L’Officiel Philippines exclusively chats with Jo Malone London’s Celine Roux on the creative process behind the Brit Veggies Collection.

In the world of fine fragrance, inspiration often circles around bright florals, warm woods, and juicy fruits. But for&nbsp;Jo Malone London, the magic can also be grown and discovered in the vegetable patch. With the new Brit Veggies Collection, the British fragrance House transforms everyday ingredients like tomato vine, carrot, and beetroot into sophisticated scents that redefine the notions of fine fragrance. The result is an incredibly fresh olfactory perspective that proves even the most familiar ingredients from the soil can be cultivated into refined fragrances.L’Officiel Philippines chats with Jo Malone London’s Global Head of Fragrance Celine Roux to discuss the creative process behind turning vegetables into fragrance and why the unexpected often makes for the most unforgettable scent.

What makes the Brit Veggies collection unique?For me, freshness is not simply about brightness or lightness, it’s the sensation of something just picked. It carries texture, vibrancy, and even a subtle earthiness, like soil and green leaves still holding the memory of where they grew. Each fragrance interprets this differently, from the vivid, succulent character of Scarlet Beetroot to the creamy warmth of Velvety Butternut, and the soft yummy sweetness of Carrot Blossom.&nbsp;What sparked the idea of using vegetables for this collection?A few years&nbsp;ago&nbsp;I thought enough of the fruits,&nbsp;lets&nbsp;have fun with vegetables. I wanted something quite raw coming straight from the soil. In this collection I wanted to have richness, earthiness and authenticity and this happened at the beginning of the lockdown when everyone around me in the city started to have this obsession about vegetable patches and it reinforced my conviction that vegetables were the right way to go. For this collection I took Mathilde Bijou the perfumer of Scarlet Beetroot and Velvety Butternut to Sissinghurst and we just wanted to smell everything and be inspired by the smells of the gardens as well as the different soils. Fragrances are so often born from a lab, but with us&nbsp;they're&nbsp;born from the outside.&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;so British, so authentic, so unexpected – it cannot be more Jo Malone London. &nbsp;&nbsp;

What was the process like in creating and selecting scents that feel almost edible?At the start&nbsp;when we began to&nbsp;work on this collection, we visited a lot of gardens and vegetable patches with&nbsp;one of&nbsp;the&nbsp;perfumers, Mathilde&nbsp;Bijaoui,&nbsp;and I was really drawn to vegetables that grow in the soil.&nbsp;We chose three vegetables that are&nbsp;very different&nbsp;in&nbsp;colour,&nbsp;shape,&nbsp;taste&nbsp;and character.&nbsp;It was a non-negotiable to balance the ingredients with sophistication which is part of the DNA of the brand. And that was part of the development and finding the right balance of the vegetable idea with elegant notes with a lot of natural elements. To ensure a nod to the soil we played with patchouli – it gives an earthiness but without taking away the freshness. We pushed the boundaries, played with nuance and built in that vital element of the unexpected.In working on the Veggies collection, did you discover or learn anything new?I feel that each vegetable has its own story, its own shape, colour, taste and character. Beetroot is round and so vivid and scarlet red and in Scarlet Beetroot it opens with a bright burst of blackcurrant that feels juicy, energetic, almost effervescent, then settles into a soft, earthy sweetness from the beetroot that feels both vivid and wearable. Carrot is slender and bright orange, so in Carrot Blossom its fresh and floral with a touch of fennel that brings luminosity. I love butternut for its shape it reminds me of a woman's body and the beige colour reminds you of a comfort, like how it feels to adorn your favourite cashmere jumper. So in Velvety Butternut we kept it warm and comforting and a touch nutty, its so moreish and a spark of ginger gives it a little lift before sinking into tonka bean. And for candle and hand wash with Green Tomato Vine and Green Tomato Leaf, it has such a unique smell, like throwing open the kitchen windows on the first warm morning of the year. That unmistakable green snap of tomato leaves, the crispness of the vine, the earthy freshness of the garden after rain. They were the perfect ingredients to play with and create something new and exciting.&nbsp;What is the key takeaway from a collection like this? For me, freshness is not simply about brightness or&nbsp;lightness,&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;the sensation of something just picked. It carries texture, vibrancy, and even a subtle earthiness, like soil and green leaves still holding the memory of where they grew. Each fragrance interprets this differently, from the vivid, succulent character of Scarlet Beetroot to the creamy warmth of Velvety Butternut, and the soft&nbsp;yummy&nbsp;sweetness of Carrot Blossom.&nbsp;

Do you have a personal favorite from the collection? and why?&nbsp;It would be Scarlet Beetroot and Green Tomato Vine. Scarlet Beetroot is vibrant. The cologne opens with a bright burst of blackcurrant that feels juicy, energetic, almost effervescent, then settles into a soft, earthy sweetness from the beetroot that feels both vivid and wearable. With Green Tomato Vine it has that unmistakable green snap of tomato leaves, the crispness of the vine, the earthy freshness of the garden after rain….&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;like throwing open&nbsp;the kitchen&nbsp;windows on the first warm morning of the year. Housed in a glossy green vessel, the candle&nbsp;in particular is&nbsp;as decorative as it is&nbsp;fragrant;&nbsp; the&nbsp;kind of thing you will happily leave out and reuse.How does this collection add to or evolve the current Jo Malone lineup?I feel really privileged to create these collections for the brand, Jo Malone London is indeed British elegance with a twist, a sense of simplicity but also surprise. That gives us the freedom to explore unexpected ideas while staying true to who we are. In a way, working with vegetables is about taking something familiar and reimagining it in a refined, modern way.&nbsp;So even when the ingredients feel unexpected, the result still feels unmistakably Jo Malone London.&nbsp;

Exclusive: Jo Malone London’s Brit Veggies Collection Is Cultivating a New Fragrance Story

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