In a fragrance market where the number of brands continues to escalate and niche gains on traditional players, it appears to be ever more challenging for major players to launch scents that appeal to a global audience.
In 2016, Puig rolled out what would become an international bestseller, Good Girl by Carolina Herrera. Nine years later, the Spanish beauty group is looking to establish a new female fragrance pillar with La Bomba. Among the similarities between the two scents are a figurative bottle and a multi-faceted fragrance created by a team of perfumers at Givaudan. But as Gen Z seeks to be unique and the niche segment has taken the market onto a path of premiumization, is imposing a fragrance with mass appeal globally still feasible? And this in the context of fierce competition where women’s fragrances, for example, often compete for just tenths of a percent of market share?
Puig is looking to forge a new global bestseller with Carolina Herrera’s La Bomba ©Carolina Herrera
For the men’s segments, launches are fewer, and market share more generous, making a successful fragrance more in reach. (Dior’s bestselling Sauvage commands 6.6% of the men’s market in Europe versus less than half that for top-seller Lancôme’s La Vie est Belle in the women’s segment.) Dior has brought Sauvage to global bestseller status, while at Chanel, Bleu tops the charts. However, these two fragrances are already 10 and 15 years old respectively. During the same period, Joy by Dior and Gabrielle by Chanel did not meet the expected success. To maintain high global sales, brands must capitalize on existing lines with a regular output of flankers. This way, they are leveraging an existing name and bottle, while often offering olfactive variations from the original juice—either to rejuvenate an existing line, or to adapt to geographic preferences.
Dior’s Sauvage tops men’s fragrance sales worldwide ©Parfums Dior
“With flankers, it’s interesting to offer fresher tones of the original fragrance, that are more suited to consumers in Asia, for example,” explains Alexandra Monet, Perfumer at dsm-firmenich. “But the market is changing, and today the first flanker is no longer an Eau de Toilette, but an Eau de Parfum Intense. Consumers want value for their money, with scents that have more power and longevity.” Indeed, in Europe, sales of Dior Homme Intense now surpass those of Dior Homme. Flankers also help brands combat the dupe phenomenon by providing original new variations, with a slightly redesigned bottle and a more differentiated juice. In the US, the Carolina Herrera Good Girl Blush line, for example, surpassed the original in sales in 2024.
Internationalizing a success
From an olfactory perspective, creating a new fragrance that will become a global pillar is a complex equation for perfumers, especially since some local olfactory codes remain very strong. “Fresh and clean is a strong expectation in the US but is less present elsewhere. For women’s fragrances, fruity notes are worked with more freshness, which is also inspired by the body care market,” affirms Monet, who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic.
For men’s fragrances, perfumers must combine freshness and power, two strong consumer expectations, but that are not always perceived the same way across different regions. With Boss Bottled Beyond, Hugo Boss worked with dsm-firmenich on a long-lasting spicy freshness around leather. This trend is seen more in niche and is sometimes deemed divisive in selective distribution, especially in the US.
To optimize the chances of success on both sides of the Atlantic, “as perfumers, we also work in pairs on the same formula. Each tests the other’s proposals, all the while guided by an evaluator, which allows for both European and American expertise on the same formula.”
While each geographic area has its preferences, digitalization and social media are a boost to creating international success by globalizing trends. This is the case with Cheirosa 62, a fragrance from Brazil-inspired brand Sol de Janeiro, which is in the top 15 in the US, according to Circana, and performs well in Europe. Mane perfumer Ugo Charron, who created its new fragrance Sundays in Rio, says that the brand allowed the perfumer to “rethink and ‘overdose’ the use of certain materials, such as milk notes, a trend that transcends borders.”
Mane’s formula for Sundays in Rio “overdosed” on certain notes ©Sol de Janeiro
The Limitations of Data
The power of social media certainly accelerates interest in certain fragrances, forcing large groups to react by creating faster and evolving olfactory trends more quickly than before. “In Europe, we are currently seeing a rise in amber fragrances for both women and men,” explains Arnaud Guggenbuhl, Head of Global Marketing, Insight & Image Fine Fragrances at Givaudan. “In the US, floral fragrances have been on the rise again since the beginning of 2025, indicating a market shift towards a desire for elegance and timelessness among women, at the expense of amber notes, which are decreasing. For men in the US, woods and fougères are on the rise, signifying a classic masculinity desire, while there too, amber notes are declining slightly.” The current olfactory preferences in Europe confirm those observed in 2024, unlike in the US, where the market appears much more volatile.
Widely used in the pre-creation phase to optimize the chances of success, consumer tests may provide reassurance, but they no longer guarantee a fragrance that will sell. Especially since some segments of female consumers are less targeted by these tests: women over 50, who have substantial purchasing power, are rarely surveyed for fragrance testing, according to a recent study by Ipsos and dsm-firmenich.
Frederick Besson, CEO of collaborative perfume advisory app Perfumist, also highlights the limitations of data related to sales. “Our users report fragrances they like, not just those they buy. This difference allows us to understand future sales and anticipate declines of certain brands based on countries. It also helps better evaluate niche, which is poorly perceived by sales analyses today.”
Because perhaps this is where tomorrow’s bestsellers will emerge. The success of creations like Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 or Delina from Parfums de Marly, which are topping sales charts, shows the desirability for ‘sharper’ or trendier brands. Particularly since some brands like Amouage or Creed have not yet fully expressed their potential.
