Fragrance is the smallest category in the beauty sector but is growing fast. McKinsey, a consultancy, reckons that global sales will reach $106bn by 2028, an increase of $30bn from 2023. Fragrance's growth is projected to outpace that of makeup, haircare and skincare.
The industry is dominated by four firms—America's International Flavours and Fragrances (IFF), Germany's Symrise and Switzerland's dsm-firmenich and Givaudan—which control some two-thirds of the market for turning raw materials into flavours and fragrances for brands. Their haute perfumiers develop formulas for luxury lines; their functional perfumiers create scents for laundry detergent; their flavourists work with drinks companies. Their chemists also produce synthetic ingredients in-house, and they guard their formulas with a culture of secrecy.
Some 15 years ago Jean-Claude Ellena, then the perfumer for Hermès and a celebrated "nose", bemoaned that this concentration had resulted in bland uniformity: "Forms have become similar, and the unique is rare." He felt that artisanal products were the key to perfumes' future as "objects of desire".
In 2023 EU authorities raided the offices of the four dominant firms. Swiss and British antitrust authorities have also been investigating. Allegations include price-fixing and divvying up customers. In February 2025 an American judge declined to toss out a class action against the companies brought by consumers and smaller businesses over alleged anti-competitive behaviour. America's Justice Department has been considering a case of its own. Unilever, a consumer-goods giant, is suing dsm-firmenich, Givaudan and Symrise, and has said it will invest €100m ($116m) to build its own fragrance capabilities. Britain dropped Symrise from its probe in June 2025.
Perfume was the fastest-growing beauty category in America in 2024, according to Circana, a research firm, which found that more than 80% of Gen Z wear it at least three times a week.
Social media, particularly TikTok, are driving a boom in fragrance sales. In 2023 two-thirds of Gen-Z Americans told Circana that TikTok had influenced their fragrance-buying habits more than any other platform. Bottles that go viral on #PerfumeTok are quickly snatched off shelves. Fragrance aficionados point followers not to luxury offerings from major fashion houses but to mid-range perfumes that "smell expensive" or "niche" scents made by small, independent brands.
More than half of teenage boys in America surveyed by Piper Sandler, a bank, said they spritzed themselves every day—an increase of ten percentage points in two years. On average boys spent $110 annually on fragrance in 2024, up from $75 the year before, compared with $93 spent by girls. This is due to "smellmaxxing", a social-media trend whereby boys trade tips on how to smell fresh, seductive or musky.
Consumers increasingly assemble "scent wardrobes" rather than pledging fealty to one signature fragrance. Subscription services delivering monthly samples are taking off. Many perfume enthusiasts use Fragrantica, a website launched in 2007, to rate and discuss perfumes.
Menu, n.: A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of.