While luxury fashion sales faltered and beauty’s previously rapid growth softened, fragrance thrived as 2024’s fastest-growing beauty category.
The year saw a fashion fragrance revival, with multiple brands, Bottega Veneta and Balmain among them, re-entering the world of scent. More are on their way next year, with new launches from Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga in Kering’s fragrance pipeline as well as Jil Sander’s ultra-premium perfumes created by Coty.
These boldfaced brands, returning from a fragrance hiatus, face more competition than ever. Niche fragrance brands are increasingly making their way into major retailers as they drive trends and earn cult status among fragrance enthusiasts across the globe. Following acquisitions of brands like Creed and Byredo in previous years, investors have continued to bet on promising indie perfumiers: in 2024, private equity firm Manzanita Capital took a majority stake in D.S. & Durga, while Vyrao – known for putting “energetically charged” crystals in its fragrance bottles – received investment from LVMH-affiliated L Catterton. (New Age spirituality was a common thread in fragrance launches this year, popping up in new collections from Charlotte Tilbury and Bella Hadid’s Orebella, as well as a controversy featuring influencer backlash to the leadership of subscription brand Scentbird.)
Mass fragrance also benefitted from the boom, and has influenced luxury trends: premium brands dove further into accessible formats like body spray and hair perfume, while gourmand notes that dominated Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s tastes were remixed into more expensive formulations, likely inspired by the staggering growth of Sol de Janeiro with its vanilla, caramel and coconut scents.
Looking to 2025, the fragrance market is set to become even more saturated as brands move into a hot category. These include niche labels, celebrity lines, fashion brands tapping into fragrance as an entry-level product for young customers and brands across all categories from makeup to body-care diversifying their product lineups.
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Lightning in a Bottle: Tapping Into the Niche Fragrance Boom: With independent perfume on a hot streak for investments and acquisitions, the fragrance market is only growing larger — and more competitive. Here’s what steps emerging brands need to take as they expand.
Bum Bum Cream, Bikini Pics and Body Spray: What’s Behind the Sol de Janeiro Hype: From body cream to fragrance, L’Occitane’s crown jewel has lured TikTokers, tweens and shareholders alike. Now, at the height of its popularity, the latter thinks the buzzy beauty brand deserves its own public listing.
The Perfumers Driving the Fragrance Industry: While brand names and celebrities get the public to buy scents, it’s leading behind-the-scenes noses who fuel innovation and set key trends.
Inside Sephora’s Niche Fragrance Strategy: By betting early on indie brands, the retailer has been able to tap into trends and capitalise on a fast-growing market.
Scentbird’s CEO Is Also a Spiritual Guru. Not All Customers Are Pleased: The co-founder of the “Netflix for fragrance,” Mariya Nurislamova, has been moonlighting as a spirituality influencer. Comments on extraterrestrials, the “Matrix” and Hitler have recently attracted negative attention.
Fine Fragrances Are Getting a New Gourmet Twist: The fragrance boom is being driven by “neo-gourmands,” experimental and offbeat scents that take food notes like cold milk or sea salt to artisanal dimensions.
Can ‘Dupe’ Fragrance Brands Make The Real Thing?: Dossier, a brand known for its affordable imitations (known as ‘dupes’) has branched out to offer its own original scents. Making them as popular as its core offering could be a stretch.
