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Quality & Compliance
Consistency is the product.
A perfumery material is only as good as the next lot. Our quality system exists to make the tenth delivery match the first — and to put the evidence in your hands.
01Source to shipment
Five gates, every material.
Nothing enters the catalogue on a supplier’s word alone. The last two gates are repeated for every lot, before it ships.
Qualified producers only. Origin, botanical identity and production date recorded for every lot.
A written specification: identity, physical constants, odour standard, allergen and IFRA data.
An approved reference sample is kept — the standard every future lot is judged against.
Each incoming lot is checked against its specification and smelt on strip against the retained standard.
COA, SDS, IFRA conformity certificate and allergen declaration travel with the lot.
02The paperwork
What each document proves.
Five documents, each answering a different question. Ask for any of them at sample stage.
| Document | What it answers | When you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Specification sheet | What limits will this material always meet? Identity, appearance, odour standard and physical or chemical limits. | Before first supply |
| Certificate of Analysis (COA) | Did this lot meet the specification? Measured values for your lot, against the limits. | With every dispatch |
| Safety Data Sheet (SDS) | How is it classified, handled, stored and transported? GHS format. | On request, before purchase |
| IFRA conformity certificate | How much may I use, in which product category, under the current IFRA amendment? | On request |
| Allergen declaration | Which declarable fragrance allergens does it contain, and at what level? | On request, per lot |
03Questions buyers ask
Straight answers.
- Is Benchmark Formulations “IFRA certified”?
- No company is. IFRA, the International Fragrance Association, publishes the IFRA Standards; it does not certify suppliers or products. What a supplier issues is an IFRA conformity certificate: a declaration, for a specific material, of the maximum use level in each product category under the current amendment. We issue those for our materials, and we describe our materials as IFRA-conformant.
- Which documents come with an order?
- A Certificate of Analysis for the lot travels with every dispatch. The Safety Data Sheet, IFRA conformity certificate, allergen declaration and specification sheet are available on request before you buy, so your regulatory work can start at sample stage.
- What is the difference between a specification and a COA?
- The specification is the agreement: the limits a material must fall within. The COA is the evidence: the values measured for one particular lot, shown against those limits.
- Can I trace a material back to its lot?
- Yes. Every container carries its lot number, and the lot number ties the container to its COA, its producer lot and the retained reference sample it was compared against.
- Do you supply CITES-listed materials?
- Some materials, such as agarwood (oud) oils, come from CITES-listed species. We mark them in the catalogue and supply them only with the documentation the trade requires.
Start here
Put a material on your bench.
Tell us what you are making. We reply within one working day with samples, specifications and a quote.