Essential Parfums, one of the world’s fastest-growing perfume brands launched by Frenchwoman Géraldine Archambault in 2018, has entered India in a tie-up with fragrance and beauty retailer-cum-distributor Baccarose.Essential Parfums, which has surpassed the one-million-bottle mark in six years and is known as a sustainable brand globally, competing with the likes of Jimmy Choo and Tiffany’s perfumes, will be available at Rs 9,100 for a 100-ml bottle, Archambault told FE on Friday.
The “niche affordable” segment or bridge-to-luxury market, she says, is evolving in India, with consumers, especially in metro markets, lapping up brands in this space. “It was the right time to come to India. There are consumers for niche affordable brands, basically products that are aspirational and high-end. At the same time, the price is not unaffordable,” she said.
According to a report by Bain and Company, India’s luxury goods market, which includes personal luxury goods, jewellery, home décor and cars, is now worth $17 billion, and is expected to touch $90 billion by 2030. This will be led by higher disposable incomes and growing aspiration among consumers for high-end brands, especially in urban markets. The bridge-to-luxury segment is expected to be among the fastest-growing within the overall luxury market in India, says Bain & Company, as luxury brands look to maintain their allure without a prohibitive price tag.
Perfumes from Jimmy Choo and Tiffany’s, for instance, are available in the Rs 8,500-9,500 price bracket for a 100-ml bottle, implying Essential Parfums is priced on par with rivals, experts said. Archambault says she is hoping to play up the clean and ethical credentials of her brand in marketing communication that will be launched within stores and online shortly in India. This includes no use of plastic bottles or chemical glues in cardboard packaging of the brand.
Use of colour concentrates that are natural and ingredients that are sustainable as well as no animal testing or use of child labour.Baccarose proposes to launch Essential Parfums at its Parcos stores in Mumbai and Bengaluru in the first phase; Delhi and Kolkata will happen in the second phase. It will be taken to more metro cities and will also be launched at multi-brand outlets and online in the future.