Mara des Bois Strawberry

Before Mara des Bois, perfumers faced a dilemma. Wild Alpine strawberries carried extraordinary fragrance, but their tiny, soft berries were too fragile for commercial cultivation. The berries bruised within hours of harvest and produced barely measurable quantities of usable extract. Meanwhile, common cultivated strawberries offered better yield but lacked that distinctive wild, floral perfume. In 1991, strawberry breeder Jacques Marionnet working in Soings En Sologne, France, solved this problem through deliberate cross-breeding. He combined European varieties including Gento and Red with other heritage cultivars to create a berry that carried genuine wild-strawberry fragrance in a firmer, more abundant fruit. The result was deep red, intensely perfumed, and practical enough for the market. For perfumery, this was transformative. Mara des Bois berries could reach fragrance ingredient suppliers with their aromatic integrity intact, giving noses access to that elusive wild strawberry character without foraging expeditions.