Quintis mouillettes photo via Quintis
On October 28, 2021, we announced “The Quintis Sandalwood Reimagined Competition.” Quintis Sandalwood, in partnership with the American Society of Perfumers (our Contributing Editor Sherri Sebastian of Notes from the Lab is a Vice President) was launching a global competition for perfumers of all experience, inviting them to reimagine the ancient botanical of Indian sandalwood within a fragrance, using it as their muse. I personally emailed 50 perfumers and there was a lot of excitement. I wanted to learn more about Quintis, so join me as we go Behind the Sustainable Sandalwood Bottle with Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer of Quintis.
Vanessa Ligovich CMO
Michelyn Camen: Who is Quintis and what is your mission?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: Quintis Sandalwood is the world leader in the supply of premium and sustainable Indian sandalwood raw materials. Many may not know that rampant illegal poaching and harvesting of Indian sandalwood in the 1980s landed Indian sandalwood on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s vulnerable species list in 1998. Quintis saw an opportunity to ensure the survival of a species and create an ethical and sustainable supply of Indian sandalwood. Establishing the first plantation in 1999, Quintis now owns and manages one of the largest Indian sandalwood estates in the world, spanning over 12,000 hectares across northern Australia and home to more than 5.5 million trees. We’re very proud of the work we have done over the past 20 years. Sadly, illegal harvesting in other markets continues however we provide a sustainable alternative. Our mission is to continue producing a high quality, reliable and fully traceable supply of Indian sandalwood available for decades to come.”
Quintis Sandalwood Plantation
Does Quintis sandalwood have unique qualities and components that differ from other sandalwood suppliers?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: Yes definitely. We have the world’s largest Indian sandalwood plantation estate. This is important for a few reasons – it means we can meet customer requirements for volume, and we can ensure consistency and reliability of supply. Our customers don’t want to be reformulating regularly so having an ingredient they can rely on is important, particularly for fragrance brands. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years, so we have a lot of experience. We know what we need to do to grow the trees for the best quality heartwood, and how to distil and blend the oil at our onsite lab to give clients a product that meets their unique olfactory requirements. Supporting this experience is the calibre of the people we have working for us – we have some of the best forestry, research and development, irrigation and chemistry experts in the world. People that bring cutting edge solutions to the end products we develop.
photo via Quintis
What are some of your sustainable initiatives?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Quintis. We have done some really good work up until now in this area however we recognized there was still a lot to do. As a result, we have developed a robust sustainability plan and are holding ourselves to some fairly ambitious goals over the next 10 years to ensure we are doing the best we can for the planet and the communities in which we operate. We do have a few initiatives that we are particularly proud of. Towards the end of 2021 we introduced new steam distillation technology which has reduced water and energy use by 75%. This technology hasn’t really been seen in the industry before and is something we built ourselves. We commenced what we call our Biochar project which looks at creating biochar by ‘baking’ host trees and waste biomass in a pyrolysis kiln. Biochar is a carbon-rich material that is inserted into the soil, removing carbon dioxide that could otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere and storing it underground where it does not contribute to global warming. It also benefits our plantations by enhancing the soil structure and raising productivity. Most recently Quintis commenced the establishment of a new plantation. Using a previous plantation site, we have planted new sandalwood seedlings and are carefully tending to them as they grow. It’s a really exciting time for the business – there is a great synergy between the growing, thriving sandalwood trees with a promising future ahead of them, and Quintis. We are also growing and thriving, and the promise of Indian sandalwood as an industry is huge. Demand is growing rapidly as people really begin to understand the benefits of this ingredient and can see that there is a reliable and sustainable source.
photo Quintis
What are the main uses of Quintis sandalwood?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: There are many different uses for sandalwood across a range of industries. People are often surprised when I tell them just how many applications for sandalwood there are! Sandalwood is most commonly known for its creamy, woody scent. This is well ecognized in the fragrance industry, however perfumers also covet the ingredient for its superior fixative properties and strength as a base note. Other industries where Indian sandalwood is used include personal care, aromatherapy, incense, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. We export our products (oil, powder, chips and logs) globally to over 70 markets and touch all of these industries.
Quintis Sandalwood is the world leader in the supply of premium and sustainable Indian sandalwood raw materials
Can you explain the difference between the sandalwoods and their scent profiles?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: Belonging to the genus Santalum, there are over 15 different sandalwood species around the world. Indian sandalwood (Santalum album) and Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) are considered two of the most popular varieties. Indian sandalwood is considered the gold standard and most superior of the species due to its olfactory profile and therapeutic benefits. It has a soft woody base and a nuttiness sustained throughout the whole chord with a dry-down that is tenacious, sweet, and woody. This gives formulas depth, complexity and longevity. On the other hand, Australian sandalwood offers a different olfactory profile with a greener slightly herbal fresh lift, it has woody, sweet, and lactonic characteristics, with a tenacious dry-down true to sandalwood character.
Photo via Quintis website
Does your sandalwood have therapeutic properties?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: Alpha-santalol is said to hold most of the therapeutic benefits of sandalwood. Studies show that it acts upon the body’s regulatory systems to reduce anxiety and increase relaxation, while its antioxidant properties address skin inflammation. The functional benefits of the oil are really fascinating. Research indicates that due to its high solubility levels, when sandalwood is inhaled its fragrance molecules can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and interact with receptor types in the brain such as GABA that are said to reduce anxiety. The topical application of the oil has been shown to significantly decrease bodily arousal, reducing eye-blink rate, pulse rate and blood pressure.
Tell us more about the Quintis worldwide competition for professional perfumers/ How were the judges selected and who are they?
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer: Quintis, in partnership with the prestigious American Society of Perfumers, launched ‘Sandalwood Reimagined’ a global competition for perfumers of all experience levels to reimagine Indian sandalwood within a fragrance. There were no commercial constraints such as budget – perfumers were given free creative reign to develop an evocative fragrance inspired by this iconic ingredient. As part of the competition, perfumers created an Eau de Toilette supplied as a base, featuring a minimum of 1% Quintis plantation-grown Indian sandalwood oil. Along with the perfume creation, all entries were accompanied with a Statement of Creative Intent, providing an outline of the nature and ingredients of the base formulated.
An independent panel of fragrance masters was chosen by the American Society of Perfumers, who have collectively worked with major fragrance companies like Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Mane, Symrise and Takasago, and have created fragrances for iconic brands like Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Coty, DKNY, and Maesa. The judges were responsible for deciding the top 10 finalists by evaluating blind, judging creations on blotters and skin.
Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer of Quintis Sandalwood
Quintis will announce the winners at the World Perfumery Congress in Miami on 1 July 2022.You can learn more about the Finalists here and the World Perfumery Congress here
Indian sandalwood oil
Thanks to Quintis we have 10 ml of Indian sandalwood oil for one registered reader worldwide. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you find most interesting about Quintis Sandalwood and what you learned and where you live (Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Syria are excluded). Draw closes 6/29/2022
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