The Liquid Gold of Sandalwood and Santanol – Shining through the Pandemic

In western Australia, in the middle of Mirima National Park, lies the tranquil village of Kununurra. While the route is characterized by deserts and steppe, Kununurra appears almost like a green oasis. Here rests the liquid gold of Sandalwood, growing in the roots of the Santalum Album of the Santanol plantations.

The Sandalwood oil is extracted from the Sandalwood trees, which originally come from India. This is used in the fragrance industry and is one of the most expensive raw materials for cosmetics and perfumes. The company’s own nursery contains 20,000 plants raised since they were collected as seeds from Santanol’s seed orchard, cared for by the team’s arborists until grown enough to move into the plantations.

Since 2019, these plantations have belonged to Mercer. The more than 2,000 hectares have always been a sight to behold, bringing light and life to the luxurious oil beneath the earth. Knowing the history and home of the Sandalwood has always been a draw for Santanol customers, looking to build its origin story into their products.

But how to connect with customers during a pandemic – with limited travel and ability to touch, smell, and see the Sandalwood’s home – is the challenge that the Santanol team has found themselves facing. How could the team elicit a positive experience with a tangible, luxurious product if visitors couldn’t come to see the product for themselves?

The answer: through virtual tours.

To ensure customers could still feel immersed in the plantations while gaining the same knowledge of the growing, harvesting, and distilling processes, the Santanol group has worked together to take them on a virtual tour. Using a video conferencing platform, key team members take turns between the nursery, the plantation, and the distillery in Perth, engaging the customers, along with the sales group hosting the call, in the world of Sandalwood oil. 

These tours now take place monthly, bringing Australia just that little bit closer during these difficult times. Customers have loved this virtual format and look forward to the opportunity when Santanol can once again invite visitors in person to experience the plantations in a whole new way, 

Interested in the possibility of joining a virtual tour? Get to know the faces of Santanol, engaging with customers daily on everything Sandalwood.

Oliver Stanisch

Sales Director, Europe

After 25 years of working in the fragrance industry, Oliver has built up an extensive network within the perfumer community. This network has been key in the promotion of Santanol’s precious Sandalwood oil, as perfumers hold a strong connection to their fragrance ingredients and have the highest level of involvement with their selection compared to others within Santanol’s clientele.

Oliver is based in Germany, looking after Santanol’s aromatherapy clients and the perfumery key accounts in Europe, as well as the Middle East region.

Dominique Sergi

Senior Sales Manager, Europe

Honoured to add the remarkable experience gained in the field of naturals at Santanol to her career, Dominique has been active for more than 20 years in the sales of ingredients for cosmetics and perfumery. She looks after the demanding European market and encourages the promotion and sales of Santanol’s precious sandalwood ingredient for perfumery.

Bilingual, based between Italy and France, most of her time is spent in the South of France near Grasse – an enchanting venue of Mediterranean inspiration and the cradle for French Perfumery.

The perfume world, in their accords of molecules giving birth to fragrance, plays an active role in Dominique’s professional life as well as in personal life; being a pianist, accords are the essence of the music she plays.

Vitor Mendonca

Regional Sales Manager, North America

Vitor recently joined the company as the Regional Sales Manager based in Vancouver, BC. Joining the Santanol team highlights the efforts to strengthen the company’s position in the US and Canada. 

Vitor will assist customers who are looking to access sustainably managed and harvested Indian and West Australian Sandalwood oils, establishing long-term relationships across the region.

As the world begins to open little by little, the Santanol team prepares for its beautiful product to once again debut in person. Participating through their own stand, there is much excitement at the prospect of participating once again at exhibitions and events dedicated to perfumery and cosmetics. Follow them on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to see where they may be in the near future.

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Santanol is a world leader in the production and distribution of pure Sandalwood oil, sustainably and ethically sourced from our plantations of East Indian Sandalwood in Western Australia. Owning and managing the whole process – from harvesting the seeds to distilling the oil – gives us full control over the quality, traceability, and supply.

We are deeply committed to pure and ethical Sandalwood. We accept no compromise in regards to quality, the resources we use, the processes of growing and harvesting Sandalwood trees, and producing our Sandalwood oil. For more information, please visit www.santanol.com.