The Prestige - Consumers are becoming educated and knowledgeable about good craftsmanship. You can see this in all areas, for example many people have a favourite coffee shop with specialty coffee beans, and others save up to buy a shirt made in Savile Row in Mayfair because they know they will get a very good product that has been made with care, love and passion, the same can be said with the perfume industry. More brands are now choosing to put more investment in what’s inside the bottle rather than the bottle itself and what’s surrounding it. “The fragrance market is about the race for prestige. The groups who have understood that are the ones gaining market share and revenue” - Olivier Aron, founder, ROSAE
Low Waste Luxury - Unnecessary packaging has become a consumer bugbear. And luxury fragrance, notorious for its often-excessive packaging with layers of cellophane wrapping, boxes, tissue paper and heavy glass bottles, is under fire. In the UK, as many as half of consumers think that fragrances have too much unnecessary packaging, according to Mintel, and for brands, there is now an urgent need to move towards a future of low-waste packaging. “It was important a couple of years ago, but nowadays it is critical and necessary to ensure business continuity, ultimately, our clients and the planet demand it, and it is a growing movement across the board, especially with the younger generations.” - Luis Miguel Gonzalez, Perfume Business Unit Managing Director at Bulgari. Miller Harris trialed a ‘Bring it Back’ promotion encouraging customers to return old perfume bottles from any brand and in any size, for recycling, while offering a replacement Miller Harris perfume at a significant discount. That the move away from throwaway packaging presents new opportunities for brands to bring more value to their perfume bottles – and more luxury.
Immersive Experiences - Store closures have reached a record-high rate, and for the fragrance category this could be seen as particularly grim news. Scent is, after all one of the few products that should be experienced in person prior to purchase. Savvy retailers should take advantage of this fact more now than perhaps ever before, immersive experiences bring an element of theatre and magic to a shop floor and, more importantly, make a customer’s journey interesting as they learn something new and feel like they are more involved with the process. Jo Malone has become known for its large-scale immersive experiences in recent years, the latest being a spring-themed exhibition to showcase its limited-edition Blossoms collection in London’s Bloomsbury Square. The experience included immersive light and sound installations, four themed scent booths that enabled consumers to experience each scent for themselves and a range of workshops. The goal is not so much to produce an experience which inspires people to buy a product, but for the product to be the thing they get that reminds them of the experience. They want to take advantage of how a scent can evoke a memory or an emotion, so by creating an unforgettable experience.
Gender Fluid - Fragrance has been categorised by gender for decades. But as consumers’ beliefs and attitudes become more fluid, both as a whole and specifically about gender, so the fragrance industry is reflecting this shift in mindset. We are seeing products that present a non-binary aesthetic featuring notes that aren’t defined by masculinity or femininity. It’s also part of a bigger trend to reflect personality and mood and subvert the traditional codes of male and female categories. Research that states that 50% of American millennials do not believe that gender exists, and of those surveyed, approximately 70% do not believe that gender can define an individual. With millennials and Gen Z there is a higher likelihood of rejection of gender-conforming identities. Facebook now offers more than 70 identity options. In August 2019, the luxury fashion brand Gucci launched its first universal fragrance, Mémoire d’une Odeur with a new campaign for Gucci Beauty. Created by the fashion house’s creative director Alessandro Michele, it was inspired by the “power of memories which can be relived in the present.”. The new fragrance is “unassigned with a gender or a time.” Mémoire d’une Odeur, which “transcends gender by its individuality,”
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