Gen Z drives growth in China's fragrance market | WARC | The Feed

Gen Z drives growth in China's fragrance market

China’s fragrance market is forecast to almost double in value over the next three years, with much of that growth coming from Gen Z buyers and the spread of niche brands.

That’s according to Jing Daily, which notes how the sector grew 10 times faster than the global market over the five years to 2021, attracting both local and international brands.

Why it matters

In an increasingly crowded market, it’s becoming more difficult for brands to stand out. And as olfactory trends are constantly evolving among younger consumers, it’s also harder to stay relevant. 

For some brands, that may require drastic action. To take one example: Dao Nguyen, founder of fragrance and beauty marketing agency Essenzia by Dao, explained to Jing Daily that L’Oréal-owned Atelier Cologne is “working on a 360° revamp from packaging to communication, retail experience, and its business model.” 

Takeaways 

• Sales of both high-end and mass-market perfumes are growing. The main driver of the fragrance boom is Gen Z: half of this demographic already wears scent every day and penetration is expected to grow.
• Scent trends are shifting away from floral and citrus towards woody and herbal; gender-neutral scents are also growing fast.
• Fragrance brands can achieve short-term gains using KOLs but this is unlikely to build long-term relationships with consumers.
• Smaller, niche brands have built a model that starts with online recommendations as the discovery channel (Xiaohongshu is an important platform here) and ends with purchases on e-commerce platforms like Tmall.

Sourced from Jing Daily