Carto, a state-of-the-art, AI-powered tool that will transform the process of creating new fragrances, was introduced in 2019 by Givaudan, the Swiss powerhouse behind perfumes for companies like Diptyque, Tom Ford, and Victoria’s Secret.

_{Image Source: https://www.givaudan.com/media/trade-media/2018/givaudan-active-beauty-offers-select-few-customised-fine-fragrances}

What Carto Does
Carto’s Interactive Odour Value Map allows perfumers to explore and blend up to 5,000 elements, which is significantly more than the 2,000 ingredients that are typically found in a human palette.

Instant Sampling Robot: A robotic device generates real-time samples while combinations are chosen, expediting experimentation and cutting down on development time.

Smooth Integration: Carto improves ideation without taking the place of the perfumer’s artistry because it is integrated into Givaudan’s worldwide creative centers and connected to current development pipelines.

Why It’s Revolutionary

Scale and Efficiency: Carto significantly decreases iterative effort by automating formula generation and sampling, freeing up perfumers to concentrate on their creative inspiration.

Scientific Accuracy: To guarantee that mixes have the greatest possible olfactory impact, the Odour Value Map employs chemical and sensory data.

Empowerment of Creativity: The tool is designed to be a “playful” support system that preserves human ingenuity at its core, allowing perfumers to retain creative freedom while eliminating tedious tasks.

Broader Context & Impact
Digital Factory Integration: Givaudan’s Digital Factory, which employs technologies like real-time mixing (“MyRomi”), customer feedback analytics (“DigiPulse”), and immersive branding and training experiences, is the driving force behind Carto, a flagship project.

Leading Industry Trends: Carto’s AI agility aids in the quick and safe reformulation of fragrances as regulatory changes, such as EU safety adjustments, arise.

Industry-Wide AI Adoption: Givaudan is positioned as a leader in this digital perfume frontier with technologies like Carto, while other fragrance companies, such as IFF, investigate AI for emotion-driven scent experiences.

The Human-AI Harmony
Many people refer to Carto as the “ChatGPT of fragrances.” Although AI speeds up ideation and manages monotonous duties, experts warn that it cannot replace human perfumers’ subtle artistic expression or emotional nuance.
Rather, Carto expands the potential of perfumers, enabling them to experiment, hone, and mould fragrance in completely new ways.

Givaudan’s Carto is a prime example of how creativity and technology can come together to transform a centuries-old skill for the twenty-first century. Givaudan is inventing the future of fragrance creation by fusing human sensitivity with data-driven agility, not just keeping up with the digital age.