Last month, in Our Independent Perfumery Roundtable, I asked seven perfume companies to describe how they strive and thrive in an cluttered fragrance market. In Part 2, we focus on what it is like to be a Start Up Perfume Company, which, in my opinion has its own set of challenges(a Start Up is generally defined as a company that has been in business for five years or less).  All  eight were founded or launched from 2013-2017- Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Antonio Alessandria was the perfumer for Nobile 1942 Rudis and Malia among other fragrances exclusive to Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie.

Start Up Perfume Company (Italy): “At the end of the 1990s, I came across niche perfumery as a consumer and fell in love with some small brands. Now big groups have acquired these brands and their creativity and risk-taking are not the same anymore. Since 2005, I run a perfume shop dealing with niche brands only. Today though, I look to brands from a different perspective: I beware of new brands introducing a plethora of items or top-seller copycats, talking about high quality but selling cheap fragrances in bling-bling packages. Thinking about my own brand, since 2014, I’ve started it to express my own vision of perfumery above all. I also wanted to leverage on my experience as a retailer. It is a one-man-band work: I write the stories behind the fragrances, I formulate my perfumes, I design the package. I am more an artisan than a businessman and I take all the risks when launching a new fragrance. I think coherence is the most important thing to face such a cluttered market. If you have a strong concept you better stick to it: your audience will increase, slowly yet steadily. Meanwhile us, small brands need tools to survive. Collaboration between brands sharing the same vision could be a solution to cope with the competition of the big companies in our little world and to approach the market in a healthy way. For example as an independent perfumer I also compose fragrances for other brands: it is always interesting and fruitful for both, a successful cross-marketing opportunity. ” –Antonio Alessandria, Perfumer and Founder of Antonio Alessandria Parfums

Franck Salzwedel was the International Brand Manager for Victor & Rolf and has worked with Armani for 5 years 

Start up Perfume Company Elisire (New York): “My intention with Elisire since day one in 2015 is mainly artistic. As a former creative in a power house as well as a painter, I have been longing to translate my own vision of Perfume, without thinking niche nor alternative – Elixirs that have the power to reignite desire and celebrate my love for colors and scents, inspired by nature and my travels around the world. I aspire to achieve this in the most sincere way, using the best ingredients, partnering with top perfumers and introducing custom designs that are exclusive and personal with an artisanal touch. The creative vision behind a brand is to me the most important part. I believe that the rest follows, even if it takes time, energy and many challenges. I see the association with a partner as an amazing opportunity for the future, allowing creativity to blossom even more and for long.” –Franck Salzwedel, Founder and Creative Director

Start Up Perfume Company Grandiflora Fragrances (Australia): “We launched Grandiflora in 2013 on the premise that authenticity and passion would see us through. Whilst the market was indeed cluttered, it felt natural to introduce fragrance as an extension to the brand – a proposition propelled by my floral ‘addiction’.  My  knowledge of botanicals is a passion, harnessed by working daily with an array of beautiful mediums – blooms, buds, stems, branches, moss… So whilst I have an innate understanding of the composition of flowers in totality, I wanted expert mentoring by way of collaborating with the industry’s most revered artisans of fragrance, working to articulate the narrative of each scent collectively. The storytelling around my first interactions with botanicals has been pivotal in each sketch. One of my earliest childhood memories is walking on sunburnt Eucalyptus leaves below our home in the Australian bushland, surrounded by native Boronia (a memory that has since become the backbone of our fifth fragrance Boronia), and gazing into clear blue sky through a monumental Magnolia grandiflora tree – the heart of our first two scents. I was fortunate, persistent and ultimately honoured by the internationally renowned composers sharing their talent with us. Like everyone involved in Grandiflora fragrances, they were to become friends as well as collaborators. Creatively, I think we have been solid, but of course there have been many lessons learnt from distribution, packaging, and the various administrative requirements around the world – far less sexy but equally important! Being based in Australia, wanting to launch as an international brand comes with a logistical commitment. One we have thankfully been able to overcome with technology and minimal sleep. As for the question of whether I hope for the financial wand of a multi-national fairy godmother, of course it crosses my mind. And should ever interest be shown, I would probably say, let’s talk. But for now that possibility is neither part of the passion nor the dream. I have five limited edition fragrances I love and it’s time to surge forward with the sixth.-Saskia Havekes,Grandiflora

 

