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ET CONTRIBUTORS | Updated: Dec 24, 2017, 10.53 AM IST

Despite India's aromatic heritage, developing a fragrance for retail is a complex, long-drawn and expensive process,

requiring an expert creative director at the helm

How Indian perfume makers are stepping upto compete with global fragrance giants

By Aekta Kapoor

How does one capture the scent of India? Is it just the heady note of jasmine or rose, orcould it be a whiff of masala tea and the spicy aroma of black pepper? What does a citysmell like, and how different is the smell of Delhi from Goa? How does one capturememories in a bottle? These are the preoccupations of a new breed of Indian perfumers,who are breaking stereotypes and trying to raise the bar for Indian fragrances. They are inuncharted territory.

On the one hand, India has been a land of olfactory indulgence — this is where ittar,incense and aromatherapy have existed for thousands of years, and personal perfumesare part of ancient royal lor e. On the other hand, there is virtually no modern Indian perfume that could stand on itsown against the sophisticated, marketing-driven, branded perfume industry in the West,notably Europe

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notably Europe.

A few years ago, some Indians decided to do something about it.

One of them is Manan Gandhi. Brought up in a family that supplied to perfumeries in theWest, he had picked up the intricacies of the industry while growing up. In 2012, hefounded a startup in Grasse — the heart of French perfumery — to supply fragranceingredients to perfume houses across Europe. But he wanted to do more. "I wanted tobuild a brand that pays homage to the beautiful Indian naturals that have been used inperfumery for generations now, but are not quite given their due," says the 30-year-old."There was no homegrown, contemporary, luxury fragrance range that would appeal to themillennial consumer."

In 2016, he launched Bombay Perfumery, which offers a range of eight scents priced at Rs3,900-4,100 (100 ml, eau de parfum), with names such as Calicut or Madurai Talkies.Made in Grasse by a team of international perfumers — Jacques Chabert (the creator ofGuerlain's Samsara and Chanel's Crystal), Alexandra Carlin (who created perfumes forGivenchy, Victoria's Secret and Ferrari, among others) and Pierre Kurzunne — theperfumes are bottled in India and target the Indian millennial by using local references inboth product development and branding.

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The label retails from 15 multibrand boutiques in India besides its own online store.Gandhi, who lives in Mumbai and Grasse, is practical about the footprint of Indian-madefragrances in the country, which he says is about a tenth of the overall Indian luxurybusiness. A 2016 Euromonitor International survey pegged the Indian fragrance market atRs 1,800 crore, which is expected to touch Rs 3,300 crore by 2020. "But this space isdominated by deodorant brands or the cheaper, mass-market products," says Gandhi, whois cautiously optimistic about the potential for niche fragrance brands such as his tocompete with established global players in metros and urban centres.

So far, those who could afford to buy luxury perfumes looked toward large multinationalconglomerates like the house of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), which ownsChristian Dior, Kenzo and Guerlain, among others; or L'Oreal, which owns Giorgio Armani,Lancome, Saint Laurent and so on; or the Shiseido Group, which makes perfume underlicence for fashion brands Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab and Issey Miyake. About 40 ofthese top-end perfumes are distributed in India through Baccarose, which is the big daddyin terms of control and direction of perfume retail and advertising in India.

Considering this landscape, perception and scale are two of the biggest challenges a newperfume house faces in India. Being an independent perfumery also means developingstrong persuasion skills to convince retail outlets to stand up to market leaders and shareshelf space. Limited marketing budgets are a further obstacle, as extra efforts are neededto find the right consumer and make them aware of the product.

Nose for New Educating the consumer is the most difficult aspect of perfume retail in India, if you askPulkit Malhotra. The 30-year-old founder of the Mocemsa range of perfumes has foundthat once a buyer tries his couture fragrances, he or she has no hesitation in coming backfor more, "but getting them to try something new in the first place is where the real worklies".

Born in Delhi, Malhotra headed to the exclusive Grasse Institute of Perfumery to studyperfume-making under the master perfumer Max Gavarry. Belonging to a business familythat supplies industrial fragrances to pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, Malhotraset up a 4,000 sq yard manufacturing facility in Barcelona, Spain, where 80 employeesmake fine fragrances on a high-tech robotic plant.

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It took Malhotra over two years to develop a range of 12 perfumes with 25% perfume oil.These vertical perfumes have a deep consistency of top and bottom notes so thefragrance lasts longer on the body. Priced at Rs 2,500-5,000 for 100 ml eau de parfum,they are bottled in Italy, assembled in China and imported to India after meetinginternational safety norms, including a certification from the International FragranceAssociation, Geneva.

Mocemsa, launched in August 2017, retails from various multibrand stores in Delhi andBengaluru, besides online. Malhotra — who designs all the perfumes himself — wakes upat 5 am to work because that's when the sense of smell is at its sharpest. He explains thatlocal conditions have a strong role to play in fragrance formulation. "We customise ourformulations keeping the Indian climate in mind. For instance, we source geranium oil fromEgypt instead of China because it reacts better to Indian weather," he says.

