International fragrance industry leaders gather in Guangzhou Pazhou, "fragrance + smart fitness" may become a new track

On March 9th, FAW2024 Inspiration Fragrance Art Week, the first international event in the fragrance field in China, opened at the Inspiration Innovation Exhibition Hall in Pazhou, Guangzhou. According to Yangcheng Evening News, the 2024 Smart Fitness Expo will also be held during the exhibition. The organizers hope that the fashionable lifestyle experience of "fragrance art + smart fitness" can find new tracks and opportunities for both industries.

The event is organized by Inspiration International Exhibition (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., and co-organized by Fragrance Bazaar (Guangzhou) Network Technology Co., Ltd., the French International Perfume Association, and the Hong Kong Perfume Industry Association. It is introduced as China's first international industry event focusing on perfumes, home fragrances, fragrant toiletries, car fragrances, commercial fragrances, aromatherapy, and Chinese incense, aiming to create an innovative exploration platform for the fragrance industry, encouraging brand innovation, new product development, market expansion, and exploration of new business models and cooperation methods.

"Through exhibitions, themed forums, professional salons, and in-depth experiential activities, we inject new vitality and impetus into the Chinese fragrance industry." The FAW2024 Inspiration Fragrance Art Week Organizing Committee stated that the exhibition aims to promote the rise of new players, the development of new channels, and lead new trends in fragrance development, while promoting communication and cooperation among various links in the fragrance industry chain, bringing consumers richer and more diverse fragrance products and experiences.

Under "alternative consumption," domestic brands welcome development opportunities

Exhibiting industry insiders introduced that the perfume market has become a "red ocean." High-end perfumes are a "must-contend-for" area and are becoming a strategic keyword for beauty and luxury groups in 2024. Analysis shows that a "substitution" boom is currently appearing in the consumer market. In the perfume market dominated by giants, Chinese domestic brands are ushering in their best development opportunities.

Industry analysis indicates that this is primarily related to the consumer base. When a large young consumer group urgently needs personalized expression and emotional experience, perfumes, which can transcend time and space and surpass the individual, have become the best medium. Secondly, the gradual development and improvement of China's perfume and fragrance industry chain continues to give birth to new players.

Data shows that the compound annual growth rate of the Chinese fragrance market from 2021 to 2025 is expected to reach 21.8%, and the market size is expected to exceed US\$4 billion in 2025. The promising fragrance market provides development opportunities for domestic brands. The booming consumer market is attracting more and more market entities into the fragrance sector, especially since this year, new fragrance brands in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and other places have emerged rapidly.

A relevant person in charge of Oushikou, a local Guangzhou enterprise, introduced that they are very optimistic about the future development prospects. It is revealed that after more than 20 years of accumulation, Oushikou has hundreds of patents for fragrance, skin care, raw materials, and formulas. Currently, it has reached in-depth cooperation with more than 120 international perfumers and can provide personalized fragrance solutions for brand customers, actively seizing new opportunities in the sector.

However, some industry insiders also introduced that although the development trend of the fragrance sector is positive, the problems of product homogeneity and uneven quality in domestic fragrance products are becoming increasingly prominent. Industry insiders believe that the biggest problem currently facing China's fragrance industry is "emphasizing marketing and neglecting products." Some brands are keen on creating "爆款" (爆款 - explosive products), but the reputation of products gradually declines after a rapid surge in popularity. In addition, some fragrance brands lack motivation in fragrance development, choosing to follow the popular fragrances on the market, which is an important reason for product homogeneity.

Industry focuses on whether "overlap" can generate more possibilities

The "2023 Perfume and Fragrance Consumer Insight White Paper" released on-site points out that Chinese perfume consumers have a higher degree of involvement in perfumes, their fragrance needs are more subdivided, and customized fragrances have become a consumer trend.

How to find new customers? Achieving an "additive" effect in the industry is a hot topic among attendees.

During the Inspiration Fragrance Art Week, the 2024 Smart Fitness Expo was creatively integrated, resulting in some interesting cross-border cooperation attempts between fragrance art and smart fitness. Attendees introduced that they will strive to explore new technologies and products in innovative fields to help users achieve their vision of fitness and pursuing a refined life, and provide professional solutions.

Staff from many companies on-site stated that based on the current development trends of the fitness and beauty, healthy living, and beauty markets, they are actively exchanging opinions with exhibitors, expanding business opportunities, and jointly seizing new opportunities in the "beautiful economy".

Can the two industries work together to make good use of the opportunities of the intelligent era? What kind of sparks will "personalized fitness guidance" and "smart beauty" collide with? There was a lot of discussion on-site, and both sides conducted close exchanges on the latest technologies and services in the industry.

Yu Haitao, a fragrance industry insider, said that the team can currently conduct in-depth fragrance development and debugging for customized commissions, maximizing the satisfaction of fragrance burst, lasting time, and layering needs. They will also provide various fragrance technology patents and planning services to customers to meet the increasingly subdivided fragrance needs of end consumers.

It is understood that from now until the 12th, in order to better promote the development of the fragrance industry and expand more cooperation channels, relevant leading companies will also showcase fragrance production, research, and integration solutions at this exhibition, and exhibit perfumes, reed diffusers, scented candles, essential oils, fragrance sachets, car fragrances, fragrance crystal balls, and fragrant toiletries and services.

Perfumers gather in Guangzhou to exchange and discuss new directions

It is introduced that the exhibition also specially set up events such as the "China Fragrance Brand Conference" and the "Fragrance Bazaar 2024 Perfumer Salon." Among them, the China Fragrance Brand Conference is an industry event that brings together brand founders, creative perfumery experts, supply chain experts, brand marketing managers, venture capital managers, e-commerce platform experts, and industry professionals. The conference will focus on cutting-edge hot topics, and through theme sharing and exchanges, discuss the development trends, market opportunities, and challenges of the Chinese fragrance market, providing support and guidance for the innovation and growth of Chinese domestic brands.

The organizer introduced that FAW2024 will present the full range of content of the fragrance industry chain, including more than 1,000 new products in multiple fields such as perfumes, home fragrances, and fragrant toiletries, released simultaneously. Participating companies can showcase their characteristics and innovations in the industry chain, attract the attention of partners and consumers, and obtain more potential cooperation opportunities. They hope that with the promotion of the international fragrance industry exchange platform, more Chinese fragrance companies will promote the healthy competition of the fragrance industry through quality and service development, continuously expand their influence, enhance brand awareness, and obtain new traffic in the future. "FAW2024 Inspiration Fragrance Art Week will provide an important platform for the development of the Guangzhou industry."