CPL Aromas has created an internal group of specialists to sniff out the best essential oils around the world. The scheme ensures not only quality but authenticity, consistency, traceability and sustainability when sourcing materials.
The first challenges for the newly formed ‘Specialist Naturals Team’ took the team of 8 people to Bulgaria and then to Turkey for the 2018 rose oil harvests. The team comprises people from the Group’s Purchasing, Perfumery, Analytical, Quality Control, Formulation Management and Regulatory departments.
The fact-finding trips enable the specialists to follow the entire process from picking of the roses in the fields through to distillation and extraction of the rose oil.
Rose oil can be adulterated and so an important aspect of the journeys was to educate every member of the team on how to determine pure and genuine oils and how best to test the samples received. As rose oil is such an expensive product - currently selling for €6,750 and €8,000 per kilothere is much scope for adulteration of materials and even more incentive for perfumers and buyers to scrutinise it even more closely. Harvests this year (2018) are much improved following poor weather conditions in 2017 which led to poor cropping. Nonetheless, prices for this precious oil are always at a premium.
Decisions are being made now as to which rose oils will be purchased for the creations of the future. The other material which will undergo similar detailed attention this year is lavender oil.
