The fragrance industry seems to be at an all-time high, but with this high comes some challenges. Everyone seems to want to nudge their way into what used to be a much more exclusive and secretive world. Last year it was reported that over 19,000 new fragrances hit the market. Compare that to the year 2000, when there were less than 900. When it comes to brands, there are almost five times the amount of active brands than there were 25 years ago.
So the main challenge we face is too much choice, or really, over saturation. Before we think of how the consumer is meant to begin navigating this mountain of choice, how do the retailers choose what to stock?
Now a lot of the fragrances and brands launched over the last few years are, in my opinion, abysmal! Lacking in imagination, creativity and genuine passion and instead reeking of a lack of knowledge and a belief that fragrance is an easy way to make money. But it isn’t. Customers are savvy and can read a lack of authenticity from the shelf that a bottle sits on.
What a lot of these brands seem to do is chase the trends. Fragrance, like any other consumer business, is heavily trend-driven. But trends in fragrance will change quickly depending on what the true creatives deliver. Once the customers discover something genuinely new and exciting that a brand has taken a risk on, the whole industry will often have to change direction entirely. This doesn’t mean everything novel is a winner though. These moments are needle-in-a-haystack rare and only come about every few years.
For me, what I find most interesting is that currently, it feels like the fragrance industry is being driven by two very opposite trends, but both delivering a very similar emotional reaction to the consumer.
On one hand, you find lots of experimental gourmand (food-like) fragrances hitting the market, definitely aimed at a younger audience and playing into the buzz for all things sweet and fruity that Gen Z keeps posting about on TikTok.
On the other end of the spectrum is the trend that is really driving our business: nostalgia. I feel every time I blink, I see a resurrected heritage house appearing. Some better than others of course and some I question why they would even be brought back to life. But classic, vintage, powdery fragrances are huge for us at the moment: Ombre Rose, Bienaimé, aldehydic florals.
To me both trends feel like escapism. One is playful and childish, the other harking back to ‘simpler times’. I think this is to be expected at a time when the world is in turmoil. We gravitate towards fragrances that remind us of a better time.
It feels important to note that when it comes to gourmands, for us these seem to sell better at a lower price point. A luxury house creating a linear gourmand fragrance may not make the same level of sales it hopes to, so they need to be more creative when it comes to food like scents.
Take D.S. & Durga’s Pistachio. It seemed to be at the forefront of the everything-pistachio trend, not just perfume. But it isn’t a simple nutty fragrance. It is softer, more complex, creamy and bright. Compare that to Kayali’s Yum Pistachio Gelato 33, which, to me, is a lot more linear and on the nose… if you’ll pardon the pun!
A lot of brands and businesses seem to be chasing a Gen Z and Gen Alpha customer, with a desire to capture the corner of the younger market driving what they make. However, whilst their spending power will grow with time, currently there seems to not be enough data to show that they are actually spending now, beyond using their Boots points to buy a miniature…
This is why I think our growth and the sales we see on other brands, are coming from the nostalgia trend. It is more aimed at millennials and older, the demographics that seem to have more disposable income. Even at time when customers are feeling particular cautious about spending, fragrance is the ultimate luxury and luxury gives you that rush of endorphins at purchase.
So having a fragrance to remind you of Mum, Dad, Granny or Grandpa, or even just feels like you’ve stepped into Jilly Cooper’s The Rivals, seems to be exactly what these consumers are looking for.
This trend is also driven by customers from the Middle East. They are huge consumers or perfume and drive a lot of the sales in London, too. They were very much behind the initial growth of all things nostalgic and powdery.
Looking now to the rest of the year, the usual new product launches will appear, with Christmas gifting at the heart. Gift sets and limited editions will appear all over the shelves.
I think brands do this for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is to boost sales numbers at the most important sales period of the year; the other is to play it safe. It gives the consumers buying a gift the opportunity to buy something different for their loved ones without actually taking any risk and buying something new.
Fragrance is hugely personal and at Christmas you don’t want your other half buying you something you’ve never worn, whilst you are already excitedly waiting for your favourite bottle to appear from under the tree.
Generally speaking, during the autumn and winter months, the obvious happens: we move away from fresh and citrus scents and into warmer realms. So those who have a scent wardrobe might jump back into something they haven’t used in a while.
The trends of perfumery are, of course, dictated by consumer habits, seasonality and the mood of the world. However, the real tastemakers are driven by creativity, with perfumers doing what they do best and being celebrated for it, just before the rest of the industry decides to jump ship and follow suit, copying that creativity and making it ordinary, all just in time for the cycle to start again.
What I love about the trend for nostalgia that we are currently experiencing is that it somewhat bucks that idea of a perfumery trend. Because it isn’t about novelty. Instead, it is about celebrating the art and the creatives of the past.
