Jan Fockenbrock
Jan Fockenbrock did not arrive at perfumery through the expected route. An introverted guitar player with a passion for art, he spent his early years translating sound and image into something tangible. That background in music and visual culture now shapes how he approaches scent. Based in Baierbrunn, Germany, Fockenbrock works as a Senior Perfumer at Givaudan, one of the world's largest fragrance houses, where he specializes in cross-category consumer product perfumery with a focus on personal care. Before joining Givaudan in 2019, he refined his craft at drom fragrances in New York. His creative process is deeply experimental, drawing from his imaginative sensibility and an unconventional artistic foundation. Fockenbrock represents a new generation of perfumers who refuse to separate craft from culture, treating each fragrance as a conceptual exercise as much as a technical challenge. His work reflects the influence of music, art, and the spaces where they intersect. Whether composing for mass-market personal care or exploring more artistic territory, he brings the same restless curiosity to every brief.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How Jan composes
Fockenbrock works across categories with an emphasis on personal care, where he has built particular expertise. His experimental process means he frequently challenges conventional ingredient combinations, often drawing unexpected connections between scent families. He favors conceptual frameworks over straightforward brief-following, developing fragrance concepts that feel intentional and distinctive. His artistic background influences his attention to texture and composition in scent. While much of his work serves consumer products rather than fine fragrance, he approaches these assignments with the same rigor applied to artistic perfumery. The result is work that feels considered rather than formulaic, driven by curiosity about what scent can do rather than what it should do.
Philosophy
What drives Jan
Fockenbrock believes fragrance should provoke thought before it pleases the nose. His experimental approach treats each project as an open question, one he answers through layered concepting rather than default formulas. Music and visual art remain his constant references, a creative vocabulary he finds more useful than conventional perfumery training alone. He approaches personal care perfumery not as a lesser category but as an opportunity to reach people in their daily lives with something genuinely surprising. Conceptual perfumery drives him, the idea that a scent can tell a story or make an argument. He is not interested in safe choices or predictable compositions. The imagination leads, technique follows.
The houses