Turning his Back on his Heritage and Blazing his Own Trail: Kilian Hennessy, Founder, Kilian Paris
It would have been so easy for Kilian Hennessy to go into the family business. I mean, living in a castle in France and overseeing the production of one of the world’s finest Cognacs is not exactly what most would consider a hardship. But that’s not the path he chose. People often ask him why. The frequency of the question may be part of the answer.
Perhaps inspired by the powerful olfactory memories from his childhood—the scents of the Hennessy family cellars, the aroma of his grandfather’s cologne and pipe tobacco—he decided to write his college thesis on “The Semantics of Scent.” While doing his research—smelling essential oils, flowers and spices—he had a love-at-first-sight (or first smell) moment and was hooked. His future came into focus. “I knew immediately that perfume was going to become my world.”
In our conversation for my WBMB podcast, I learned that Kilian’s approach is very personal and atypical of an industry where you need to launch in thousands of doors to make a go of it. While he’s a savvy businessman, it’s the product, not the profit, that leads the way for him. He spoke of how he creates each scent, using words like “overdose” and “juice” to describe how he never skimps on ingredients due to concerns about cost. It’s a different approach than conventional perfume houses where every drop is casted out. He just keeps adding until it smells right.
Listen to the episode to learn why Kilian compares his role in creating perfumes to that of a film director…how he carefully listens to his customers for feedback on his one-size-does-NOT-fit-all scents…why he has no interest in competing with the big guys…and why he feels more connected to his customers on Instagram than he did during pre-Covid personal appearances. These are all stories worth hearing. I hope you’ll put this episode on your must-listen list.
Listen to the Where Brains Meet Beauty? podcast Episode #182 featuring Kilian Hennessy at WhereBrainsMeetBeauty.com, iTunes and Google Play.