PCW Wrapped 2023

Welcome to 2024! We are starting the year with an inventory of our products at our facilities in Grasse,  and at the same time are looking back to the year that’s been. 

To summarise 2023, we would say it marked a year of concentrated efforts and growth for PCW. The company witnessed a notable leadership transition, with Patrice Blaizot (CEO) moving into semi-retirement, paving the way for his son Xavier Blaizot to assume the role of CEO. Xavier brings a different skillset and recent international experience as a perfumer and is very excited by the challenges and opportunities of leading a fragrance focused company. He enjoys the multifaceted nature of his role and finds the creative process very inspiring. He particularly appreciates his work with niche fragrance designers and is confident that these partners, characterised by strong identities will evolve into key contributors to PCW’s future success. 

The ingredients division led by Eléonore Thore has achieved significant progress in enhancing both the quality and range of materials offered to our premium customers. Operating within an intensely competitive market, PCW is focused on strengthening its reputation and capabilities as a supplier of premium ingredients. We are very pleased with the achievements of Eléonore and her team in this area and developments include our new collection of natural molecules that offer an innovative way to pivot towards a cleaner, greener product. 

This year marked a significant milestone for our perfumer Maud Chabanis who celebrated 10 years at the company and was duly promoted to the position of creative director at PCW. With a decade of expertise, Maud has played a crucial role in crafting exceptional fragrances for our clients and has consistently proven herself as a pivotal member of staff. We are also delighted to acknowledge Batiste Humeau, a young and talented perfumer who has been an integral part of our team for over a year now. This expansion has strengthened our creative capabilities and of course Xavier’s perfumer credentials fortify this further. 

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It has also been a year of technological improvements in our laboratory and investment in our production facilities with the aim of increasing capabilities across our finished fragrance products. We developed testing protocols for our Oxyguard innovation and made progress in our natural candle development that we will be exploring further in 2024. 

For Xavier, 2023 has been a year where the human experience has come to the fore. Numerous encounters and discussions with people in different realms of expertise have proven fruitful on many occasions. It has also been a year of travel for Xavier and members of the team. The year commenced with a notable visit to Calabria, in southern Italy in January to meet our partner Capua, renowned for producing the best bergamot in the world. The visit provided an up-close view of their new production centre and also the terrain where the fruit is cultivated, offering a unique opportunity to appreciate Capua’s exceptional capabilities and hospitality.  In January our project manager Gilda Gillet attended the Paris Packaging Week Expo to meet with our suppliers and to source new references. An additional visit to Italy, this time to Milan was made in April for the annual attendance at Esxence (niche fragrance trade fair) for Xavier and the client project managers to meet clients, spot the emerging trends and to find inspiration. 

The Ingredients division actively participated in key industry events such as the IFEAT (International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades) conference in Berlin, and SIMPPAR in Paris, enhancing our network and staying abreast of industry developments.

Xavier’s commitments extended to London for client visits and the launch of the fragrance Ombre Sereine, created for the fragrance house Grace de Monaco. He was also a panelist, representing Grasse at Dubai’s BeautyWorld ME in October, speaking about sustainability and the links between Grasse and the ME region.

In a culminating event for the year, Xavier travelled to Mexico in December to deliver a masterclass to Ultrafemme, exporting a fragrant dose of French savoir-faire. These diverse engagements underscore our commitment to building global partnerships and staying at the forefront of industry trends. 

Xavier and the team at PCW wish everyone a very happy start to the new year.