We often, unknowingly perhaps, underestimate our sense of smell. We put in a lot of effort to beautify ourselves and the spaces around us to make them pleasing to the eyes. We work on setting up an ambience with the right kind of music so that our auditory senses are pleasured. But smell? Good news is that we’ve started working on that too.
Ripple Fragrances, the brand that gave us the famous Cycle Agarbatti, presents the home fragrance brand Iris, which opened a new store in Phoenix MarketCity last week. Speaking to their managing director, Kiran Ranga, we find out more about the trends in home fragrances.
“Home fragrance products are basically divided into two categories — products that use a source of heat for dissipation, and products that use surface evaporation for the same. The former have a wider range of dissipation. Now there’s a new concept in the market called the ultra sonic mister which uses vibrations to convert water into mist and the fragrance is carried along with it,” says Ranga. These misters are used for bigger spaces, lobbies that measure up to 3,000 sq ft and so on.
The demand for fragrance products has grown in the last few years, he notices. “Cycle Agarbatti started way back in 1948. Since my grandfather’s time, we’ve been creating fragrances for our products, now we’re the third generation running this business. When I came into business 10 years ago, I noticed a growing market in India for fragrances due to the increase in closed air-conditioned spaces. With air-conditioning and carpeting comes the problem of masking certain odours, and that opens up a big market for home fragrances,” says he.
How to pick the right fragrance for your space?
Products that use heat for dissipation have a wider range than the ones that use surface evaporation. But surface evaporation products are more child-safe and last longer. Ranga tells us about reed diffusers which are gaining popularity with Indian customers. “If you keep the reeds in a centrally air-conditioned room, the fragrance will keep circulating with the air. They work on capillary action, imagine the reed as a wick (without the flame). A 100 ml diffuser will last you for up to 60 days as it uses only 2 gm of fragrance per day,” says he, adding, “Though the spread is not as wide as a vapouriser or ultrasonic mister.”
Home fragrance products are being designed as décor items to complete the look of one’s home or commercial space. “In terms of décor, people are very conscious of their self image when they are accessorising their homes or offices. That is where these home fragrance products come in. You have reed diffusers, to vapourisers in various designs and sizes to fit into your décor,” says he.
For those who like to keep it old school, there’s an entire range of potpourri to choose from. And what’s more — they also have a sort of a fragrance refill spray for the potpourri when it starts fading out.
A special mention must be made of the pillow mister. This product is a boon for insomniacs and those who have trouble sleeping. Though this isn’t a substitute for medical advice by a professional doctor, a spray of this lavender and fennel fragrance on your pillow before you lay your head down will help you relax and drift off into a slumber.
What’s hot in India?
“When I think of fragrances for modern India, I consider how customers have been introduced to various flavours and smells through ice cream flavours, cocktails and so on,” says Ranga, pointing out that millennials in India prefer buying fragrances of edible flavours such as blueberry, vanilla cupcakes, pina colada and so on.
There’s a shift in demand from regular single fragrance notes like rose or sandalwood to more conceptual notes which combine two-three fragrance profiles, he informs, explaining how fragrances like Romance or Relax are gaining popularity. “We have literature on the packaging informing the consumer about the effect the fragrance will have on them. For instance, sandalwood is meditative, lemon grass awakens and refreshes you. Consumers are selecting these conceptual fragrances according to the mood they want to be in,” he says.
According to the brand, millennials are big on fragrances that are influenced by food. “Ice cream, sorbets, cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, in fact, any kind of berry — in summer anything fresh and fruity is good. The upcoming monsoon and winter will make way for warm edible odours like vanilla souffle, cupcake, gingerbread, eggnog and other such gourmet smells,” he says.
