Catering to locals

Leading fragrance companies have been quick to establish a presence in the world's fastest growing but still under-exploited fragrance market, says Cai Zhihao, a researcher from Shenzhen-based Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.

"Chinese consumption for fine fragrances is still in its early stages and it may take another five to 10 years for the market to mature. This means there is plenty of opportunity for Chinese and international brands," explains Cai.

Foreign enterprises that have sought to tap into the vast potential of the Chinese market include International Flavors and Fragrances, Germany-based Symrise and Swiss companies Givaudan and Firmenich, the world's largest privately owned fragrance and flavor company, which launched a fragrance atelier in downtown Shanghai in September.

"Compared to decades ago, Chinese consumers' frequency in using personal care products is another reason for the growing demand of fragrances," says Liu Rongming, a principal perfumer at Firmenich.

But while the demand for fragrances is growing quickly, achieving success in the Chinese fragrance market will not be an easy task, says Liu, noting that consumers are becoming more discerning and already have many options to choose from.

One way that companies have been attracting consumers is by catering to local preferences. For example, Florian Gallo, a perfumer at Firmenich Aromatics (China) Co Ltd, says he is planning to create a new perfume that is inspired by the scent of the osmanthus tree near his home.

Han Zhuangzhuang, chief marketing officer at Beijing-based Scent Library, says light, floral scents are indeed more popular with local consumers than Westerners.

Another way of drawing consumers is through offering products that have distinct Chinese elements, and Scent Library is known in the market for doing so.

Targeted at consumers aged between 18 and 35, Scent Library defines itself as "a Chinese brand that recalls the collective memories of the past to meet Chinese consumers' emotional requirements", says Han.

Many of the fragrances by the company have a local element that sets them apart from foreign brands. For example, the brand launched its "cool boiled water" fragrance in 2017. The product name references the habit that many Chinese have for drinking boiled water.

In 2019, the brand launched a fragrance inspired by the famous White Rabbit candy, which has been popular for decades.

These scents have sold like hotcake. Scent Library sold more than 70,000 bottles of "cool boiled water" monthly on Tmall in 2018. Its White Rabbit candy fragrance has been just as popular－more than 14,000 units were sold shortly after its debut in May.

"Before the Chinese New Year, we are going to launch a new fragrance called Scent of Happiness, and users will be able to identify smells related to the occasion－think fireworks, glutinous rice ball and sugarcoated haws on a stick," says Han.