According to Julien Sausset, CEO of Parfums de Marly, niche perfumes now represent 12 to 15% of the world’s perfume market, with an annual growth reaching almost 12%, compared to 2 to 5% in the selective network. According to Circana, high-end perfumes accounted for 70% of new launches in 2023. They have got such an influence that “they embody today’s perfume landscape,” notes Renaud Salmon, Creative Director of Amouage.
Abundance and quest for identity
It is a “complex and stratified” market, says Isabelle Ferrand, Director of Cinquième Sens. “Arthouse perfumes take on different faces, including the founding icons of major groups and proliferating independent brands,” confirms François Hénin, the founder of Jovoy.
“The boundaries with the selective network are increasingly blurry,” note perfumers Bertrand Duchaufour and Anne-Sophie Behaghel (Flair). Camille Chemardin, perfumer at Flair, and Véronique Spoturno, the founder of the eponymous brand, are sorry the market is “often too even”, although it is prolific. One thing is for sure, “the niche market has become extremely dense,” since David Benedek founded his brand in 2016.
In this saturated market, brands vie with marketing tools like visuals and storytelling, sometimes to the detriment of “the very essence of niche perfumes, which is their olfactory value,” laments Coralie Frébourg, the founder of Versatile Paris. Hence the importance of adopting a readable positioning faithful to the brand. The hardest thing is to last, is it not?
“The word ‘niche’, which rimes with uniqueness, is hackneyed. The beautiful brands that have emerged in recent years are those that cultivate an authentic DNA likely to make them successful over time. As a matter of fact, for brands to remain strong, they need to seek beautiful aesthetics on a constant basis, and to innovate while ensuring they are understood,” claims the founder of BDK Parfums.
Salmon shares this view: “Launches will multiply, in particular with AI, which makes it easier to create a brand. Just like in any other area that is easy to enter, it is difficult to last. In the long run, only real artists, i.e. the brands that dare surprise consumers and take risks, will stand out and create the future cult perfumes.”
Uniqueness is appealing
Perfumes now definitely embody a quest for status. They have become a signature, a form of self-expression. “Consumers are willing to spend more for fragrances that reflect their own personality,” says Sausset.
That is how niche perfumes have been gaining market shares from selective brands. As a response, the latter “are multiplying exclusive ranges,” analyses Marie-Lise Jonak, the co-founder of Ormaie. “Certain groups even go so far as to create their own niche brand, including Infiniment Coty,” explains Hénin. “The public is turning its back on mainstream brands, as they seek more distinguishing creations,” adds Spoturno.
These new consumers are keen on disruptive perfumes. “Especially young people in search of expert, differentiating brands in line with their own values,” says Benedek. With TikTok, Gen Z often discover perfumes through the niche market. People in this generation are less faithful to fragrances and “aim to assert themselves by trying several brands,” emphasises Margaux Le Paih-Guérin, perfumer at Flair.
Company-owned stores and powerful trails
Every company designs their own strategic choices. The main one being to open their own stores, according to Ferrand. In Paris, for example, almost all major brands have settled Rue Saint-Honoré. “It is a way to express their own world and offer a genuine customer experience,” says Benedek.
Powerful trails are another prerequisite for success. “There is a race for intensity when it comes to projection and long wear,” explains Ferrand. Jonak shares this view: she evokes “the ubiquity of amber woods,” though it is tempered by the trend of intimate, comforting trails with musky notes.
From an olfactory standpoint, fruity and sweet facets – mango, banana, guava, cocoa – are widely used, according to Ferrand. Behaghel highlights high demand for “natural” renderings of exotic fruit. “No doubt this phenomenon is amplified by Instagram, where the food trend rules,” points out Frébourg. “Sensoriality speaks to people seeking emotion.”
Today, niche perfumes cultivate a language that is more accessible and less bold than it used to be. This multi-faceted market is hard to define. It now reaches a global target with a real “diversity in olfactory cultures,” claims Sausset. According to Hénin, the next “creative horizons for these perfumes might involve new captive molecules.”
Towards a new growth cycle
To the players interviewed by Premium Beauty News, niche perfumes have a bright future ahead.
Ludovic Bonneton, the founder of Bon Parfumeur, makes a parallel with bistronomy or oenology. “It is all about curious connoisseurs discovering, comparing, and taking ownership. Perfumes have become a game.” Same for Sausset: “It is just like wine: the public is now better educated and seeks quality and pleasure. Despite higher prices, the persistence and abundance of niche perfumes contribute to satisfying them.”
Far from imploding, “arthouse perfumes are at the dawn of a new cycle,” believes Bonneton. A “new [growth] era” for a category that meets consumer demand. “The future of luxury lies in beautiful niche companies. You will look more sophisticated if you buy yourself a Bon Parfumeur or MFK fragrance than if you go for a widely known brand,” he adds. In the long run, “high-end perfumes might well represent 22 to 25% of the market,” says Sausset.
Indeed, the more tools are developed, the more creations multiply, “as can be seen in the music industry. Therefore, this trend is likely to speed up and reach almost 50,000 annual launches in ten years,” analyses Salmon. As a result, retailers might play a key selection role to “separate noise pollution from interesting creations and extract the best from a perfume market that tends to standardise, despite the overabundant offering.”