Despite India's aromatic heritage, developing a fragrance for retail is a complex, long-drawn and expensive process, requiring an expert creative director at the helm to constructa scent that stands the test of time. Besides Malhotra, another qualified Indian perfumerwho designs his own range of perfumes is Rajiv Sheth. Having studied at ISIPCAVersailles, renowned for its postgraduate studies in perfume formulation, Sheth launchedAll Good Scents in 2014. Made in Grasse, his range of 25 perfumes and colognes —affordably priced at Rs 299-2,000 — have created a niche for themselves, and do notcompete with luxury players.

Challenging Perception The luxury fragrance category in India is still sparsely populated — for good reason.

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"Making quality perfumes is a thorough study of fine craftsmanship," says Mira Kulkarni,founder of Forest Essentials. Her 17-year-old brand that gives "ayurvedic formulations aluxurious twist", and which now retails from over 50 stores across 17 Indian cities, lastmonth launched its first range of three single-flower pure perfumes using nargis fromKashmir, desi gulab from Kannauj and jasmine from Madurai. "These are all reminiscent ofIndian culture and refinement," says the Delhi-based Kulkarni.

The Parfum Intense range, priced at Rs 4,200 (50 ml), is made with pure grain alcohol in aherb-enriched preparation, fermented according to processes mentioned in ayurvedic textsand bottled at their factory in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The brand also takes inputs fromEstee Lauder, which holds a stake in the company and is a world leader in luxuryfragrances.

Kulkarni rues the misconception that Indian beauty products are not of high quality andsays it needs to be challenged and altered. "Many beauty treatments such asaromatherapy facials, body scrubs and perfumes that are available in the West are allbased on centuries-old Indian traditions. If Indian companies keep consistently highstandards, that perception will inevitably change," she says.

Memory of Smell An Indian in Paris, Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan is out to change perceptions, in her own way.The perfumer, who holds a PhD in architecture, makes fragrances based on memories andthe locations she travels to. In 2008, after studying at ISIPCA Versailles, she launched TheMemory Pod Project, a compilation of smells based on people's memories. In 2014, shelaunched her label The Perfume Library to make fragrances a performance art, a way totell stories.

Made in France, her perfumes contain the essence of all the cities she has been to. "Forexample, the collection in Goa is reflective of its smells and greenery. New Delhi has awider collection that is reflective of the diversity of the city," she explains. For her, everyperfume is like a poem, and she enjoys linking a scent to a location or a context, such asmarijuana-inflected Bhang Bang, or the jasmine-infused Aphtoori Absolute, named after aLadakhi proverb.

Last month, the 40-year-old released a new perfume, Again, in collaboration with fashiondesigner Gaurav Gupta, which has the base note smell of the forest and earth and ispriced at Rs 10,400 (50 ml, eau de parfum). Her challenge, she says, is "subtly expressingmy art within the realm of what is a very loud contemporary culture". Her perfumes retailfrom Good Earth stores across India and from select stores in Goa and Kolkata.

Bespoke Perfume Another new brand that is trying to express a subtle art — and even goes a step further tooffer a bespoke experience — is 3003 BC. Launched this August, it is a collaborationbetween cousins Anil Panda and Sushant Panda, along with UK perfumers John Stephenand Sarah McCartney. Anil, a former banker from Barclays, was drawn to perfumery afterlife in London exposed him to the mature perfume industry there. The 39-year-old roped inhis Delhi-based cousin Sushant, a former CEO of the advertising firm Havas, to handlebusiness and marketing. "The idea was to cater to the larger worldwide luxury trend ofpersonalised experiences," says Sushant.

The company produces bespoke scents based on the customer's requirements, priced atRs 5 lakh onwards. The perfumes are designed in the UK and made in France after aseries of intense interviews with the client. This is followed by many rounds of trial andtesting. "Bespoke perfumes are not customised from a library of scents," Sushant, 49,explains, "but are created drop by drop." The process takes anywhere from 12 to 14weeks, and the price is based on the ingredients; once the composition is finalised, repeatorders cost less and take less time to produce. The aesthetics are important too: eachbottle is hand-blown individually.

Sunday ET Manan Gandhi International Fragrance Association

Indian Perfume Indian Millennial Indian Luxury Business Indian Fragrances

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The brand works purely through referral and is not considering retail. "Geography isirrelevant to the luxury consumer. They don't go to the service provider; they expect theservice to come to them," says Sushant of his marketing approach, which is primarilybased on one to-one communication. The new firm has already been approached by otherbrands in the luxury space to create bespoke experiences for their clients, such as thescent of the destination city visited by travellers on a luxury cruise. "Our competition is notany other perfume brand, but a work of art or a limited-edition wine," he adds. "Indianconsumers are ready for this. The time is right."

(The writer is founder-editor of eShe magazine)

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