Carthago Fragrance, a company in the incubator at Dalarna Science Park, is developing a new model for producing essential oils and hydrolates. Hydrolates are water-based distillation products that remain after distillation. The company faces three key challenges in its industry: long and inefficient transport, uneven quality, and poor sustainability.
By using mobile, site-specific vacuum distillation, raw materials can be processed immediately after harvesting. The result is higher quality products, full traceability, and significantly less environmental impact. For the perfume, skincare, and food industries, this means access to raw materials that combine premium quality with a transparent and circular approach.
A journey that begins at the seedling
The company was founded by Idris Harki and has built its offering around a simple principle: aroma and flavor should be captured where they arise. From the outset, Idris Harki has also worked with co-founder Magnus Dandanell, who has a background in the distilling industry. The company's business concept is to preserve the most volatile aromas of plants through vacuum distillation. This method makes it possible to create essences that are closer to the character of the actual plant. This approach has been made possible through experiments with flowers and herbs in both Sweden and Tunisia, a country considered to be one of the world's most important regions for exclusive perfume ingredients.
Technology that opens new paths
With a mobile distillation unit, the company can move production to growing areas, instead of the other way around. This gives growers the opportunity to process their raw materials locally, reduce waste, and reach the market with high-quality products without intermediaries.
For Carthago, this means that raw materials such as neroli flowers, roses, thyme, rosemary, and lavender can be distilled with minimal delay. This, in turn, means that the raw materials can retain their true aroma profile. The collaboration with Dalarna Science Park has created conditions for continued development, including through innovation support that has ensured that the technology can be scaled, tested, and introduced to new markets.
A growing vision
Carthago Fragrance not only develops raw materials, but also works with new ways of experiencing scent and taste. The company envisions future flower and aroma gardens where visitors can follow the process from plant to finished essence, similar to wine and champagne estates in southern Europe.
With its combination of sustainability, craftsmanship, and technical innovation, the company believes it is laying the foundation for a more traceable, circular, and experience-based fragrance industry.
