YOU ARE UNIQUE, WE, MAISON 21G ARE UNIQUE!

HOW THE MOST RECENT GENERATIONS INFLUENCE THE CURRENT PERFUMERY MARKET

With each passing generation, we have seen transitions; the naughty nineties, the fabulous fifties, the swinging sixties, all exemplifying how each decade has been defined, and recognised differently. We have now reached the generations of the Millennials and the younger kids on the block, Generation Z, both inclusive of those born from 1981 to 2012. As a young, yet culturally agile group, their mindset has changed the way the world has been observing different matters, different practices, whilst also throwing up new obstacles for all to collectively overcome. This parallel existence, is specifically what defines and impacts the public interests, and becomes the driving force behind the trends reshaping the sector of beauty and more specifically fragrance.

As an important staple in beauty, the art of perfume making, and perfumes themselves, have more or less been untouched, and unchanged for the 5,000 years of their existence. They have followed a roughly similar routine of production, with merely different inspirations and different tastes, ingredients for the changing years, and decades. Nevertheless, in an ever-changing market, where the task of enticing, and leaving a lasting impression on the consumers has become more difficult, brands are forced to think outside the box. With Generation Z consumers representing approximately 32% of the global population (Bloomberg 2019), just nudging ahead of Millennials, as an overall majority, they will be the puppeteers shaping the beauty sector for the next decade; they are our future! Therefore, the retail world has no choice but to engage and understand in exactly what they want.

So what do the Millennials + Generation Z want?

As a vastly conscious, morally alert, and highly all-clusive generation, they champion and root for the beauty of human diversity. Moreover, specifically due to the vast influence of social media, which does provide wider exposure on the evolving global conversations, the shift in the industry reveals, that there has been a rejection of gender-conforming identities, as well as a turn from ‘mainstream’, celebrity inspired brands (the big 2000’s trend), with a desire to instead see more niche brands. Consequently, more unisex, as well as personalised and ‘tailored to you’ perfumes, have been popularly emerging.

Furthermore, consumers today want to be more familiar with what they’re buying, having full disclosure of what has usually been left behind closed doors. The personal storytelling, has been increasingly inspiring for the current consumers, as in contrast to the previous generations, they don't just think “luxury” or “mass”, for instance. They emerge themselves further, seeking a product with a purpose, with good ethics, something sustainable, whilst coherently remaining fun and of high quality! Millennials and Gen Z are ambitious; they love to experiment with their creativity, often integrating even art into work. They largely admire more tactile and more in-the-moment, sensorial experiences, and products, that will have a vaster impact than just “smelling good”. They want something that will support their physical, mental and emotional well-being, as well as making a change to our planet, which subsequently has been shown with a push for natural, and sustainable fragrances.

How does Maison 21G adhere to the new generation?

Did you know, that we remember 35% of what we smell and only 5% of what we see? Justifiably, Maison 21G recognises the importance of scent, and thus lives through it.

A company that has been born into this generation, our goal is to translate and cater for the needs and desires of the consumers, whilst retaining their comfort and most importantly their valuable voices. Moving away from the industrial approach of perfume manufacturing, we instead focus on creation, intention, and simplicity for the customer, in creating the fragrance, through to how one would wear it. 

1) Firstly our approach. As a luxury parfum Maison, our main feature of distinction is that you can personalise, and customise your fragrance to specifically you.

Why should you wear the same scent than everybody else? Why follow a brand or someone’s opinion on how to smell every day? Perfume is like another thread to your DNA. You, personally should be empowered to choose the ingredients you want; their strength, their scent colour, their texture, all of which, compose the scented message you want to send to those around you. As a vastly growing trend, personalisation is an excellent way to express uniqueness and to boost ones confidence, which is now especially trending. For instance, 50% of the young fragrance consumers in the UK, stated that they want a fragrance that will make them feel confident, whilst a large majority of 70% said they wanted to wear a different fragrance than to those around them (Mintel). Fragrance is really a territory for one to explore differentiation, so why not start now?!

