If you were expecting a true confession in which I reveal
that I’m a card-carrying schizophrenic, you will be terribly disappointed. I’m
a Libra, which is the next best thing, but up to now that hasn’t officially been
classified as a disorder. No, what this post is about is the struggle I’m going
through to give my brand a makeover that I’m happy with. Olympic Orchids
Perfumes is growing up and going through a conflicted adolescent stage.
On the one hand, I’m pressured by those who would have it go
all upscale, glamorous, and expensive. The parents who say, “go to college, get
a job, and be successful”. I have to admit that that the prospect of going
upscale is exciting and enticing. My perfumes will reach a much wider audience
than before simply because they’ll look the part and I’ll be working with wonderful
people who promote them. It’s the old adage, “dress for the job you want to
have”. However, that new wardrobe comes with a price tag. Fancier bottles,
boxes, labels, promo materials, and a professional-looking website all cost
money. Trips to shows cost money. Paying a graphic designer to get it right
costs money. Aesthetically, from a conventional point of view, the overall
coordinated look will be much slicker and more retail-friendly. However, as
everything is standardized, some of the random quirkiness will be lost.
Unintended quirkiness is quite different from the contrived quirkiness that
some perfume lines adopt, and I can’t really see myself going for affected,
gimmicky quirkiness, so I’ve opted for elegant simplicity.
If I sell wholesale to distributors or stores, I have to
price products high enough to allow them to make their profits while making
sure I don’t lose money myself. Right now, the perfumes that I sell on my
website have a very small profit margin because I handle every aspect of the
business and don’t pay myself anything. I love doing what I’m doing, and I
haven’t given up my day job - yet. Getting to tinker in my lab and buy more raw
materials has always seemed like payment enough. I’m the kid who doesn’t want
to stop playing with his toys in his messy room and go back to school. Aren’t we all that kid, at
some level?
The thought of keeping my old website in parallel with the
new one has crossed my mind, but it makes no sense to compete with myself and
my business associates pricewise. One thought has been to use the new, upscale
website for the new packaging of larger, store-ready sizes of selected
fragrances and re-brand the current website as a fun “Perfume for the People” venue
that would specialize in small sizes, simply packaged. It would include mini bottles
(up to 15 ml) of my fragrances that are on the main website, as well as a
rotating selection of experimental fragrances. It would also function as a test
bed to see what could and should go to the next level.
Another thought I had would be to open “Perfume for the
People” up to new perfumers who want to try launching one of their creations
without the investment of producing their own infrastructure. I think this
would be run as a contest in which the winner gets their perfume listed on
“Perfume for the People” for 6 months or a year. If it takes off, that would
give them some exposure and time to decide whether they want to strike out on
their own. Another thought would be to invite other established perfumers to
make simple mini sizes of their fragrances available through the website, the
idea being that discerning people who can’t afford the larger sizes can still
experience having a small manufacturer's bottle rather than just a tiny sample or a decant. Because it
would be a specialized site, no one would be competing with him- or herself. I
really like and respect the educated but low-budget demographic and want to keep everything
available to them.
Obviously, what I’m trying to do is to have the best of both
worlds – the Libra balancing act if ever there was one! As you see in the
Soviet-era posters, the capitalist steps all over the proletariat and crushes
them; the proletariat steps all over the capitalists and crushes them. I would
hope that no one would have to be crushed in the process of developing my two
ideas, and that they could be complementary rather than mutually destructive. Any
thoughts you have would be appreciated. Nothing is final.
Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing for a nice surprise
package of fragrant treats. If there are enough entries, there will be one US
winner and one international (samples) winner.
[Balance graphic and Soviet-era posters (modified) are from Wikimedia]
I love the sound of "Perfume for the People" and also the idea of mini sizes being available. As someone who likes to have a lot of different perfumes on hand at one time, it can be frustrating to be faced with only the option for full sized bottles - they take forever to get through! As far as vamping up your brand, I would say that you have to go with what is comfortable to you. It is nice to be able to see your brand in a larger number of retailers and it will be more widely available and easy to obtain, but if that's not worth the cost up front, then perhaps it would be a wiser investment to try the other ideas first. Just my two cents, and of course I know nothing about being a small business owner!
