Givaudan drives fine fragrance growth through creativity

As part of its 2025-2030 roadmap unveiled in September, Givaudan aims to provide a qualitative answer to the strong demand for fragrances. If the niche perfume market is prolific and eager for olfactory boldness, major companies are not to be overlooked: they constantly renew their pillars, thus enriching exclusive collections. This buzzing activity is due in particular to the emotional, much more than purely functional nature of perfume.

A gateway to luxury and dreams, fragrances have been the most dynamic beauty category for a few years now. “Our responsibility as a perfume house is to offer consumers both quality and innovation, so that fragrances remain a desirable product,” explains Xavier Renard, Global Head of Fine Fragrance at Givaudan.

Staying ahead of global market shifts

After five years of strong growth with double-digit increases driven by the industry’s premiumisation, the perfume market is now showing signs of stabilisation. “In the U.S., for example, the prestige segment’s growth reached 6% in value, and 2 to 3% in volume in the first semester 2025”, says Renard.

But the mass market grew by 17% in the same period. While High Perfumery remains largely untouched by this trend, a partial shift from Prestige to mass market is emerging, driven by declining purchasing power.

The Prestige category is also in competition with brands from the Middle East, which are growing fast on the global level. They offer affordable creations crafted by high-profile perfumers. This model is attractive to today’s well-informed consumers, who seek quality products.

New frontiers

Over the past five years, the perfume landscape has expanded into new territories, particularly in Asia, as well as new distribution channels such as e-commerce and social media, reaching a new profile of consumers. “2024 saw a 22% rise in perfume purchases among the Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” notes Renard. This age group is very attractive for brands. “That is why the industry must educate young consumers by creating qualitative, memorable, diffusive, and persistent olfactory signatures,” highlights the executive.

The perfume market should gain 350 million new consumers in the next three years, so it is absolutely essential to understand their profiles, expectations, and origins (Asia, the US, Latin America, the Middle East...). This strategy is already underway, as could be seen at the event What Is Love in 2023, during which Givaudan deciphered Gen Z’s needs.

Perfumers play a leading role in creative strategy

In a rapidly-changing environment, Givaudan’s strategy consists in supporting the Prestige category, but also High Perfumery, Fine Beauty, Specialty Retail, and direct-selling, much popular in Latin America.

Today, Givaudan boasts between 22 and 25% of market shares in each segment. This balanced distribution shields the perfume house from geopolitical and economic fluctuations. “Whatever the segment is, our approach should be based on quality, consistency between the brand and the perfumer, and holding promises made to consumers. Alignment is key if we want creations to be as successful as Guidance by Amouage, created by Quentin Bisch. This is why we it is key offer our perfumers a creative bubble,” says Renard.

To offer a qualitative response to the market’s multiple expectations, Givaudan mainly relies on its Fine Fragrance team of perfumers. The global pool of 42 perfumers was recently joined by Fanny Bal, Margherita Carini and Alexis Grugeon. About 20 of them are based in Paris.

According to Givaudan, talent diversity, in particular in terms of expertise and olfactory signature, is the strength of a team, as it both provides brands with value and helps innovate and search for the unusual to prevent the phenomenon of erosion. The company aims to fuel this major asset with new recruits, as well as by cultivating the young talents trained at its perfumery school.

Other than its perfumers, “without whom nothing would be possible,” as Renard likes to point out, Givaudan’s creativity is obviously based on its palette of ingredients, the quality of its raw materials, but also new synthetic molecules compliant with regulations, which open up new olfactory possibilities. “These ingredients boost perfumers’ innovation capacity in a highly saturated market to create tomorrow’s great perfumes,” concludes the executive.