Sweet Smells of Success

Knowing beforehand what will be hot next is the essence of retail success. But sometimes the line between discovering and creating trends can be thin. For years, Pantone and other forecasters have advised manufacturers on what color palettes to use, and told savvy retailers what to watch for in upcoming debuts. But what about the other senses? With personal care such an important gift market segment, how do retailers know what to sniff for? Enter the fragrance house. Little seen by the retailer, let alone the consumer, fragrance houses make the scents that infuse everything from candles to lotions to shampoos. And today's fragrance houses are highly proactive, researching consumer trends with the same fervor that they hunt down exotic flowers. Keeping an eye on what's coming from the fragrance houses gives a retailer an early glimpse of next year's sweetest scents. So retailers, here's what the fragrance houses tell G&DA to be on the lookout for:

Natural: Sparking crisp, nature-inspired scents are in. In watery bases such as shampoo and body wash, look for apple, pear, and melon infusions. In creamier products, look for green tea, bamboo, cucumber, green herbs, and green florals on top of warmer, creamier notes like sandalwood, amber, vanilla, and musk.

Debra Van Dyk, director of fragrance development, functional fragrances for New York-based International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), says that this movement is driven by consumer skin care trends toward rejuvenation and rebirth. “In an aging population with a younger mindset, women want scents that evoke renewal. The heavier moisturizing scents aren't appropriate anymore.”

Jeb Gleason-Allured, editor of Perfumer & Flavorist magazine, Carol Stream, Illinois, takes the trend to the next step: “All consumers are now obsessed with natural and organic scents. You're seeing that in candles, detergents, and anything that requires a fragrance.”

Healthy: With the health and well-being trends becoming huge in society as a whole, “functional fragrance is huge,” says Gleason-Allured. “The trend toward 'cosmeceuticals' influences fragrance. When consumers hear about a substance with antioxidant or other properties, all of a sudden everyone wants it.”

The latest craze is grapefruit oil, which the Smell and Taste Institute in Chicago recently found made women seem an average of six years younger. And that finding couldn't come at a better time. “Overall, there's a tremendous focus and growth in the anti-aging marketing,” reports Paula Duva, vice president of marketing for personal products at Mount Olive, New Jersey-based Quest International.

But buyer beware: despite numerous anecdotal claims, the cosmeceutical benefits of many of these substances have not yet been proven.

Rustic: The fragrance equivalent of the emotional appeal of wabi sabi, handmade products, and weathered wood, this is what Quest International's “fragrance zeitgeist” calls Rustic Chic — the emotional counterpart of the natural trend. Focused on the authentic rather than the ideal, these scents are all about realistic recreation, vegetable, earth, and wheat inspirations.

Simple: Rustic meets Zen. According to Quest International, singular notes are easy to understand: they express clarity and the urge to eliminate clutter and seek balance, simple pleasures, and childhood memories. New technologies also fuel this trend, making it easier to use single notes in water bases, like most personal washes.

Masculine: “Men are demanding to be heard,” says Van Dyke, citing the overload of fruit and feminine notes in the market. As a result, there are fewer unisex scents being offered, with more specifically geared for men. Today's man wants natural notes with extreme freshness: mint, citrus, and green, as well as the traditional woody, mossy, and lavender scents.

Tasteful: According to Jeb Gleason-Allured, “Anything edible is very sought-after for fragrances. Chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon. It's like an indulgence.” Van Dyk sees the trend moving from fruit toward sweeter treats such as angel food cake, lemon meringue, sugar wafer, raspberry grenada, or crème brulee, as well as comfort foods like fudge and buttercream frosting. And it might not stop there. “I wouldn't be surprised to see sugared flowers in the future,” says Van Dyk.

Infused: Fusions of distinct influences make for intriguing hybrids, unusual combinations, ingredients never used in perfumes, and new ways of making them. More and more, fragrance houses are replicating unfamiliar fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices in unusual combinations — and consumers are eating them up, thanks to the influence of emerging cultures.

Touching: The average person may not think of scent as tactile, but IFF research shows that certain scents evoke that response, and they're becoming more popular, especially when added to fresh fragrances to create a more complex, less functional aroma. Varieties named “verbena” may still contain nutmeg, cinnamon, or cardamom to warm them up. Contrasting blends of freshness and warmth in new and surprising ways is the key, says Van Dyk. Romantic flowers, like rose or jasmine, are also making a comeback.

Luxe: The opposite of rustic and simple, yet co-existing with them, luxury is as big in fragrance as it is in furnishings and fashion. Rich and floral, Quest International calls it “a return to the heady glamour of an opulent era.”

The more you know about what's on the fragrance horizon, the better you'll be at selecting the personal care products that you know will resonate with your customers.