Homegrown perfume brands get ready to take India by storm

The scent of a woman or man makes you want or not….

In the line of young Indian entrepreneurs is now some extremely talented and confident homegrown perfume brands, which are making India smell good and that also for the longest time. “Just as what you eat affects your well being,” believe it or not “what you apply on your body is absorbed and slowly starts accumulating in tissues and fatty deposits,” revealed the young and confident Shubhika Jain, founder of RAS Luxury Oils. 

Scent a person wears speaks volumes about who the person really is. “It creates a personal statement and people start indentifying with a fragrance you are carrying,” shares Pulkit Malhotra, the suave and unassuming perfumer whose home grown brand Mocemsa exuberates a richness of Italy and France together. 

Priced at an affordable price of Rs. 2500 for a 100 ml bottle, the brand has traction online and at a standalone store in Delhi. Pukit adds, “We wanted to create something different that is luxurious yet affordable, without compromising on the quality or fee of an authentic fragrance. For us, fragrances are a luxury not be relished by affluent few but should be available for all. Hence, our single focus is to provide luxury fragrances at affordable prices.”

Like him, is Rajiv Sheth’s All Good Scents from Ahmedabad that was conceptualized and launched in 2014, post his study and creation of authentic fragrances for the French market for close to 16 years. Envisioned as a way to introduce Indians to high-quality fragrances at an affordable price, fragrances include jasmine, rose and sandalwood, among other local scents, and is priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 for a 100ml bottle of Eau de Parfum (an unbelievable price in comparison to foreign brands).

The company has recorded a month-on-month average sales growth of 40% in 2016; something that says for an overall growth pattern in demand for fragrances in India currently.  Manan Gandhi of the Bombay Perfumery has brought expertise and exposure from France into the family business of perfumes. Having supplied essential ingredients to brands abroad, he stepped into creating his own range of eight unconventional fragrances, especially designed for the Indian customer, keeping in mind the climatic conditions. The scents include notes of pepper and chai, that are designed to celebrate India’s heritage.

For around Rs. 4,000 for 100ml, Bombay Perfumery is selling online and currently also available at a few high-end stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, not to forget luxury conscious cities like Jaipur, Chennai, and Kochi.

Why Homegrown
Undeniably today, the globe is shifting focus towards more natural and organic things. For centuries, Indian plants and flower extracts have been used to create fragrant essential oils, perfume concentrates (attar) and vapourising concoctions as well. Up until now, the west was popular for top fragrances that came from India. These included ingredients like jasmine oil, sandalwood, and rose water. Currently, the well informed hygiene and grooming conscious Indian customer knows the importance of going back to nature.  

According to industry estimates, the overall size of the Indian perfume industry is currently estimated at Rs. 2000 crores, projected to grow by 50 percent (Rs.3000 crores) by the year 2020. The current online perfume market is estimated at Rs.148 crores projected to grow by approximately 120% to Rs 345 crores.

The online perfume shopping pie takes merely 7 percent of the whole share which is bound to estimated to increase to a significant 11 percent as the Indian consumer in the next 5 years. Currently, Gujarat contributes to approximately 6% of the total perfume market in India.

“We are a brand conscious society today when it comes to perfumes for sure, but if you can offer a long lasting fragrance at an affordable price, people are willing to give it a try. A fragrance grows on you; it becomes a part of your personality and therefore is very personal. The well-travelled and educated Indian understands his or her preferences and is confident of being a trendsetter rather than a follower of the West,” confidently shares Malhotra.

The millennials are more conscious about their personal grooming and appearance, they are investing heavily here and are increasingly spending on beauty and wellness products aswell.

According to popular statistical numbers, merely 4% of the current Indian population has ever indulged in some form of use of perfume. These include EDP (Eau De Parfum), EDT (Eau De Toilette), EDC (Eau De cologne) or deodorants.  

Unique India
The popularity of such homegrown brands should be attributed to the fact that such young entrepreneurs are designing these products, keeping in mind the unique climatic conditions India is bestowed with. From natural flower extracts, to honest use of essentials oils in the right concentration, most of the fragrances give a lasting effect, even in hot and humid climates.

It is a myth that ‘only strong and pungent fragrances are long lasting’. In fact, the lasting effect of a good perfume really depends on the kind of raw material that is used to make the fragrance.’

Shubhika Jain of RAS Luxury Oils has used her exposure to beauty rituals of Ayurveda and Aroma therapy as a child. Most of her beauty concoctions with handpicked flowers, herbs and other natural ingredients come from that learning. The use of 100 percent pure and natural essential oils through their own distillery or directly from manufacturers “we are able to give to people authentic fragrance which not only smell good but also have a great positive effect on the functioning of your mind and body,” adds Jain.   

“The aromas formulated in our lab are such that they would give you an instant mood-boosting effect as only pure essential oils are able to be absorbed into the bloodstream and reach the brain and help it relax or refresh. Each blend is unique and has its own USP,” further adds Shubhika.  

Image courtesy: Euromonitor International