Fragrances: IFF expands LMR Naturals site in France to scale natural ingredients

IFF has expanded the capabilities of LMR Naturals, its subsidiary specializing in natural fragrance ingredients, with a EUR 10 million investment. The enlarged site now includes a pilot plant and an experimental field, bringing 30 research and development experts under one roof and boosting IFF’s capacity to meet rising global demand for traceable, sustainable, high-quality naturals.

A bet on naturals

Founded in 1983, LMR Naturals played a key role in reviving Grasse. At a time when some manufacturers diluted raw materials or mixed them from multiple sources, founder Monique Rémy championed the return of local production — once abandoned by farmers under pressure from cheaper synthetic alternatives and imported naturals.

Challenging the traditional broker system, Monique Rémy created high-quality natural ingredients and worked directly with perfumers. Several of them, including Dominique Ropion and Anne Flipo, later joined IFF and championed her creations. So when IFF sought to expand its European presence in the early 2000s, acquiring LMR Naturals was a natural choice.

The latest investments have provided LMR with the tools it needed to develop new technologies. “IFF was the solid shoulder on which LMR leaned to see bigger,” comments Judith Gross, VP Scent Communication & Branding at IFF.

Pilot hall

Inaugurated on September 8 in the presence of Sabryah Meflah, President of Fine Fragrances at IFF, Bertrand de Preville, CEO of LMR Naturals, and Jérôme Viaud, Mayor of Grasse, the new site houses a production unit equipped with IFF’s most advanced technologies.

This state-of-the-art pilot plant streamlines industrial transposition, enabling faster, more efficient responses to customer needs. The facility combines all major extraction techniques — from distillation (classic, vacuum-fractionated, molecular) and volatile solvent extraction to supercritical CO₂, microwave, and ultrasound methods.

This combination of technologies aims to enable the creation of unique, more effective and sustainable ingredients for IFF perfumers. Working closely with Research & Development, this state-of-the-art unit allows industrial tools to be adapted as closely as possible to small-scale experiments.

New experimental field

The inauguration also provided an opportunity to unveil the new experimental field adjacent to the site. This land, which previously belonged to Constant Viale, a former tuberose producer for LMR Naturals, is designed as an open-air laboratory, allowing agricultural engineers to explore varietal selection and develop natural products that are ever higher in quality and more environmentally friendly.

This experimental field is a continuation of the work of Monique Rémy. An early advocate of environmental responsibility, she favored long-term “win-win” contracts, educating farmers to improve their incomes and working conditions, and offering the best quality to perfumers. To this end, agricultural engineers work directly in the fields to refine cultivation and extraction methods, supporting IFF’s partners worldwide.

Shaping the future of the LMR Naturals palette

Experimentation plays a key role in optimizing extraction processes. For example, Juliette Karagueuzoglou, VP Perfumer at IFF, cites the development of a nighttime tuberose harvesting method. “During a field visit to India, our agricultural engineers discovered that at nightfall the flower releases its milky facet most intensely — a quality highly prized by perfumers,” she explains.

In addition to Centifolia roses, this new site is ideal for small-scale experimentation with plants from various LMR platforms around the world, such as Indian jasmine and Tunisian orange blossom. Varietal selection is based on the plants’ olfactory quality, yield, stability, and resistance to climatic hazards. Ideal for designing new technical processes (mechanization, regulatory compliance), the system links the laboratory scale to that of industrial production by partner companies. Finally, it promotes the creation of exclusive products for certain customers. The goal is to optimize every stage, ensuring the quality and traceability that have made the LMR Naturals catalog world-renowned.

With this new site, IFF gains an exceptional platform for innovation, dedicated to advancing the excellence of its natural palette. In close collaboration with perfumers, its rigorous work and 360° expertise deliver “distinctive ingredients of remarkable olfactory purity, highly valued by customers.”