Despite predictions to the contrary - many have forecast a shift in the fragrance industry away from the cult of the celebrity and towards the cult of the perfumer – product sales and new launches suggest celebrity scents are still a dominant trend.
According to beauty and personal care industry analyst at Euromonitor, Carrie Lenard, it is still the mass market products that attract the biggest consumer base, of which celebrity fragrances make up a large proportion, that are likely to continue driving growth in the market.
However, the sector has seen some changes in the last year including an increase in sub brands, she explained.
“It seems in 2009 that sub brands based on celebrity brands were really popular, including Celine Dion, Kate Moss and David Beckham.”
The major fragrance manufacturers implicated in the celebrity trend appear to be sticking to names that they know bring in sales, rather than taking a risk on launching whole new celebrity brands.
This could be linked to the increasingly competitive market as a result of the recent economic downturn, Lenard said.
There are some new names out there, notably singer Beyoncé Knowles who will be launching her first fragrance Heat in the US in February, with an international roll out planned later in the year.
Like many of her contemporaries, Beyoncé is signed to US based manufacturer Coty which recently launched the publicity campaign for the product.
Global distribution
Although a celebrity fragrance depends much on the popularity of the name personality, Lenard said Katie Price’s fragrance has faltered due to bad publicitiy, global distribution also plays an important role.
The top selling celebrity fragrance for 2008 (figures for 2009 are not yet available) is Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds and according to Lenard this is due to its global distribution.
Furthermore, the second in the celebrity rankings is the fragrance of retired Argentinean tennis player Gabriela Sabatini, which Lenard suggested could be due to strong distribution in South America.
Following these come Sean John’s Unforgiveable, Celine Dion Parfums, J Lo’s Glow fragrance, Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, Britney Spear’s Curious and Still by Jennifer Lopez.