As expected, young digital-first shoppers accounted for over 40% of the e-commerce rush during the Rakhi weekend, say various platforms. But what is somewhat unexpected is the fact that these buyers largely bypassed traditional gifts in favour of lifestyle products like perfumes and accessories.
But here’s the dilemma for the perfume category as a whole. While demand in the Rs 5,500 crore market is swelling — driven largely by Gen Z consumers who swear by social media and global trends — the affordable premium or “masstige” category has become the favourite hunting ground for the experimental consumer who cannot afford luxury or niche fragrances just yet. Paradoxically, not many legacy brands are moving in to snatch up the opportunity it presents. And those that are in the ring are finding scaling difficult.
The premium or luxury segment (Rs15,000-plus) is the biggest chunk of the market today, accounting for 58% of the structured market value. The budget-friendly replication or basic perfumes (typically priced between ₹600 and ₹1,000) heavily dominate total category volume and reach through widespread availability.
Note that the masstige (mass-premium) segment is the fastest-growing by volume, acting as a gateway for middle-class consumers upgrading from ₹200 body sprays to ₹1,500 brands. But the gap between cheap perfumes that fail in the local climate and expensive global luxury imports costing over ₹15,000 shows no signs of closing.
A missed opportunity?
Experts reckon the central challenge for the perfume category as a whole is that it is difficult to scale. For one, there’s what experts describe as the “signature scent” trap. Once a customer finds their favourite scent, it is incredibly difficult to convince them to switch to a new release.
Senior partner, The Knowledge Company Ankur Bisen says for masstige brands, creating a space within the larger scheme of things comes with its own challenges. For instance, brands attempting to move consumers from the value segment into masstige often find that they prefer to leapfrog to long-established premium labels instead. A proprietary fragrance, according to Bisen, is not optional but essential. But developing one demands years of R&D, experimentation, and brand-building, making the brand growth unusually slow.
Founders with generational ties to perfumery and established lifestyle brands that already command a premium perception can still scale up as they bypass some of the hurdles that confront first-generation founders.
EY-Parthenon’s Ashish Kakwani, partner, consumer product & retail, says the masstige segment also requires a strong offline presence because “perfumes” by definition are sensory products. Legacy lifestyle brands can treat perfumes as extensions of their broader identity, selling them through existing retail networks. “Our surveys show only 12-15% of consumers stick with the same entry-level fragrance for three years. Consumers experiment continuously and upgrade to luxury status symbols straightaway,” he says. This high customer churn makes scaling difficult for mid-priced brands.
Together, these issues make one thing clear: Perfumery is is not really amenable to conventional rulebook of scaling.
Vidushi Vijayvergiya, CEO, Isak Fragrances, says Indian customers prioritise price and prestige before the fragrance itself comes into play. “Individual choice and individuality — where I want to wear a citrus fragrance while my mother wants to wear something like a Chanel No. 5 — will take some time to emerge.”
She says the category will follow the trajectory of the beauty industry, where many local — but not exactly inexpensive — brands have seen sudden growth and recognition as consumers became more aware of ingredients and formulations.