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  • Fragrance Focus | How Fragrance Became a Burgeoning Subculture

Fragrance Focus | How Fragrance Became a Burgeoning Subculture

Plus, Dossier Opens First Flagship Boutique in New York

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CommerceNext Recap 🔈

What CommerceNext Taught Us About Brand

CommerceNext called it out: over-investing in conversion-led tactics is starving brands of future growth.

As Dom Devlin explained:

“Last-click is easy for CFOs to understand — but it’s a strategic dead end.”

Fospha’s Glow reveals how brands like Sweaty Betty link early signals (branded search, engaged visits) to revenue down the line — giving marketers the ammo they need to defend brand budgets.

Download The Glow Report and discover how top brands are measuring their brand marketing in 2025

Sector Spotlight 🎥

FRAGRANCE SUBCULTURE GROWTH

Luca Mornet, a 23-year-old content creator and fragrance collector in New York.
Ashley Markle/WWD

The fragrance community has evolved post-pandemic, growing into a vibrant subculture centered around social media, attracting a new generation of enthusiasts. Marketers should note the strategic engagement potential within this niche through digital platforms and community-centric events. This boom in accessible fragrance dialogue, fueled by platforms like TikTok, presents significant opportunities for brands aiming to leverage sensory storytelling in their strategies.

BRAND BUILDING

Jo Malone London is leveraging its British heritage to captivate consumers with a seaside-themed pop-up event in London, aiming to accentuate its new Raspberry Ripple fragrance. Running from July 3 to 6, the pop-up offers sensory engagement, featuring beach huts, DIY activities, and the new scent inspired by classic English ice cream flavors.

This initiative underscores a strategic blend of nostalgia and innovation, aligning with Jo Malone's history of nostalgic product launches, presenting marketers with insights into combining cultural elements and brand identity for effective consumer engagement.

PERFUME INSPIRATIONS

Perfume creation often originates from personal experiences, turning spontaneous moments into scents. Dominique Ropion's Turkish rose oil experience inspired a bold floral fragrance; Mona Kattan's personal healing journey led to a scent celebrating feminine energy.

These insights demonstrate how personal stories strategically shape perfume narratives, revealing new dimensions for marketers to explore consumer engagement through storytelling in branding.

BUSINESS EXPANSION

Dossier's new flagship boutique in NoLita, NYC, serves as a strategic hub for engaging customers with in-person scent experiences across their three core lines: Dossier Originals, Impressions, and Home. This development acknowledges the growing importance of immersive brand experiences and offers marketing professionals insights into integrating physical and digital retail spaces.

Innovative testing technologies, like Paperscent, highlight a data-driven approach to customer engagement, offering actionable strategies for tracking in-store interactions and optimizing the customer journey in retail environments.

Optimization Hub 📈

DTC MARKETING EVOLUTION

DTC marketing in 2025 focuses on optimizing data and automation to enhance ROI and adapt to increasing costs and tech complexities. Brands invest in sophisticated tech stacks and prioritize first-party data to refine digital and in-store strategies, driving conversions through channels like social media and email.

VIRAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Marketers increasingly leverage TikTok's viral trends to boost sales, utilizing tools like the TikTok Creative Center and Creator Academy. The platform's participatory culture and algorithm favor creative and authentic brand engagement, enabling even small brands to achieve rapid growth by navigating trending content efficiently. Understanding these dynamics is essential for marketers seeking impactful digital presence and engagement.

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division