ReplyDeleteLarie, I personally am a big believer in mini size perfumes, and will always offer those in some form. However, stores want the larger sizes because the profit is bigger and they're easier to stock and display. The issue of "going bigger" is not the up-front cost, but rather how that direction would affect my current direction, which is "going small". It will all get resolved, but in the meantime, it's good to get as much feedback as possible.
DeleteMy subsign is libra, so I get your vibe. :)
ReplyDeleteSince I am crazy about perfumes, I wish that all brands have 15 ml bottles. :)
Bellatrix, Thanks for your comments. I'm with you in wishing that all brands had 5 and 15 ml bottles.
DeleteMeh, my first comment disappeared. Hate when that happens.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was saying is that I love smaller size bottles of perfume! I started my fragrance journey with indie perfume oils that are sold mainly in 5 ml apothecary bottles and I find that to be the perferct size for an oil. For a spray I would need a bit more but definitely not more than 15 ml. The 50 or 100 ml bottles that many brands offer their perfumes in are insane! I could never afford many of them. So yeah, I'm a fan of your perfume for the people idea! I am also a fan of elegant simplicity as well as ordering directly from a perfumer. However as long as that option still exists I see no reason why you couln't also sell a more upscale line on the side, or through stores/other retailers. The best of both worlds is definitely possible the way I see it!
Nadja, Thanks for your comments. I'm hoping to have the best of both worlds, as they currently exist. Actually, I think that within the next 10 years the "huge perfume bottle" retail model will be obsolete and more and more people will go to the smaller bottles bought online from the perfumer, with more variety. The urge to collect is really strong.
DeleteSmall sizes are awesome! Especially if you're a commitment-phobic like me ;) And experimental fragrances? With new perfumers included? Sigh! If only I didn't depend on once a year visits to be able to get this stuff! On the other hand...my wallet would still be this healthy. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThe new bottle looks super cute by the way!
Belle, There's no logical reason why anyone should commit to a perfume! Personally, I would never buy a large size of anything, even strictly as a consumer. Thanks for your comments.
DeleteI love the idea of Perfume for the People! As one of the people who can't afford large sizes (especially buying over the 'net where one can't sniff first), I'd love to be able to sample in small sizes. And the idea of the contest is brilliant! That could really help some smaller perfumers just getting started.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I just registered the perfumeforthepeople.com URL, so it's going to happen! I'm glad you like the idea of the new perfumers' contest.
DeleteI won't buy a full bottle of ELd'O or LeLabo because I can't stand their marketing strategies (so obviously contrived) and because their prices are ridiculous. I read somewhere that over 7,000 fragrances were launched every year (an old number), many of these indies and niche. The majority of these scents never live too long despite great marketing strategies and beautiful products. Great for vintage and discontinued frag collectors like me but not so good for entrepreneurs. Since change is inevitable all you can really do is follow your intuition, be true to your own aesthetic and maintain your personal integrity.
ReplyDeleteGail, it's depressing to think that 7000 fragrances are released every year, and it's even more depressing to think that 6950 of them all smell pretty much the same.
DeleteWe're up to 7,000 a year? I remember, back when I started blogging on perfume, when it was about 800 a year. Even then, it was quite a lot. 7,000 is just jumping the shark. And yes, most of the mainstream perfumes smell identical, and more and more niche are smelling the same, too. Indie is where it's at, those are the only ones that have really excited me in about 2 years. Perfume for the People and small bottles do sound very enticing.
ReplyDeleteMarla, As I recall, Perfume for the People was your idea! It just resonated with me, so I'm going to implement it.
Delete7,000 new perfumes a year is crazy. Even a lot of indie perfumes smell the same, like muddy essential oil mixes. Maybe part of the blame lies on the population explosion - as more and more people enter the world, there's more of everything. if perfumers and perfume consumers are a fixed percentage of the the population, then as the population increases exponentially, so does the number of perfumes. Just a theory.
Oops, it was my idea. No wonder I thought it was brilliant....
DeleteYour theory sounds good. The perfumery aspect of what I call Crowded Planet Syndrome!
Its the struggle of an artist I guess..
ReplyDeleteBut then you you have to figure out a way to be an actors on a huge comsumers market aswell, tricky!
Im crossing my fingers for an international winner!
Lotta, Thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right that it's the age-old dilemma of the artist who just wants to make art (in this case perfume) but has to come to terms with the fact that the business end of it takes more time and energy than the creative part.
Delete