Wearable Scent Bubble® innovation wins grant

The Scent Bubble® innovation is a fully scalable, wearable technology with low environmental impact which addresses a key sustainability issue for the beauty industry. It does this by delivering an innovative refill system that extends the life of wearable fragrances. The result of this adaptable, wearable technology solution is that consumers gain a longer lasting and more sustainable way to experience and use fragrances versus the single-use perfume bottle currently on the market.

Described as a meeting between neuroscience and cosmetics, Scent Bubble® is also focused on health and welfare. The idea is to synchronise fragrance delivery with the wearer’s physical, emotional, and mental state for an elevated sense of wellbeing. The current project aims to enhance the existing capability for delivering the Scent Bubble® via jewellery, smart garments, and other form-factors, to maximise the customer experience.

Dr Jenny Tillotson is an award-winning Sensory Designer and Inventor and is the creative drive behind the Scent Bubble® innovation. Dr Tillotson said, “I was motivated by consumer readiness to consider more sustainable beauty packaging in an industry which has reported a marked global increase in the purchase and use of fragrance. Scent Bubble® targets consumers who enjoy using perfume regularly and who are prepared to invest in reducing the environmental impact of the perfume products they use. The patented algorithmic dosing strategy technology requires less ethanol, enhances functionality, sustainability, wearability, and smart device connectivity. It also overcomes habituation. For brands, it offers new ways for designers and fragrance brands to differentiate in a crowded market. Scent Bubble® is simultaneously tapping into the wellness market as it is designed to enhance mood and sensory experience beyond what current fragrances offer.”

Dr Jenny Tillotson is currently a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge; and was previously affiliated with the Healthcare Biotechnology Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. She is working with Dr Carolyn Mair, a distinguished leader in consumer behaviour and psychology within the fashion context. The pair plan to explore opportunities based on researching the views of regular fragrance customers.

Feedback and insights from perfume, beauty, and wellbeing consumers will shape the project, reflecting the characteristics and culture of fragrance end-users.

Sensory Design & Technology subcontracts to specialists 42 Technology, ensuring that all designs align with people-centred, systemic design principles and support the circular economy. This approach minimises the ScentBubble’s carbon footprint and environmental impact, emphasising sustainable, inclusive practices.

My time at the Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre’s Accelerate Cambridge has enabled me to access experts and mentors for invaluable advice and support. Specifically, I feel this has helped me gain confidence, to make better informed decisions about the business, maintain and build connections in the Cambridge ecosystem and position the Scent Bubble® across the BeautyTech and MedTech sectors. This includes meeting investors, being a member of the Healthcare Biotechnology Group at the University’s Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology; working with the inventor of Xaar inkjet and receiving a patent for the algorithmic dosing strategy for the Scent Bubble® effect; partnering with Health Innovation East on an NIHR grant, making valuable business connections with L’Oreal; supervising projects at the Institute of Manufacturing; meeting my new business partner Dr Sarah Hardison, an Executive MBA graduate, at Cambridge Judge Business School, and more recently working with a major technology company in Cambridge.

Dr Jenny Tillotson

This represents an exciting next step for Sensory Design & Technology and the Scent Bubble® innovation. We are delighted that Dr Tillotson and her company, Sensory Design & Technology continues to thrive and progress with the support of the Centre and Accelerate Cambridge at the heart of the Cambridge entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is an intriguing example of the way in which research is creating an entirely new and disruptive market with the potential to positively impact society.

Professor Stelios Kavadias, Co-Director of Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre