Aromáticas Soleo — Genuinely Mediterranean Essential Oils

Based in Murcia, in south-eastern Spain, Aromáticas Soleo was founded with a clear purpose: to bring the purity, identity and traceability of Spanish essential oils to the international market while maintaining a direct connection with the agriculture behind them.

Sponsored · Published by Aromáticas Soleo ·

Spain has a long agricultural tradition and an extraordinary diversity of aromatic plants.

Yet some of its botanical raw materials remain little known beyond specialist circles. Aromáticas Soleo wants to help change that, not simply by supplying essential oils of Spanish origin, but by showing where they come from and why that origin matters.

The Oil Begins in the Field

Aromáticas Soleo cultivates and produces many of its own aromatic raw materials, allowing the company to control crucial stages before the plants ever reach its facilities. Cultivation, pruning, harvest timing, the condition of the botanical material and the speed of transport all directly influence the character of the finished oil.

When production needs to be expanded or new crops introduced, the company works directly with selected Spanish farmers from sowing through to harvest. It is not simply a matter of purchasing raw material, but of knowing its origin, following its development and controlling the conditions that will ultimately determine its quality and consistency. In this way, traceability becomes tangible. Before a batch has an analytical history, it already has a botanical and agricultural one.

There are also many human decisions involved. Workers select which branches to cut, farmers assess the crop according to weather and season, machinery must enter the field at the right moment, and freshly harvested material needs to be transported quickly.

At the facilities, transformation begins: loading the plant material, steam extraction, separation, quality control, storage and preparation for shipment.

Alongside its own raw materials and the ingredients featured here, the company works with a broad range of Spanish essential oils. Perfumers, buyers and industry professionals can visit the facilities to see the process first-hand, discover the wider portfolio and explore the possibilities of these materials directly with the team.

Customers also value a less visible part of the operation: the ability to prepare orders efficiently and respond quickly when product is needed. But perhaps the best way to understand Aromáticas Soleo is through the plants themselves.

How much plant does it take?

One tonne of fresh plant in. How much essential oil out?

Red Thyme

It takes 77 to 100 kg of fresh thyme to make 1 kg of oil.

Yield ≈ 1–1.3% · yields from Aromáticas Soleo, ratios calculated

Cypress

It takes 200 to 250 kg of cypress branches to make 1 kg of oil.

Yield ≈ 0.4–0.5% · yields from Aromáticas Soleo, ratios calculated

Lemon Petitgrain

It takes 500 to 1,250 kg of lemon shoots to make 1 kg of oil.

Yield ≈ 0.08–0.2% · yields from Aromáticas Soleo, ratios calculated

From field to drum

At the facilities, transformation begins: loading the plant material, steam extraction, separation, quality control, storage and preparation for shipment.

Cultivation

In the field: Own crops, and selected Spanish farmers followed from sowing through to harvest.

Harvest & transport

In the field: Workers select which branches to cut; freshly harvested material is transported quickly.

Steam extraction

At the facilities: Plant material loaded and steam-extracted, using specialised equipment and stainless-steel containers.

Separation & quality control

At the facilities: Separation and quality control, part of a chain designed to preserve origin and traceability.

Storage & shipment

To the customer: Orders prepared efficiently, with a quick response when product is needed.

From a Thorny Lemon Shoot to a Perfumery Raw Material

Murcian Lemon Petitgrain is one of the clearest examples. Walking through a lemon grove in Murcia, it would be easy to overlook its raw material.

Among the fruit-bearing branches, vigorous green shoots grow almost vertically from the tree. Locally, they are known as pollizos or chupones.

For the farmer, they are initially something that needs to be removed. These shoots draw energy away from fruit development and are generally pruned every one or two years. They also carry substantial thorns. Cutting and handling them is difficult and largely manual work, requiring experienced workers.

What might otherwise be seen simply as part of routine lemon-tree maintenance becomes the starting point for one of Aromáticas Soleo’s most distinctive oils. Once harvested, the shoots are transported rapidly to the facilities. Yield can range from approximately 0.08% to 0.2%, with the higher figures achieved in wetter seasons and under favourable climatic conditions. The transformation is striking.

Plant material removed to support the development of the lemon fruit becomes an ingredient whose character differs from many conventional citrus profiles. Murcian Lemon Petitgrain is fresh and clearly citrus, but also softer, lighter and more restrained, bringing a different kind of elegance to a fragrance composition.

Its appeal does not lie in rarity alone. The agricultural story and the low yield would mean little if the oil itself lacked olfactory interest. What makes this raw material particularly compelling is the combination of provenance and perfumery potential, born directly from the traditional management of Murcia’s lemon groves.

Aromáticas Soleo has developed the capacity to offer it on an industrial scale and has established itself as the largest producer of Murcian Lemon Petitgrain. In this way, an agricultural pruning operation becomes a reproducible perfumery raw material, making use of plant material that would otherwise be removed from the field as part of routine crop maintenance.

At the same time, it helps preserve a botanical resource closely connected to Murcia’s agricultural landscape, whose future will also depend on the interest it can generate within the industry. Few ingredients express the company’s philosophy more clearly.

From field to fragrance, Aromáticas Soleo reveals the Spanish origin of its essential oils, combining traceability and perfumery potential.

— Aromáticas Soleo

Red Thyme and the Character of Spanish Terroir

Spanish Red Thyme, Thymus zygis, tells another version of the same story.

Its essential oil has a herbaceous and dry profile, with resinous, woody, phenolic and spicy facets. Its composition typically includes thymol at 37–55%, p-cymene at 14–28%, γ-terpinene at 4–11% and linalool at 1.5–6.5%. But the numbers tell only part of the story. The process begins in the nursery, where the plants establish their first roots before developing in the field. Harvest generally takes place between May and October, using specialised agricultural machinery to cut the aerial parts when the crop reaches the right stage. Approximately 10 to 13 kilograms of essential oil can be obtained from one tonne of fresh thyme.

By the time the finished material reaches a fragrance house or distributor in a perfectly packed container, it is easy to forget the volume of botanical matter required to produce it. Every batch involves harvesting, handling, transporting and processing large quantities of biomass before it becomes the concentrated material finally assessed by the buyer.

For Aromáticas Soleo, red thyme represents a distinctly Spanish aromatic profile supported by agricultural production, technical knowledge and a controlled industrial process.

Cypress: From Pruning to Finished Oil

Cypress follows a different rhythm. Cupressus sempervirens can be pruned throughout the year.

Once selected and cut, the branches are transported rapidly to the facilities for steam extraction. Yield is approximately 0.4–0.5%, once again revealing the amount of plant material required to produce each kilogram of essential oil. Its composition is dominated by α-pinene, typically at 40–60%, followed by δ-3-carene at 16–27%, limonene at 2–5% and myrcene at 1–3.5%. On a mouillette, however, chemistry becomes character: fresh and soft, terpenic and woody, with a distinctly Mediterranean identity.

For the perfumer, that combination offers versatility. Cypress works naturally alongside aromatic herbs and citrus materials, reinforces woody structures and can bring freshness to fougère and aromatic compositions. And once again, the finished oil tells only part of the story. Behind it are the tree, the pruning, the selection of branches, the transport of fresh plant material and the control of every stage of production.

From field to industrial scale

50 t+: Essential oils per year

Aromáticas Soleo has a production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes of essential oils per year. Its industrial system incorporates specialised equipment, stainless-steel containers and steam-extraction technology. LNG is used to generate the steam required for the process, while solar panels contribute renewable electricity.

Making Spanish Origin Visible

As Aromáticas Soleo develops its international presence, its ambition remains closely linked to the connection between industrial supply and agricultural origin. Own production provides direct control. Selected Spanish farmers allow the company to expand capacity and botanical range. Steam extraction, quality control, storage and shipment complete a chain designed to preserve origin and traceability.

The portfolio extends far beyond the raw materials described here and brings together different Spanish crops, landscapes and aromatic profiles. Those interested in discovering them can visit Aromáticas Soleo’s facilities, explore the production process and experience the breadth of the company’s range directly. For buyers, this provides practical reassurance. For perfumers, it offers something different: raw materials that still retain a recognisable place behind their aroma.

Murcian Lemon Petitgrain begins as a thorny shoot that must be removed from a lemon tree. Red thyme arrives at the facilities by the tonne before becoming a small fraction of that weight in oil. Cypress begins with an apparently simple act: pruning a Mediterranean tree. By the time these materials reach an international fragrance house, much of that physical reality has disappeared inside a drum. Aromáticas Soleo wants to bring it back into the conversation.

There is still a part of Spanish aromatic agriculture that many perfumers and buyers have yet to discover fully. Perhaps the best way to understand it is not through a catalogue or an analytical sheet, but by visiting the facilities, opening a sample, placing a few drops on a mouillette and discovering what these fields have been producing all along.

Supplier profile: Aromáticas Soleo

Pure & natural essential oils from Murcia, Spain

Key differentiators

Own cultivation of many of its aromatic raw materials, direct work with selected Spanish farmers from sowing through to harvest, and the position of largest producer of Murcian Lemon Petitgrain — with traceability that becomes tangible from field to drum.

Corporate background

Based in Murcia, in south-eastern Spain, Aromáticas Soleo was founded to bring the purity, identity and traceability of Spanish essential oils to the international market while maintaining a direct connection with the agriculture behind them.

Production capabilities

An industrial system incorporating specialised equipment, stainless-steel containers and steam-extraction technology, able to offer Murcian Lemon Petitgrain on an industrial scale.

Annual volume

Production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes of essential oils per year.

Technical expertise

Manufacturing processes: Loading of the plant material, steam extraction, separation, quality control, storage and preparation for shipment.

Quality control: Own production provides direct control; every stage, from the crop to the shipment, is followed in a chain designed to preserve origin and traceability.

Sustainability: LNG is used to generate the steam required for the process, while solar panels contribute renewable electricity. Lemon petitgrain makes use of pruning material that would otherwise be removed from the field.

Service: Efficient order preparation and quick response when product is needed. Perfumers, buyers and industry professionals can visit the facilities.

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Camino Vereda de Enmedio 32, Lorca, Murcia, Spain · +34 662 93 68 56 · gestion@aromaticassoleo.com · aromaticassoleo.com

This article is sponsored by Aromáticas Soleo.

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