Since Maison de L'Asie launched in 2021, it has gained interest from international players in markets such the North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
“When we first launched, the focus was really about industry validation because there’s aren’t many Asian perfume houses… We were picked up by LUXASIA for escentials ion and Paragon and that was enough for me because my goal was always to expand overseas,” said founder Elizabeth Liau.
Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia, she highlighted some of the brand’s milestones, such as its debut at ESXENCE 2023, an international exhibition dedicated to artisanal and niche perfumery held annually in Milan, Italy.
“I wanted to see where the brand sits and if it was suitable for the European or Middle Eastern markets. And my gut was right that it resonated with all those markets,” said Liau.
Since the exhibition in Milan, the brand has been working on its international footprint. It is expected to be available in several markets spanning Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East.
“I personally think that we are right on the cusp of the next stage of the brand. Let’s just say we are on the radar of quite a few people. This is when people will start looking at Maison de L'Asie as a global brand,” said Liau.
Retail strategies
The brand’s approach was to launch only with the top high-end retailers with primarily an online-first strategy, said Liau.
“In North America, we are launching with Neiman Marcus online. I absolutely think for a young brand, it’s a better approach to go online compared to sustaining an in-store approach. Now in the business you don’t just have in-store for discovery. You have subscription-based models like Scentbird who is one of our big partners. When we started with them, we started to gain a lot more traction and brand awareness in the US market.”
The brand is also cultivating an offline footprint with stores such as Ministry of Scent in San Francisco.
In addition, the brand expanded into travel retail, where it is available through Singapore Airlines.
“I’ve always saw the brand in travel retail. Just look at the different chapters focusing on different countries. It was always positioned that way as I felt that souvenirs from the region are not that good,” said Liau.
A new chapter
Maison de L'Asie’s fragrances tell the stories of Asia through various chapters.
The first chapter was dedicated to Singapore, and it was subsequently followed with two more collections for Indonesia and Thailand respectively.
It is set to launch its fourth chapter, which was inspired by India.
“It is a very strong collection and will be a very different take on India as people see it,” said Liau.
The brand will also expand its range of fragrance with a master perfumer series.
“We are working with people who have done a lot of respectable work in the industry,” said Liau.
Additionally, Liau revealed that the brand would be expanding its collection of lifestyle products.
“I am very excited about that one because it’s going to be very different from what you’ve seen in the market. For me, this has always been more than a perfume house. This is about conceptualising what I feel is a global Asian brand. A lot of thought has gone and is going into the brand DNA. I want the lifestyle collection to be a very confident statement of beautiful products from this part of the world.”