.
Successes on international markets (2019-2023)
Success stories were increasingly frequent between 2019 and 2023. Alongside Brazil, where the Egeo fragrances from Boticario were hugely popular, Symrise also took the step of launching AI-created fragrances in Asia and Latin America. Whether it was men’s fragrances such as Kalos Tech (Belcorp Group, 2021) or the Tros AI Awake Cologne in Thailand (2022), Philyra became more and more synonymous with pioneering fragrance design. The market proved to be open to the brand benefits that AI brought, not only in terms of speed but also in terms of innovation. Five to six years ago, that was by no means a given.
Redefining the perfume industry
In 2023 and 2024, industry experts saw that Symrise was going far beyond simple formula optimization with Philyra. The AI was now able to make existing fragrances “more sustainable” or plan completely new compositions in a carbon- and resource-friendly manner. It was not least this ability that prompted other perfume houses and cosmetics groups to invest in similar tools. But Symrise remained the leader because the company made it clear early on that AI can = creativity + sustainability. Philyra was one of Symrise’s key projects right from the start. The idea was clear: Humans and machines enrich each other – to create fragrances more efficiently, but also in a more visionary fashion.
An established innovation
Today, the once bold vision has become reality. Philyra has established itself as the standard solution in parts of the perfume industry, with Symrise continuing to lead the way. Numerous fragrance lines from renowned brands refer in their marketing campaigns to an AI-based formulation from Holzminden. For many customers, the label “AI-supported” is now a seal of quality and modernity, just as streaming and recommendation systems were in the music industry a few years ago.
Growing market, growing responsibility
Even though Philyra has become synonymous with AI creativity, Symrise is not resting on its laurels. The market for fragrances is constantly in motion, and new consumer needs – for products, for instance, that have outstanding sensory properties but are also ecologically sound – demand continuous further development. The positive experiences of recent years show that AI can act as an enabler that speeds up the time-consuming creation process and at the same time provides impetus for previously unimagined fragrance profiles. Experts therefore expect even more houses to rely on similar technology by 2030. But thanks to its head start, Symrise retains the innovative spirit that once gave birth to Philyra.
With Philyra, Symrise has laid the foundation for a paradigm shift in the perfume industry. What began as a daring project in 2018 has developed into a model of creative, sustainable and AI-supported fragrance design within just a few years, hence setting new standards that now guide an entire branch of industry.