Amouage Cultivates New Omani Rose Ingredient
Amouage partners with LMR Naturals to build a new supply chain for a rare Omani rose oil, targeting it as a signature ingredient by 2027.
Amouage is building a new supply chain for a rare Omani rose essential oil in collaboration with LMR Naturals by IFF. The first production from new facilities in Oman is slated for the 2027 harvest season, which runs from mid-March to mid-April.
The Damascena Trigintipetala, or 30-petal rose, grows in the Jabal Akhdar mountains. Francesca Bonati, Fragrance Development Manager at Amouage, says the unique terroir gives it a signature that is brighter, greener and more mineral than roses from Turkey or Bulgaria. For generations, the blossoms have been hand-harvested and distilled into rose water, a cultural icon. The essential oil is a rare by-product of this process.
Today, only about 50 millilitres of this oil is produced. Renaud Salmon, Chief Creative Officer at Amouage, notes the rose water has become a tourist attraction. The house sees potential to scale the oil into a premium ingredient, leveraging underutilized terraces and an existing irrigation network.
Partnership with LMR Naturals
To transform the artisanal product, Amouage turned to LMR Naturals by IFF. Sabrya Meflah, President of Fine Fragrance at IFF, says the collaboration aligns with the vision of LMR's founder, Monique Rémy.
The existing Omani rose essential oil is of incredible quality but prohibitively expensive and scarce. LMR has developed a novel approach. Bertrand de Préville, General Manager of LMR, explains they will recover aromatic molecules from the rose water distillation runoff and recombine them with the rose essence. This creates a complete essential oil without petrochemicals. The goal is to expand the perfumer's palette with differentiated natural ingredients. Extraction will happen locally in Oman to preserve the flowers' aromatic integrity.
A New Olfactory Signature for Amouage
This project is central to shaping a distinctive olfactory signature for Amouage. It builds on Renaud Salmon's vision, which began with anchoring the house's identity in Omani raw materials via a 2024 frankincense project. Salmon describes the Omani Damascena rose as highly mineral with a modern feel, featuring zesty notes and a rose oxide facet. He says it fits perfectly with the signature he is seeking.
The initiative also aims to recognize local growers and strengthen the regional agricultural ecosystem. In the longer term, Amouage and IFF hope to position Jabal Akhdar as a global benchmark for perfume-grade rose cultivation.
The first batches of the new ingredient will be reserved for fragrances IFF develops for Amouage. Salmon emphasizes the ambition is to use the Omani rose in meaningful concentrations, not just trace amounts. Provided future volumes allow, the oil could eventually be made available more broadly to the industry. This would support the local economy and firmly establish Jabal Akhdar on the global fragrance map.
