What do you believe about perfumery trends across the globe and in India?
We interact with a sector specialist to give you insights on the latest in the perfume industry in India and across the globe.
Globally, there are two significant developments. One is in terms of fragrance preferences, the trend that is going on and will continue to grow is the Oudh trend. Ajmal Brands are using Oudh as a raw material and not merely in nomenclature for the last couple of years. The value of Oudh as a raw material in fragrances can be more than 50 per cent of all the other ingredients put together. Yet customers are ready to pay more for it as there is the presence of real Oudh.
There has also emerged a trend concerning the sustainability of raw materials. This also extends to packaging materials and at every step from source to production. Reprocessed plastic is now being utilised in packaging product merchandise.
Most importantly, however, is that which falls on how companies aid the sustainability of the local community.
How are the perfume industries fighting the pandemic?
The home fragrance category has blasted off, with everyone buying all different types of scented candles. Perfumes are basically the ultimate time travellers: whether used on the skin or in a space.
In perfumes, there is a huge difference in how people apply them. It is very much the feedback coming from many of our customers-they no longer spray all over as they used to before heading out of home, but use them more on the pulse points.
Now, when we hear stories of how some people don’t use their perfume to sit back and watch Netflix or even perfumate themselves before turning up at an online meeting, it’s not very astonishing. The last one year has been a focused time on E-commerce by the perfumery industry to cater to customer needs and it is soothing to see the sales rocketing online, though.
It was interesting to see the sales of the classics surging because the people ordered repeats of what they are using or have used in the past. That being said, new brands find it very tough because physically sampling the perfumes becomes a challenge. Most E-commerce companies sent out samplers to customers, but the new launches were few. Discovery sets, or a collection of minis, have been on the market before the pandemic occurred, but now, it’s a great tool for sampling. This gets the customer to try all fragrances before buying a full-size bottle.
That is why the flanker trend will also endure. To begin with, the customers are already familiar with the original and thus they are willing to give a try on the sequel. Creatively what’s also happening is that the product life cycle is becoming shorter.
Besides, the marketers dictate the notes and not the noses anymore. The consumer wants novelty and perfumery is a biassed market. If for instance, your mother wore Chanel No.5, she wore it all her life. Brand loyalty has gone down, as today’s consumers would like a variety of fragrances and won’t stop at just one.
Your thoughts on India’s perfume industry and where do you see it in the next few years?
India is going to go on a full-throttle discovery phase. The western perfumery industry has had more than 100 years to evolve from chemical composition to floral, spices, fugere, fruity, floriental, Oudh etc. In my opinion, India will go through the same learning between the 10-year period. India adopts and adapts trends at a breakneck speed. The learning curve is getting shorter as people’s exposure through travel and movies is changing their behaviour patterns. In the lifestyle industry, there is a push to educate consumers about the perfumery industry.
Even with the creation of the AND and Global Desi fragrances, we did a creative blend of my personal knowledge with data of what families want in India. It was a combination of what Indians would like. We went for things that were marketing and data-led.
As of today, it takes time for international fragrances to be launched in India, partly because of the registration process but we can’t deny that the Indian market is not big enough for international companies to invest in. Their target market used to travel abroad and buy fragrances. But this will change in the next decade. India is on the cusp of becoming an evolved consumer of fragrances.
What’s your journey as a perfumist?
I was never formally trained as a perfumer. I have learnt everything from my late uncle Nazir Ajmal, and I also had a French mentor.
Uncle Nazir was the only recognized nose in the region and used to work with international perfumers. He modernised the original traditional perfumery and was one who created the original ‘floriental’ – the fusion of East and West. He said find your niche. Having lived in the western countries, my instinct was towards western perfumery and was encouraged and I worked in that direction. Today at Ajmal, 50 per cent of the fragrances we create fall under the French, occidental, western-style fragrances. Since I came, I have grown that part of the business, maybe that is my contribution to the industry through the support of my uncle and it just goes on from there.
One interesting point in my career, encouraging raw materials. We did sell raw materials even back then, but it was never a focused division of the business. I decided that we should also move into this and now it is an independent silo. I call it to this extent our brand perhaps the only farm to fragrance brand.
Another huge milestone was returning to the Indian market and partnering with the House of Anita Dhongre for fragrances for AND and Global Desi. With this co-brand, we are trying to create a new category of perfumes that is aspirational yet affordable.
