Beyond vanilla: Demand for gourmand scents in SEA pushing fragrance makers to get creative with fragrances

At the start of the year, CosmeticsDesign-Europe reported that searches for gourmand fragrances​ rose 58.3% year-on-year, according to trend tracker Spate.

With blockbuster launches like Burberry Goddess and Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid – both vanilla forward scents – it seems like the trend is set to endure.

Koyal Shankar Harjani, founding and marketing director of Indonesian-based fragrance brand Mykonos, believes this trend will endure for the foreseeable future.

“I think the gourmand trend will stay but will probably shift from something thick and creamy into something like a sparkling lychee cocktail. It will get more diverse,” she told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.

Mykonos is known for its novel gourmand scents such as Matcha Latte, Caramel Fudge Cookies, and Berry Caramel Pancakes.

The brand is set to launch Pandan Sticky Rice, inspired by the pandan leaf that is ubiquitous in the region.

“It represents the flavours of Indonesia and it’s supposed to feel warm and nostalgic,” explained Harjani.

This trend is trickling across the region, observed Nitya Sabhnani, co-Founder of Aurel, a Singapore-based alternative fragrance distributor which carries Mykonos.

“Honestly, we’re still very surprised by how open people are to trying gourmand fragrances. A big factor of why they are so open to trying Mykonos’ gourmand fragrances especially is their price point. It retails at 50mls for SGD25 and MYR78. This is very approachable and combined with the novelty of a gourmand perfume, it is definitely here to stay.”

Sabhnani also sees the consumer desire for creativity and novelty fragrance.

“Mykonos has a lot of interesting perfumes that appeal to people, such as Baby Love, which smells like Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder. People want unique and interesting fragrances, and not just gourmands. There’s definitely a general trend of creative perfumery.”

A sweet collaboration

In August, Aurel and Mykonos collaborated on a pair of cafe-themed fragrances, Pink Drops and Café Drops.

According to the press statement, the fragrances are “​an ode to the cosy sugary scents of a homely cafe, from the fruity indulgence of strawberries to the nostalgic hug of warm milky vanilla​”.​

Both perfumes will be exclusively available with Aurel for the first month after launch.

“We started hearing about Mykonos from TikTok. They had a cookie perfume and a matcha perfume – things we’ve never heard of before. And they are also from Indonesia which is rare as many alternative perfume houses sit in places like Dubai or Turkey even,” said Sabhnani.

“The Indonesian market, Indonesian consumers are actually ahead of Singaporean and Malaysian consumers. They were talking about gourmand fragrances way before and Mykonos was a part of that boom. With what we saw, we knew we wanted to work with Mykonos.”

On the other hand, Mykonos saw this collaboration as an opportunity to expand its business beyond Indonesia.

“Mykonos has been looking for scope of growth outside of Indonesia. In this day and age, if you’re not well-known enough, it’s tough for a distributor to take on your brand. It’s not easy. When Aurel contacted us, it was an exciting opportunity to expand into Singapore, which is the centre of the SEA market,” said Harjani.