Designer fragrances reign supreme over the most glamorous category in the beauty industry. So why on earth aren’t more designers cashing in? Perhaps they’re too busy agonizing over the perfect shade of beige for next season’s collection.

Of course, there are those tiny little inconveniences like astronomical costs and a hyper-competitive landscape where everyone wants a piece of the perfumed pie. “This category is doing extremely well,” we’re told, “and designer fragrances are seen as ambitious and prestigious.” Right—because nothing says ambition like your sixth flanker of the year.

In the U.S. prestige market, fragrance is the fastest-growing category. Thanks in part to all those exciting price hikes and ever-stronger concentrations—because one drop is nice, but tripling the cost makes it truly elite.

There’s no right or wrong way to enter this market—unless, of course, you forget to offer a product that doesn’t smell like defeat straight out of the bottle. You’ve got to captivate the customer, seduce them. Enchant them, ideally.

Luxurious packaging, a genius brand story, and a juice that’s nothing short of divine—that’s the bare minimum. Then comes the hard part: building awareness and demand. Easy, right? Just a little marketing sorcery.

But first, let’s ask the big existential questions: is this an American fashion brand or a global one? What are its growth levers, and where do they come from? Because, spoiler alert: beauty will follow. It always does. Like a well-trained puppy.

And whatever you do, don’t make the fatal mistake: launching with buzz and believing the job is done. This isn’t fashion, where you drop a collection and move on. In beauty, the hustle never stops.

The top 10 fragrances hold nearly 40% of the marketa true olfactory oligarchy. You don’t see that in skincare or makeup. That says a lot about what’s driving this category, including Gen Z and Alpha’s growing obsession, mostly thanks to TikTok.

They’re also diving deep into perfume knowledge. It’s no longer just about knowing the notesthey want to understand composition, concentration… give it time and they’ll be asking for the IFRA certificate with every purchase.

But if you really want to win, just follow the divine example: either buy a Sephora, or build your own distribution empire. And while you’re at it, go ahead and distribute the competition too. Why stop at world domination when you can control sales across the board?