Seven fragrance disruptors are rewriting the rules of perfume…
By Adriana Ermter
It started with a summer plum.
“We sliced it fresh and ran it through our digitization system,” says Alex Wiltschko, a neuroscientist and technologist, and the founder and CEO of Generation by Osmo. “Twenty minutes later, we had it – that exact juicy, tart, plum scent, perfectly reconstituted. Just like taking a picture, emailing the JPEG and printing it out on the other side.”
In that moment, Wiltschko and his team knew they had done something quietly radical: they had digitized a smell. And with that, the world’s first AI-powered fragrance house was born.
Generation by Osmo isn’t just blending perfume: it’s blending science, creativity and data to completely rethink how scent is made. Using proprietary Olfactory Intelligence (OI), the company can turn inspiration – words like peaceful, joy or inspiring, or even images – into fragrance formulas. It helps brands predict what consumers will love, and dramatically speeds up the path from concept to shelf. In a world where most perfumers rely on technical knowledge, artistic vision, slow iteration and a vast understanding of ingredients, this New York City-based company offers a faster blueprint – where machines handle the methodical bits so humans can focus on dreaming.
As for slicing more proverbial plums? “Now we do it hundreds of times a week,” says Wiltschko. “We’re building a library of the world’s scents and teaching AI how to understand them.”
And Wiltschko isn’t alone. He is part of a growing wave of fragrance disruptors rejecting outdated rules that no longer serve people or the planet.
“The fragrance industry has long been clouded in mystery – ingredients hidden, supply chains unchecked,” explains Barb Stegemann, founder of Canada’s The 7 Virtues, a clean, wellness perfume brand based in Halifax. “Now more than ever, consumers want transparency, impact and joy. We’re here to lift that veil, challenge norms and show that business can be a force for good and beauty.”
With their sharper tools, inspired purpose, active causes and cleaner, smarter, more sustainable ingredients, these disruptors are “proving that perfume can be both luxurious and deeply ethical,” affirms Stegemann.
While Generation by Osmo is using AI to reimagine how fragrance is made, other companies – like Touchland, Phlurand LOHN – are rewriting the rules with refillable formats, community-led marketing and purpose at the core. “In a space often driven by surface, we go deeper,” says Stegemann. And all this creative upheaval is reshaping the scent landscape. From neuroscientists and technologists to ethical entrepreneurs, here are seven of the most exciting brands to watch and spritz now, as they redefine what perfume can be.
1. The AI Alchemist: Generation by Osmo
Disrupting with: Artificial intelligence and scent digitization
Founded in 2023, Generation by Osmo focuses on decoding the science of smell. Their mission is to build an AI platform for scent, akin to what natural language processing is for text or computer vision is for images.
The technology is equal parts ground-breaking and lyrical. The platform can read, map and write smells, breaking down scent molecules and using software to generate entirely new fragrances. That’s how they recreated the scent of the plum. But rather than replace perfumers, Wiltschko insists the goal is to support them, “so humans can stay creative.”
Hero scent: Version 01. Soft and mysterious, the eau de parfum smells like the tension between rain on pavement and clean skin. Using AI-assisted blending, it’s a blend of code and chemistry – floral aldehydes, skin musk and mineral ambers rendered with near-machine precision.
2. The Viral Visionary: Phlur
Disrupting with: Digital-first marketing and social media virality
Where most perfume houses whisper, Phlur shouts on TikTok, Instagram and everywhere Gen Z scrolls. Since its 2021 relaunch under beauty entrepreneur Chriselle Lim, Phlur has exploded thanks to an emotionally charged marketing strategy that makes scent deeply personal. Case in point: “Missing Person,” the viral hit rumoured to smell like someone you miss (in a good way, naturally), which is described on the website as, “If nude were a perfume, this is it.” But what really sets the brand apart is how agile, reactive and radically modern it is. Phlur literally listens to its audience. Comments and influencer reactions shape future launches. In a landscape dominated by heritage, Phlur is proving that a start-up can make noses turn.
Hero scent: Missing Person. Notes of skin musk, sheer jasmine and bergamot. The parfum evokes the scent of someone you love and maybe, even, lost.
3. The Eco Activist: St. Rose
Disrupting with: Clean ingredients, environmental justice and regenerative sourcing
From biodegradable sugar-cane alcohol to Indigenous-sourced sandalwood, St. Rose is redefining what ethical luxury can look like. A partner of 1% for the Planet (a global network that inspires businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions), it builds transparency into every layer of its business. Founded in 2019 by Australian-American Belinda Smith, the brand works directly with co-operatives and farmers to ethically obtain ingredients at origin, ensuring not only the integrity and potency of its raw materials, but also providing stable incomes for smallholder producers in Australia and South America and their communities.