Start Up Perfume Company Atelier Des Ors (France): “The Atelier Des Ors range was released at the end of 2014 and from the beginning I wasn’t part of the perfume industry so for me I didn’t have a wide knowledge of the way everything operated but  it was always about wanting to be creative in how I  approached developing perfumes and to make fragrances with a high level of artistry. Perfumes that highlighted craftsmanship, beautiful scents and the idea of creating something for eternity that people would take pleasure from. Through challenges Atelier Des Ors has stayed true to our desire and dedicated to what we do. We have managed to capture the attention of some customers who respond well to what we’re doing so in that way we have had some success. The perfume industry is facing some turbulence though. Some brands are seeing strong development but most have a slower pace. Challenges also come as the large companies buy up perfume brands as in some way this can make it more difficult for us. The larger companies are more demanding, they want more space in retail, they want more support so these are also things that we think about”.- Jean-Philippe Clermont, Founder and Creative Director of Atelier Des Ors

Parfums Quartana launched in 2016 is a 2017 Fragrance Foundation Award Winner: Perfume Extraordinaire for Poppy Soma. Previously Joseph Quartana cofounded the multi-award winning Six Scents Perfumes

Start Up Perfume Company Parfums Quartana (New York): “Being independently financed allows us to do whatever we want and we only have ourselves to blame in the event of failure, but as a result cash flow is a perpetual headache, especially in this retail-pocalypse, and therefore expansion and scaling take time. Because the niche market is SHOCKINGLY more crowded in 2018 compared to when I started, brands not only compete over the remaining limited shelf space, but also for the attention of the same customers/influencers online, and every sale, every impression, and every acquisition requires effort and money.  E-commerce was supposed to be the great equalizer but at the end of the day you are still competing against Chanel’s multi-million dollar marketing budget so that keeps you on your toes in terms of being creative AND running a company smartly.  In spite of these challenges, we feel B2C and limited select retail partnerships are the future.”  –Joseph Quartana, Founder/Director Parfums Quartana

Frances Shoemack of Abel Perfumes

Start Up Perfume Company Abel Perfumes (Amsterdam/2013): “Perfume is an artistic pursuit and we cannot lose sight of the craft for a moment (this means investing in the juice, too, by the way). To continue to pursue creativity however, the business smarts need to be there… we must be financially viable, strategically sound.This balancing act as a Start Up Perfume Company is the yin and yang of modern independent perfumery and is necessary for survival. But there must also be something special in a brands DNA, their raison d’etre that sets them apart. Relevant to them, their partners, and importantly, their consumers. And it must be beautifully executed at every touchpoint, there is no place for mediocracy. Something truly different and meaningful isn’t so easy to emulate, especially not as consumers become more demanding. If think if you have the balance and point of difference, then whether investment is needed is a question of growth ambitions. Balancing the growth while not losing the creativity or meaning then becomes the next phase!” – Frances Shoemack, Founder and Creative Director

Zoologist Perfumes is the Art and Olfaction Award Winner 2016 for Bat (with Ellen Covey) and was founded in 2013

Start Up Perfumery Zoologist Perfumes (Canada): “The struggle, to me, is always about whether to create perfumes that are more crowd-pleasing or more unique but less commercial. As a small company, a “hit” perfume brings in profits to let you continue and grow, but that financial adrenaline influx has an addicting quality. If an indie brand loses its uniqueness, it becomes one of the brands that offers only good but trendy or even generic perfumes, making you more vulnerable to being ignored or forgotten in the battlefield inside a niche perfume colosseum. At this moment, I enjoy being a popular jester in a small town square with an audience that gets exciting listening to my strange tunes.”– Victor Wong, Creative Director and Founder of Zoologist Perfumes

Parfums Dusita Melodie d’Amour is a 2017 Art and Olfaction Winner

Start Up Perfume Company Dusita (France): “At Dusita, I began company in 2014 with the passion for perfumery and the presentation of the poetic universe of my beloved father, Montri Umavijani. These will not change over time. My passion for vintage perfumery motivated me to offer high quality, unique creations of perfumes and perfume related products. I believe that there are still be people who seek this type of products. The way I look at it is not about competition at all, it is about being able to offer wider alternatives of those who love perfumes. It is good to have many brands because it offers clients wider choices and freedom. From my humble observation, the clients nowadays have their own knowledge about raw materials, and they already knew what type of products they want before entering shops. I want to create the small organisation that people enjoy working. Being small makes us more efficient and realise the importance of teamwork. My dream is to organically develop Dusita as a successful worldwide luxury brand. Being a perfumer myself, made me able to express the poetry into the perfumes directly. It also gives me the freedom to choose the raw materials which is very important to our philosophy. The challenge for us as every Start Up Perfume Company is facing, is the organization of time and human resources. Opening a boutique is giving a new perspective for me as a perfumer. It is a place where I can see the clients and communicate with them directly.  Ideally, every start-up perfume company needs a place of its own, in order to show the universe and the creations.” Pissara Umivajani-Founder and Perfumer

What do you think of our eight panelists in this Start Up Perfume Company “round table”. Which quotes, Perfumers or Creative Directors’ words resonate the most? Let’s be reminded that the independents(their retailers and distributors) sponsor 99% of our perfume draws and giveaways…not large corporations.