Title: Most new fragrance launches donât last â hereâs why that matters
I donât think the fragrance industry publishes a clean, official âfailure rateâ for new perfume launches, but the reality is pretty obvious once you zoom out: most new releases donât become long-term winners. In consumer products more broadly, youâll often see numbers like ~95% of new products failing tossed around, and fragrance feels like it follows that same pattern (especially for brand-new âpillarâ launches). Why do so many launches disappear? - The market is flooded. Youâll see claims like 1,000+ new fragrances a year (and some reporting suggests it can be several thousand new entries in a year). - Most scents arenât built for a 10-year run. A lot of releases are designed to sell fast, ride hype, then quietly fade. - Short lifespan = fast discounting. When something doesnât hit, it often shows up discounted pretty quickly (youâll recognize it when it suddenly lands at grey-market discounters). What âsuccessfulâ usually means in the real world In the industry, âgoodâ often just means it sellsâconsistentlyâat scale. Not necessarily that itâs the most artistic or enthusiast-approved. Thatâs why true monsters of sales and longevity (the stuff your non-frag friends recognize) are the real outliersâthink the handful that turn into multi-year pillars for houses like Chanel and Dior. Why flankers and âsafeâ launches dominate : If you already have something that sells, a flanker is basically a lower-risk bet: - Familiar name + bottle DNA - Easier marketing - Built-in audience - Faster path to profit if it catches The twist: even if most individual launches fail, the category is booming The category can be on fire even while most new releases donât survive long-term. For example: - In the U.S., prestige fragrance was up 6% (H1 2025), and mass market fragrance was up 17% (dollar sales). - U.S. prestige beauty in 2024 was heavily driven by fragrance growth (with one report citing prestige fragrance sales up 12% in 2024). Niche growth (with a grain of salt)