“Fragrance has always felt like alchemy to me, a beautiful, transformative force,” says Smith on the brand’s website. “We begin with the finest raw materials in the world: provocative, sensorial, unforgettable.” Every product is compounded, filled and shipped by a team of top-tier perfumers and craftspeople – all within 160 kilometres (100 miles) of St. Rose’s New York City-based creative studio.
Hero scent: “Vigilante.” Woody, spicy and green. With notes of black pepper, palo santo and orris root, Vigilante is as fierce as its name.
4. The Canadian Minimalist: LOHN
Disrupting with: Local craftsmanship, aesthetic clarity and clean formulations
What began in 2018 with a single candle – crafted and founded in-house in Toronto by Canadians Katerina Juskey and Victoria Mierzwa – has grown into LOHN (Estonian for “scent”). The brand blends clean ingredients with genderless design, offering fine fragrances that reject the synthetic-heavy norms of conventional perfumery. By keeping production local, they ensure hands-on craftsmanship and complete creative control.
Their minimalist aesthetic offers a refreshing alternative to the overdesigned gloss of mainstream scent, while their transparent, clean formulations challenge outdated industry standards. Inspired by rituals, geography and nostalgia, each LOHN scent is a narrative complete with eco-conscious ethos, refillable bottles and ethical sourcing. “We’re inspired by the road less travelled and our scents are designed to remind you of moments in time,” Mierzwa notes on the website.
Hero scent: JURA. Warm, resinous and herbal, with notes of hinoki, frankincense and black tea swirling together like fog on a mountaintop. It’s inspired by pilgrimage and solitude.
5. The Peace Perfumer: The 7 Virtues
Disrupting with: Purpose-driven branding and ethical sourcing from conflict zones
Born from activism, The 7 Virtues is one of Canada’s most inspiring scent stories. Founded in 2010, the brand “uses sustainably sourced essential oils from around the world, supports Days for Girls to help end period poverty and build peace, and we’re proud to be the only B Corp Certified perfume brand at Sephora – a rigorous audit that validates our mission,” notes Stegemann (“B Corp” is a designation confirming that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency). “Our clean, hypoallergenic fragrances are designed to uplift, empower and last.”
Aligned to support human flourishing, each perfume is crafted to be beautiful on the skin and meaningful to the soul. Labels include aromatherapy benefits, while Stegemann’s book, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, invites clients to live with intention. “Our mission is to offer more than a product; we offer a tool for personal empowerment.”
Hero scent: Clementine Dream. Citrus, vanilla and wood. It’s “a scent that says: ‘Yes, you can,’” says Stegemann.
6. The Storyteller: Memo Paris
Disrupting with: Unconventional inspiration and global narrative journeys
Founded in 2007 by Clara and John Molloy, Memo Paris follows memories. Each scent is a destination: “Irish Leather” evokes a stormy countryside, while “African Leather” thunders with spice and sun. With raw materials and a nuanced, globe-trotting perspective, Memo disrupts by bringing the world closer together, one bottle at a time.
Their rebellion lies in romanticism – storytelling in a world obsessed with algorithms. Memo doesn’t just use locations as mood boards, but builds full sensory narratives where scent, packaging and branding collide to evoke a specific journey. Each fragrance is like a chapter in a travel diary, often tied to a real experience. This immersive, literary approach sets the company apart in a market that often relies on surface-level escapism. After all, as the motto on their website clearly reads, “The journey is the destination.”
Hero scent: African Leather. Coriander, saffron, cardamom, leather. Animalic and addictive, it’s a fragrance with a passport.
7. The Scented Trailblazer: Touchland
Disrupting with: High-design hygiene and Gen Z cult appeal
Where hand sanitizers were once a necessity, Touchland turned them into an accessory. Founded by Andrea Lisbona and relaunched in the US in 2018, the brand disrupted personal care by blending sleek, award-winning design with skincare-forward formulas and Instagram-ready aesthetics. Its signature Power Mist hand sanitizer, housed in a colourful, credit card-sized spray, went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn’t left the spotlight since.
But Touchland is more than just a pretty package. With its fast-drying, non-sticky, skincare-oriented formula, the brand delivers on both form and function. And as the website says, “everyday essentials should be exciting; little bursts of joy that can delight our senses and remind us of the magic in the mundane.” With a new lineup of Power Essence body/hair fragrances, Touchland has carved out a category of its own: luxury, hygienic scents.
Hero scent: Power Mist Hydrating Hand Sanitizer. Available in scents like “Vanilla Blossom” and “Rainwater.”
ADRIANA ERMTER is a Toronto-based lifestyle-magazine pro who has travelled the globe writing about must-spritz fragrances, child poverty, beauty and grooming.
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