BBC Perfume episode 3 (the documentary)

As for the final episode of the BBC Four's three part series, 'Perfume', the documentary studies the new growing markets in the fragrance industry such as Brazil, China, India and Russia whose culture has had a great impact upon the scents of perfumes. Typically, many fragrances in the industry today, cater for the tastes of consumers in the western world such as London, Paris and New York but this is something that is increasingly starting to change as the market gets wider and many different peculiar odours make their way into the recipes of certain perfumes. For instance, in the document we see American perfumer, Ann Gottlieb travel to Brazil to explore the tastes of adolescent boys for the upcoming Axe male aftershave and to sell the brand to a new audience. However, not every perfume retailer is spreading their wings within the global industry as Simon and Amanda Brookes remain loyal to the values of their Victorian inspired fragrances to fill their brand perfumes with a scent of the past.

Although the perfume market is huge, it is not just fragrance which is bringing in the money in the scent industry as it is also found that toilet cleaner is an even bigger money maker which allows Brazilian's to have the best smelling bathrooms going and possibly the best smelling cleaning products.


Axe/Lynx body spray
Axe (known as Lynx in the UK) male body sprays were mostly associated with European tastes during the beginning of the 2000's however, during the documentary Ann Gottlieb sets the task upon herself to change this to keep up with the dynamics of generation Z teenage boys, especially the boys aged 16-25 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Due to the hot climate in Brazil, civilians have been found to use so much more scented products than a person in the UK would therefore, the potential in this region is outstanding in comparison to Axe's usual western customers who live in a much cooler climate. Brazil is the fastest growing fragrance market in the world due to these desire that Brazilians have for strong scents and therefore, company's like Axe could not miss such an opportunity. Besides perfume, air fresheners, washing up liquid, shower gels and even Aston Martin's car showrooms are scented to specifically cater for this Brazilian desire and therefore, they increase the need for this sort of indulgence in other non-western hot countries.

During the documentary Gottlieb even expresses that the lifestyle of those in Sao Paulo is very liberal and free therefore, this arguably can be seen as one factor that influenced the sensual scent of the Axe spray and communicates that the brand's target customer is a fun and lively male who needs this anti-perspirant to keep him smelling clean during his wild antics.

Axe's previous advert campaigns:

1999


1999


2000


2004

2008

AVON
However, Axe is not the only company that is making their mark in the Brazilian market as AVON have also moved their brand across the seas to explore a new cultural market. It was even found that sales to Brazilian fragrance fans count towards 20% of AVON's worldwide revenue and therefore, is a major source of steady profit for the company. AVON's sales primarily rely on the relationships of women around the world through their use of representatives who sell products from the brand to their closest to communicate messages of emotion, sharing and friendship within their brand values.

Grossmith Perfumes
Although they are not trained perfumers, Simon and Amanda Brookes revive antique perfumes that are inspired by the Victorian era and the musky regal scents that concealed the bad hygiene of the 19th century for an oriental and nostalgic connection with the past. Their company is called Grossmith and is the revival of one of England's oldest perfume houses whom the Brookes are descendants from.
The Brooke's scent are even that popular that they have had great status in the Gulf States such as Bahrain, due to their consumers interest in heavy rich scents which is displayed during the document. Although I am not a fan of heavy musky scents, I think their brand concept of channelling the Victorian era is imaginative because many scents these days are too focused on modernisation and therefore, certain brands neglect their regions heritage and cultural context.