Availability problems

On this page we provide more information about availability issues, for example about products that we cannot deliver for a longer or shorter period of time because they are not available from our suppliers.

Below is a list of products that are not available for a longer period of time with information about availability. Please note that this information may change over time. We also provide alternatives where available.

Availability issues

Beeswax yellow (org) – This product is regularly temporarily out of stock, but we managed to receive some stock again in October 2024.

EO Guaiac wood – In the period 2021-2022, there was no EO Guaiac Wood for sale in the whole of Europe. In the meantime, some comes in every now and then, but this almost without exception goes to the very large perfume makers.

The problem has been going on since the end of 2020. This oil is made from a seriously endangered tree that falls under the Cites treaties. In order to protect this tree from extinction, the wood and oil can only be exported from Paraguay (the country where this oil comes from) if the government of that country gives permission for it and that is only possible after it has been properly investigated that not too much is being cut down and that the other international rules are being complied with. At the beginning of December 2021, permission was finally granted in Paraguay. Then it was a matter of waiting for the approval of the European officials. That happened, but the result is that now and then a batch is released, not much and certainly not much at once.

Many perfumes contain a small amount of this substance (typically 0,1% or even less), so the big perfume makers make sure that they receive all the imports: there is simply nothing left for the rest. We hope that the situation will improve in the coming years, but there is no prospect of that now (October 2024).

The scent of EO Guaiachout is difficult to replace.
Cetalox (Fir) – Is now (October 2024) available again.

Causes

The main cause is the global increase in market scale, caused by the need for strong competition in the world market.

It is difficult to explain this briefly, but in summary: the world market is structured in such a way that economies of scale have all kinds of advantages. A larger company has it easier than a small one. As a result, well-performing small companies are bought up by the larger ones and the less well-performing smaller companies have to stop.

The result is that fewer types of products are made: the choice decreases. As an example you can see it this way: instead of 1000 small factories that each make 50 different fragrances, we now have 50 large factories that each make 100 different fragrances.

The result is that there are fewer places where something is made: the vulnerability of the availability increases. If a certain factory cannot supply for whatever reason, the few other factories can no longer absorb this. A factory that makes 20% of the world’s need for a product is no exception. In the past, such a factory was an exception, 1-2% was already a lot. The loss of a factory could then be more easily accommodated. Also because they worked less efficiently. There was always overcapacity, so if one factory couldn’t deliver, there were a few others that could make a little more. For competitive reasons, it usually makes little sense to have more capacity than you use, so that capacity is usually no longer available.

There can also be advantages to this, a larger-scale production can be more efficient, resulting in a better product, which is cheaper and causes less environmental impact. Whether this is also the case depends on the competitive pressure at this point.

But whichever way you look at it, the market has become more vulnerable to disruptions, which means that products can be unavailable more often than before.