As you all know, we have said goodbye to the year of the Dragon and welcomed the year of the Snake. After the bursts of a colorful dragon, the snake is a quiet observer in behaviour, full of wisdom, but also of intuition and transformation… It is only a matter of a watchful observation. I believe this sets the tone for the perfume year in China as well. Leaving behind an unbelievable growth, the new year brings a more reasonable mode full of ‘snake’ whispers.

We can refer to ‘Notes Shanghai’ exhibition that in 2024 attracted close to two hundred brands with fifteen thousand visitors. Half of the brands were Chinese and it seems that niche perfumes are becoming more attractive with the young Chinese generation. Last year at Esxence, the Chinese ‘Tombstone’ brand was one of the most popular stands of the fair. The presence of a large coffin was to illustrate the brand idea of our human impermanence. The fragrances were shocking and stunning altogether.

I was determined to find out during the 2025 Esxence edition what has happened and what has changed in China in one year’s time. In order to do so, I had planned to meet with two young women, both of them business entrepreneurs, founders of already multiple enterprises. I interviewed Lan Xiao, the brand creator of Tombstone, who introduced me to three brands by her stand: the new direction is definitely artistic and poetic, and positively without a loud shocking ‘commotion’. I also engaged with another Chinese stakeholder, Yuqing Zhang, the chairman of the mAPA awards, and general manager of Olfableau, a communication agency specialized in olfactory art exhibitions. My intent was to question her about the changes in the direction of brand creation in China and her evaluation of the new winners of the awards.

A Gentle Revolution by the Chinese Young Generation.

Yuqing explains that the perfume attraction is driven by the changing Chinese population and there are three major factors pushing the evolution of this gentle revolution:

First, it is clear that the new generation is increasingly after products focused on experience. Perfume is a sleek element of self-expression, a piece in the construction of one’s identity, be it an olfactive personality.

Beyond the international brands presence in China, there is also a strong emergence of local brands. Young people yearn for an experience made of domestic and even at times patriotic elements.

The high level of interest for perfumes ultimately results in the increasing number of Chinese students who are now graduating from prestigious perfumery schools in France and overseas. As an example, Lan, the young founder of Tombstone has undergone perfume training both in the United States and at the GIP (Grasse Institute of Perfumery). The new wave of Chinese perfumers develops unique perfume propositions, made of specific cultural expressions and personal emotions, and even sometimes using domestic raw materials.

The Creation of Scents Made with Chinese Expressions.

It is easy to notice that the market has reached a new phase of brand creation, with brands inspired by China, made in China, developed by Chinese founders, composed by Chinese perfumers and for Chinese consumers. I have to stop here to ponder about the possibility of addressing clients outside of China too. I had to ask an open question of the international audience and the reason for their presence at Esxence to both Yuqing of Olfableau and Lan of Tombstone. The latter explained to me that when she launched the brand ‘Tombstone’ it was like an experimental project, and was not initially established for the Chinese market. By the way, she was not expecting the number of awards received soon after the launch and the important level of popularity at Esxence in 2024. With a smile, she says ‘I did not realize the level of desirability of our original concept’ based on our thought-provoking philosophy while speaking of death directly. Yet the desirability she ignited caught fire with social media communications from major influencers, reviews by perfume experts and the end-consumers appreciation. Tombstone is definitely for the international markets and has now a distribution in several countries in Europe.

The answer of Yuqing was also quite clear, international expansion is a priority for niche brands from mainland China as the domestic market for niche perfumes is simply not big enough. I ask myself how is it possible that China with a population of 1.2 Bn people can be too small; it sounds so unbelievable that I listen carefully to her explanation. Going out of China is a question of survival for a niche brand at this point in time as the target population willing to pay the price for a niche perfume is too small. Today, the biggest sales segment of the market is in the price category below 80 euros per bottle. This is a ‘commodity’ segment with brands like Boitown, with moderate artistic intent, and excessive use of online shopping channels like Tao Bao, Tmall to drive sales. The category above 80 euros, defined as ‘niche’, heavily invests in social networks such as TikTok, Little Red Book, WeChat. As we are well aware of, in China, the online world rules everyday life in terms of conversation and purchases. The lack of being able to smell when purchasing a fragrance online is surprisingly not a hindrance as people tend to trust an influencer’s judgment or an established brand presence rather than their own instinct. Yuqing estimates the percentage of ‘blind perfume’ shopping to be between 30% and 40%. To summer is the biggest niche brand in the market with estimated sales of 100M euro for an average perfume price of one hundred euro. It is interesting to point out one specific feature of the brand success; To summer has been particularly talented at attracting purchases thanks to its home scents range. The home collection indeed carries a more affordable price tag, fits with the perfume gifting Chinese tradition and resonates with the cultural connection to seasons.

