30 January, 2024 2 min
Barcelona, January 30, 2024. Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich, the digital-first fragrance house, has created the world’s first edible and biodegradable fragrances, inspired by traditional landmarks of the island of Tenerife, including a scientifically proven technology that manages to elicit emotions in the consumer. The fragrances, formulated through innovative scientific research in collaboration with Diego Schattenhofer – chef of Taste 1973Restaurant Tenerife and Michelin star – have been part of a presentation made by the chef on the stage of Madrid Fusion 24 and organized by theCabildo de Tenerife.
The two perfumes are 100% natural, biodegradable, formulated with ingredients approved for use in food products and have contributed to generate a revolutionary gastronomic experience. For their creation, the innovative Emotions technology has been used, which allows the design of fragrances that trigger specific feelings linked to certain emotions: energy, happiness, and relaxation, through a study carried out with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and a patented process of verbalization of emotions.
Fragrances that elicit emotions
Emotions technology is the result of 25 years of research by dsm-firmenich together with scientific partners and universities evaluating the response of the human brain to different smells and establishing a link between these and the feelings generated. This process has been scientifically validated through tests that have demonstrated the effectiveness of fragrances created with Emotions in generating emotions and improving mood.
El Pinar and Medianías de las Islas are the two edible perfumes proposed by the perfumers of Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich. They feature Emotions fragrance technology, which has been proven to elicit feelings that transport you to a culinary experience that goes beyond anything you have ever experienced before. These edible perfumes have been inspired and created following the partnership in the project of chef Diego Schattenhofer (Taste 1973 Restaurant – Tenerife)and Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich.
Imagine being in a forest. The suggestive fresh aroma of the resinous notes of the pine trees of El Pinar de Tenerife, guide you connecting your senses with the environment, generating emotions such as relief, serenity, happiness and joy. The same happens with the Medianías de lasIslas, an essence that embraces the aromatic variety of Tenerife’s fauna and flora, as well as the crops of potatoes, chestnut trees, fruit trees and cereals. Its notes bring you closer, little by little, to the cultivation in the humid dry land, to the humid caves, to the tagasaste or escobón and the smell of goat.
For Alfonso Álvarez-Prieto, General Manager, and founder of Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich, “it is a pleasure to collaborate with a cuisine reference like Diego Schattenhofer and to work with the inspiration offered by a place as evocative as Tenerife”.
According to Marie Hugentobler, creative director and perfumer of Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich, in reference to the joint project with Diego Schattenhofer: “We have extracted the highest quality ingredients that nature has to offer, to offer bespoke fragrances that evoke deep emotions and capture the essence of each dish”.
A gastronomic revolution integrating fragrances
For chefSchattenhofer, the story of this gastronomic milestone began a few years ago and stems from his dream of being able to “eat with the sense of smell”. Thus, together with a multidisciplinary team, he recreated theGuanche aromas through bacteria from the aboriginal caves of the islands.
This”game with aromas” was reinforced by a chance meeting with Scentmate®by dsm-firmenich, which led to the launch of a solid partnership that has succeeded in “putting Tenerife in the nose and eating its scents, while achieving an emotional fourth wall thanks to Emotions technology, presented by Scentmate® by dsm-firmenich”.
After the two fragrances presented at Madrid Fusión, work is already underway on new edible perfumes with other emblematic places of the island of Tenerife, such as its beaches, the “tinerfeños puddles” and mojos. This is the beginning of a gastronomic revolution that will allow the integration of fragrances as another working element to turn the culinary experience into a sensory whole.