 The time has come to design the scent that really reflects who YOU are, because you can take our word for it, you are unique.

Starting from our “phigital” experience, the mix of digital and physical retail; it provides the consumers with an emotional, as well as an expert touch. The experience includes an online quiz, asking personal information, such as your skin tone, how you would best categories yourself, as well as your likes, dislikes; all providing a better understanding of you as an individual. With this information, our perfume expert will guide you to the ingredients that would be most complimentary, appealing, and best reflecting your unique personality. The control is fully yours. Emerge yourself in the process, smell the ingredients, choose the ingredients you most desire, and personally compose your perfume, your final mix. Voila, you have your bespoke fragrance; simple yet indulgent.

In addition, Millennials and Gen Z don't simply want to wear their mothers perfume; they want to be more adventurous and extravagant in their smell, something far more different that the previous generations could even imagine. Away from scents that purely smell like “flowers”, they turn to accords like the dark temptation of leather, or the bold, and irrationally impulsive, raw and leafy-green scent of Cannabis, or even the hypnotic spicy smell of Incense. Fortunately, we even have this mastered, as Maison 21G is truly proud to offer an array of the most enchanting, exotic and luxuriant ingredients, at the highest quality available in the industry, with 21% of perfume concentrate!

2) We believe in inclusivity.

As a very key aspect in life in our current generation, in the most recent years, the branch has finally extended into the fragrance market. According to industry figures, gender fluid fragrances have surged in popularity, with 2018 revealing 51% of all perfume launches to be gender neutral, a very large jump from only 17% in 2010. Now, big companies, such as the world’s largest fragrance firm, Coty, are closely monitoring the new, inclusive gender fluid fragrance trends, and Maison 21G is for sure no exception.

Our perfume house offers fragrances for all. Of course, we are here to recommend and navigate you through any scents you may desire; however, just by stepping into our perfume workshop, you are stripped of your gender. Instead of following the stereotypes of what a man and woman should and should not wear, we erase those boundaries and love to experiment with different ingredients for different sexes. For instance, take our all-time favourite, the Rose; although some may say its best suited for women, we absolutely love Rose mixed with Tobacco, which in fact creates the perfect unisex or male fragrance. Spicy, warm, with fruity and charming rose floralcy, it is an elixir of addictive seduction…

3) Sustainable, eco-friendly, and non-toxic? That's us!

Sustainability is deeply woven into the worldview of the Millennials and Generation Z, as they've been growing up on the front-line of a time when humanities impact on our planet has become increasingly visible. In accordance to the global analytics company, Nielsen, in 2018, a staggering 80% of Generation Z, strongly felt that companies should be helping the environment, whilst 68% of the US’s Gen Z consumers, had made recent eco-friendly purchases. Moreover, 82% of the Southeast Asian Generation Z’s, voiced that they prefer for their products to be from ethical brands. Maison 21G has heard you loud and clear. As one of the pillars of our perfume house, we strive to support and help our planet.

A previously large issue within the fragrance industry, the use of animal deriving ingredients, such as Musk or Civet, is now protected by different corporations, and are substituted with synthetics. As we are aware that this is the one area where the younger consumers do definitely prefer synthetic ingredients instead of natural ones, we have ensured to stress, that we use cruelty-free ingredients, with 31 out of the possible 33 also being vegan! In addition, our fragrances, are also clean, as we use no preservatives, or phthalates, nor do our formulas have traces of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) or CMR’s (carcinogenic substances, that are mutagenic or toxic to reproduction). Moreover, our ingredients are exclusively and sustainably sourced, from Laboratoire Monique Rémy (LMR), in Grasse, France; the in-house naturals facility of prominent perfume house, IFF. Sourcing at LMR, we know everything there is to know about our natural ingredients. From the soil, to the plant, to the extraction process, and finally to the oil we use in our compositions! Lastly, and surely not least, our packaging is re-usable, and free-from plastic or unnecessary boxing. We also offer sustainable perfume refills through the technology of La Source.