Contrary to the mass market brands, niche brands must also invest in the brick-and-mortar channel; popup stores and retail experiences must rhythm the calendar year and those activities have a prohibitive cost in terms of staff and even real estate. This increases even more the need to expand overseas towards the West.

Independent Brand Creation with International Expansion. or without.

Yuqing explains to me that the Chinese economic downturn has even pushed further down the price point. Chinese independent brands are cheaper than their foreign counterparts, but they must find the right balance between on the one hand, a high level of sales – a cheap perfume tag – low quality, which will take them out of the niche market and on the other hand, too little sales – a high perfume price – hiqh quality, which will question their business viability. It is really a question of positioning and of strategy, but also of philosophy wondering about one’s fundamental existence in the world of perfumery.

This challenging question has obviously not deterred newcomers, as the number of independent Chinese perfume brands has steadily grown. As an illustration, the number of contenders for the mAPA awards in 2025 has skyrocketed to one hundred. This is the 6th edition of the mAPA awards that recognize fragrance innovation and artistic expression by rewarding a selection of perfumes, the creations of independent or global niche brands present in China. The first jury is made of nine experts based in China, the second jury is international and composed of Silvio Levi, two expert scholars, two olfactory artists and renowned Symrise perfumer Pierre-Constantin Guéros. One of the winners was ‘The voice from the sky’ from Voice from the Sky, with a beautiful osmanthus and ambergris in the composition. Another one was ‘Cocoa Mint’ by Yeens, a mouthwatering indulgence.

Another illustration of the Chinese new season of innovation, is the number of brands presented by Lan with Tombstone at Esxence in 2025. This year next to Tombstone she presents three brands: Bu Feng, Scented Vision and QIMU AND MUSICIANS.

Bu Feng means ‘Catching the wind’ and is a tribute to Chinese culture with perfumes inspired by ‘Wuxia’, Chinese folk tales, inhabited by knighthood heroism. Each of the three perfumes, Drunken Jade, Elegant Jade and Holding the Sword embodies a specific knight in a story that blends traditional philosophy, with artistic poetry and daring modernity.

The creative director of Bu Feng wrote the following storytelling: “I am the protagonist of your tale…. I lived for a limited time in the unlimited history. I once thought I was one, now I live among many of ones."

In opposition to Bu Feng, Scented Vision is all about surrealism, “it’s the redone reality, it’s the new vision" says Lan, the creative director. Made of pure imagination, four unreal pictures inspire four fiction fragrances. ‘Bloomstone’ is a scent made of a vision of a stone blooming, with base notes of vetiver and ‘stones’, top notes of neroli, lily of the valley, and middle notes of immortelle. Mineral notes are trending, so Bloomstone seems to me to be ‘spot on’ or ‘rock solid’.

Lan’s third creative inspiration is derived from a collaboration with musicians. It is called ‘QIMU AND MUSICIANS’, the four scents Guitarist, Bassist, Vocal and Drummer can play together | layered or play music solo. The Guitarist is usually the one taking centre stage during concerts and here the fragrance is ‘bathed in the spotlight’ with ‘electrifying energy’ created from green notes and sweet berries.

Traditional and Original Chinese Raw Materials.

We know that Chinese tend to purchase perfumes that make them feel fresh, relaxed, and joyful. Yuqing explains that the woody note, calm and profound, is deeply related to Chinese culture. The fragrance ‘HER’ developed by To Summer for the International Women’s Day composed by Maxime Exler and Véronique Nyberg from MANE used the uplifting Chinese Bergamot, ‘Fo shou’ or ‘Buddha’s hand’ .

Lan uses in her perfumes raw materials native to China such as thyme, cedarwood, jasmine sambac and ylang. However, more daring notes are coming out combining traditional with unusual ingredients like Sichuan pepper ‘sniffed’ spotted in the 2024 mAPA awards or a gorgeous crimson glory rose in the ‘Holding the Sword’ of Bu Feng, a mineral and floral composition. Here Lan pauses to tell me that not only is she adamant to use Chinese captive raw materials in her fragrances, and of the highest quality. This choice results in a high sales price of 185 euros per bottle; it really seems that the price discussion is a circling conversation.

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A High Fragrance Attraction with A Full Chinese Dimension.

So we are witnessing a new season of Chinese innovation, bringing about a strong olfactive evolution, with multiple independent brand creations, tapping into local traditions and with an ambition of international expansion. This is the gentle revolution forged by a young Chinese generation. Talented, not Limited. Their presence will be increasingly noticed in the upcoming major exhibitions around the world as the essence of their fragrances consists of permanence. At Esxence, next year, Chinese brands will continue to invade, and conquer with a whisper.