FEATURE
enjoys taking long walks. He used to jog
and says that almost all of the creative
ideas he had, came to him during those
runs. “When you’re exercising, I think
your brain goes to a different place
and functions differently,” he says. He
recently got a Peloton, an exercise bike
that streams high-intensity indoor cycling
classes, following in the footsteps of
Fragrance Creators Board Chairman
Robert Weinstein, Ph.D., of Robertet, and
Directors Steve Tanner, of Arylessence,
and Joy Atkinson, of Firmenich. “So, I do
that, too, but that’s different. There’s no
thinking then, not for me, not yet at least.
I’m just trying to survive that time. But it
is very addictive!”
LOOKING BACK TO GO FORWARD
“There is always room for creativity
and innovation and that’s what we’re all
about.”
As he reflects on where the industry goes
from here, Bob looks to the past. “I’m
optimistic,” he says. “I think the industry
is doing fine, [especially if you consider
where we all were 10 years ago, in 2008.]”
But he isn’t quite sure what’s next. “Some
people have thrown out the idea that, with
transparency, all that’s going to happen is
that the fragrance companies will develop
the formulas and won’t be doing the
compounding. Their customers will be
doing that. Or third parties with lower
overheads will be doing that. I could
believe that, but I don’t think that’s going
to happen in the next 10 years.”
“A lot hangs in the political balance
right now, both because of nationalism and
trade barriers going up, but also countries
coming up with their own chemical
inventories, and no global preemption on
anything,” he says. “We worry about state-
to-state preemption here of regulations. It
may be that some products start to become
more local than they are now. That may
change things.”
When he joined the industry, he notes
that perfumers would use almost anything
that smelled good that he and others
made in the lab. “Now, it’s extremely
hard to get new material out there,” he
says. “But on the other hand, with the
formula transparency, there’s more need
for captive-type ingredients. So, there’s
as much or more need for creativity than
there was before. It’s just going to be
applied differently and costs more to get
new materials through.” At the end of the
day, “there is always room for creativity
and innovation, and that’s what we’re all
about.”
No matter what the future brings, he
emphasizes just how proud he is to be
a part of the fragrance industry. “We
really have everything,” he says. “You’ve
got science. You’ve got engineering.
You’ve got art. Really all of the STEAM
disciplines.” Almost every part of the
industry is contributing toward the
end product and everyone in it can see
these products on the market. They can
smell or taste the products that they’re
participating in making. “And I think
everybody understands pretty much the
whole picture,” he says. “Right down to the
advocacy part. That truly is rewarding.” FN FN
Bob’s father,
Paul Bedoukian, Ph.D.,
at his lab at Compagnie
Parento in the 1950s
10 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | Issue 2, 2018