Phenirat

Synthetic Ingredient Overview

• 🏭 Manufacturer: Symrise

• 🔎 Chemical Name: 2-Phenoxyethyl 2-methylpropanoate

• 🧪 Synonyms: Phenirat, Phenoxyethyl isobutyrate

• 🧬 Chemical Formula: C₁₂H₁₆O₃

• 📂 CAS N°: 103-60-6

• 📘 FEMA: 2873

• ⚖️ Molecular Weight: 208.25 g/mol

• 📝 Odor Type: Green (with fruity-floral nuance)

• 📈 Odor Strength: Medium

• 👃🏼 Odor Profile: Sweet, fruity, floral (rose-like), honeyed, lightly green

• 👅 Flavor Profile: Kiwi, sweet pear, honey, fruity-tropical

• ⚗️ Uses: Floral-fruity modifier, tropical fruity enhancer, raspberry and pear booster, specialty blends

• 🧴 Appearance: Colorless to pale yellow liquid

What is Phenirat?

Phenirat (2-Phenoxyethyl isobutyrate) is a synthetic aromatic ester used in perfumery for its complex, fruit-floral character. Structurally, it combines the phenoxyethyl alcohol backbone with isobutyric acid, resulting in a soft yet substantive aroma. Its molecular architecture contributes to a moderate volatility and smooth diffusion, making it ideal for nuanced layering.

Despite being labeled "green" in classification, its scent is more rounded and honeyed, with soft rose and ripe fruit associations. This makes it a versatile blender across fruit-centric or floral compositions where naturalistic sweetness is needed.

Olfactory Profile & Perfumery Applications

👃🏼 Scent Description: A smooth, sweet floral-fruity blend with rose and honey notes. Background greenness provides freshness. It evokes pear, kiwi, red fruits, and soft florals, with gentle persistence.

⚗️ Functional Roles:

• Adds roundness to raspberry, kiwi, and pear accords

• Supports rose and fruity-floral blends without overt sharpness

• Contributes a natural fruit sweetness to synthetic structures

• Useful in tropical, red fruit, and honeyed fantasy notes

🧴 Recommended pairings:

• Raspberry ketone (enhances juiciness)

• Ionones (for floral-violet bridges)

• DMBC Butyrate (for sweet-tropical complexity)

Industrial & Technical Uses

Phenirat is used across:

• Fine fragrance (fruity-florals, tropical florals, modern chypres)

• Functional perfumery (body sprays, haircare, fabric softeners)

• Flavor industry (FEMA 2873): Contributes pear, kiwi, and honey sweetness in low ppm ranges

Its non-overpowering odor and moderate tenacity make it particularly valuable in controlled sensory compositions or minimalist fruit-enhanced florals.

Regulatory & Safety Overview

• IFRA: Permitted; usage levels based on category guidance

• EU Allergens: Not listed among the 26 declarable allergens

• FEMA GRAS: FEMA 2873 — approved for flavor use under controlled limits

• ECHA (REACH): Registered; not classified as hazardous under CLP

• Toxicology:

  • Low risk of sensitization at typical use levels

  • Stable in formulation under standard storage

  • No phototoxicity or persistent environmental classification

✅ Considered safe for use in perfumery and regulated food flavorings under current international frameworks.

Sources

• Symrise Ingredient Database – Phenirat (103-60-6)

• FEMA GRAS Database (No. 2873)

• ECHA Substance Information

• Fulvio Ciccolo, 2023 – Internal Evaluation Archive

• Peer-reviewed perfumery chemistry literature