niche perfumery Archives

Refill packaging – a sustainable option? Sustainable perfumes are on the rise, all consumer research points to this. What options do we have if we are looking for sustainable perfume options? Is there a better alternative to refill packaging? Unfortunately refill packaging also requires additional packaging – new bottles, boxes and closures. . Swarovski designed their new perfume to be refillable. Back to the factory Eden Perfumes in the UK offer a refill option for their perfume. Though you have to post the empty bottle back to their factory to be refilled and then sent back out to you. A luxury option for sustainable perfumes Other big brands have limited refill stations in select outlets and cities, largely in Europe. Such as Guerlain in their flagship store in Paris. Also Roja Dove offers a refill option in Harrods using Daum crystal dispensers. This makes buying a sustainable perfume into an occasion! Le Labo offers refilling in France primarily and selected European outlets. Caron offers a refill station at Fortnum and Mason in London. Eco friendly perfume dispensers Thierry Mugler has dispensers in store where consumers can refill their perfume bottles at a lower cost. Chic Shaik in the Middle East has had perfumery refill bars in its larger distribution outlets since their launch. They also offer a lifetime refill service for their bottles. Additionally they will refurbish their beautiful sustainable perfume bottles (at a cost) to ensure that they last a lifetime. How to encourage sustainable perfumes? Hopefully this is the way forward and more companies will start to buy into this new way of working. However, this requires not only investment from brand owners, but also cooperation from retail outlets. We need more pressure from consumers or penalties imposed by governments to encourage more recycling. Tthis approach is unlikely to become available in your local perfume retail outlet. Probably pressure from younger consumers will have an effect on brands to increase the availability sustainable perfume brands. Let us hope for the sake of the planet that this time comes sooner rather than later. Challenges of recycling and sustainability The threat of global warming has meant that many of us are rethinking the way we shop and what we buy. However, for cosmetics and perfumery brands how feasible is it to recycle perfume packaging? Which perfume brands are truly environmentally friendly? Few materials are mono materials : often glass will have a metal badge glued on it or have special colour lacquer. A crimp pump is a complicated combination of aluminium, plastic and metal. Most caps are made up of more than one material, as they need a pp inner inside to offer flexibility and good fit. Nearly all perfume bottles sold have crimp pumps on them which has made it impossible in the past to refill them. Most consumers cannot remove the crimp pump, it is too tight and difficult to remove. So who is doing well in terms of sustainable perfumes? Swarovski (Aura perfume) Atelier Cologne (all perfumes) Designer Shaikh (all perfumes can be refurbished and refilled) Thierry Mugler (in store dispensers) Eden Perfumes (send back to factory for refill) Since first writing this article, a lot has changed. The European Union has recently introduced new legislation to require 100% recyclable packaging by 2030. Though we still have a long way to go to achieve these goals. You may find our other article about sustainable perfumery interesting, please click the link for more details. […]

What is a niche perfume? Basically it is any perfume which is sold in limited distribution, in certain selected outlets only. We refer to the niche bandwagon as a phenomenon where everyone wants to jump on board this sector and gain sales from it. Niche perfume packaging design is evolving to adapt to the more crowded sales arena. Recently Niche perfumes have been growing their market share worldwide. This is largely because of the increased desire for individuality, a need for higher quality, bespoke products. Niche perfumery has traditionally been the most creative sector of perfumery. Small companies create new trends and experiment in limited quantities. Niche perfumery aimed to push the boundaries of perfumery. It tested out new ideas for the fearless few who don’t want to smell like everyone else. Niche perfumery has also attracted a certain amount of snobbery and many feel that the perfumes are always superior to the high street brands. However, limited distribution is not always a guarantee of better perfume. Nowadays niche perfumery is a high growth sector, this growth is fuelled by many ‘me too’ brands. Such brands don’t always have the same drive to create and be different.. Traditional packaging approaches Traditionally niche perfumes had ultra simple packaging, often a paper label on a standard bottle, in order to communicate that the focus is on the fragrance, not on packaging gimmicks. It was all about the quality of the perfume essence. The perfumer had freedom to express his originality and creativity. Because there used to be so few niche brands, this approach was highly effective. Added value to niche perfume packaging design However nowadays the market is different. We have seen many new entrants into niche perfumery in recent years, attracted by the growth in this sector. Nowadays it’s difficult to get a place for your brand in selective perfumery outlets just because it smells great. You must display added value in terms of packaging to attract clients. Not always an easy thing to achieve when you are a fledgling company and have limited funds to invest. A new cap or some other packaging design feature might give you a point of difference to will make it easier to sell to new clients. Brands such as Stephanie Humbert et Lucas, AK France, Kemi, Naso di Raza, Simimi and Tola are good examples of products with standard bottles and custom made caps to give brand differentiation. Combining standard perfume bottles with custom made caps Nasengold, Perris and Escentric Molecules have all used standard bottles in an interesting way. Some of the bottles don’t bother to put a cache pump or supply a cap, having a strictly modern and ‘less is more’ approach. In mass market perfumery, it would be seen as a way of cutting costs and thus ‘cheapening’ the brand. But in niche perfumery it can be seen positively, as a creative force. Heavy investment in new moulds Other brands such as House of Sillage, House of Oud, Moresque, and Menditorossa have invested heavily in creative new packaging and are reaping the rewards by having a brand which has a unique personality and attraction. Niche perfumery popularity will continue to grow for some time until it reaches a saturation point and some of the brands who do not have a strong personality or reputation for outstanding, creative fragrances will inevitably fail. In the meantime, brands who do not consider creative packaging a worthwhile investment will find that it is more difficult to gain entry to the traditional niche perfumery retail points. We are very interested in the growth of niche perfumery, if you would like to know more about the niche bandwagon, why not ready our other article about the growth of niche perfumery. Its growing popularity might threaten its very existence. […]

Tag: niche perfumery

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The Niche Bandwagon