Key Takeaways:

• Banana perfume searches surged 171.7% as gourmand fragrances evolve.
• Banana skincare demand rose, creating white space for brands.
• Beauty embraces nostalgic, food-inspired ingredients beyond fragrance.

Banana may be one of the world’s most familiar fruits, in smoothies, breads, and splits, but it’s now becoming one of beauty’s fastest-growing ingredients.

According to Spate’s popularity index, banana perfume has surged 171.7% year over year (YoY), making it one of the fastest-rising food-inspired fragrance trends. But fragrance appears to be only the beginning. Across skincare, bodycare, and lip products, banana is increasingly emerging as a sought-after scent, flavor, and ingredient, reflecting consumers’ growing appetite for beauty products that deliver both sensory enjoyment and emotional connection.

Searches and social engagement around banana face masks have increased 305.1% YoY, while banana perfume is outpacing more established fruit-inspired scents, including cherry (+3.4%), coconut (+24.8%), and peach (+53.7%). Despite remaining a relatively niche trend, Spate forecasts banana perfume will continue its upward trajectory, predicting a further 32.4% growth over the next 12 months.

For brands, the opportunity extends beyond a single fragrance note or skincare ingredient. In recent years, beauty marketing has borrowed from food, using fruit-, dessert-, coffee-, and confectionery-inspired imagery to create aspirational lifestyles and sensory appeal.

"There's an increased consumer demand for what we call 'edible' beauty: products that feel more holistic and natural in their creation rather than filled with ingredients unfamiliar to a mass audience," Annabelle Taurua, beauty expert at Fresha, told BeautyMatter. "Brands are under more pressure than ever to make beauty feel more accessible, and food-based ingredients are perfect for this."

Now, it’s bananas' time to take the spotlight.

Wake Up and Smell the Bananas

Banana’s fragrance trend is being driven largely by TikTok, which accounts for 61.9% of banana perfume's popularity share and has seen engagement grow 419% YoY. Videos featuring banana fragrances are increasingly appearing alongside body lotions, oils, and "summercore" content, positioning banana as part of a broader lifestyle aesthetic rather than simply a fragrance note. Brands including Le Monde Gourmand, Hempz, and Oakcha have emerged among the most visible names associated with the trend.

For fragrance brands, banana offers a compelling balance of familiarity and novelty. Consumers instantly recognize the scent, yet it remains relatively unexplored within prestige fragrance compared to more established gourmand notes such as vanilla, pistachio, or cherry.

"Consumers continue to look for fragrance and beauty as a space to play, indulge, and escape," Ann Somma, Chief Brand Officer at Le Monde Gourmand, told BeautyMatter. "Banana taps into both a feeling of nostalgia and playfulness as well as a new cue of comfort. The creamy aspect of banana is a natural match for two macro trends—vanilla and milk notes—bringing facets that can easily tell a story of beachy, summer escape."

The appeal extends beyond nostalgia. As gourmand fragrances become increasingly crowded, consumers are looking to expand their palettes. "Fragrance lovers are inspired to experiment with new olfactive territories," said Somma. "They aren't just looking for basic gourmands anymore. Even within a category like gourmand, there is so much room to explore, redefine, and deliver something new."

Le Monde Gourmand recently introduced Banane Délice Eau de Parfum, while Oakcha incorporated the fruit into its gourmand offerings with its Banana Crepe Extrait de Parfum. Kayali's Maui in a Bottle Sweet Banana 37, Ellis Brooklyn's Banana Milkshake, and Nette's newly launched Mochi Banane pair banana with notes such as vanilla, coconut cream, tonka bean, rum, rice milk, and sweet musks to create fragrances that feel closer to milkshakes, banana bread, mochi desserts, or ice cream sundaes than freshly peeled fruit. Rather than emphasizing banana's tropical qualities, these fragrances lean into its creamy, comforting, and gourmand facets, positioning the fruit as a dessert-inspired note within the broader rise of indulgent, food-inspired perfumery.

Peeling Back the Next Trend

Unlike perfume, banana in skincare is driven primarily by Google searches rather than social media, with Google accounting for more than 80% of the trend's popularity.

The data suggests consumers are actively seeking banana-inspired beauty products and treatments, but brands have yet to fully capitalize on the opportunity. For example, Spate identifies relatively little brand presence attached to banana face mask searches, creating what it describes as a white space opportunity for beauty companies.

According to Taurua, bananas' draw lies in their accessibility. "Bananas are familiar and have a strong sensory appeal," she told BeautyMatter. "Its versatility is key when formulating products such as lip and haircare, where both flavor and scent play a big role."

The trend is already emerging across beauty categories. rhode recently expanded its food-inspired offerings with a Caramelized Banana Lip Treatment and Banana Peel Peptide Eye Patches, while banana-scented body and haircare products continue to gain traction on social media.

Banana is also taking over where traditional ingredients once reigned supreme. Associated with the salmon-derived DNA fragments used in regenerative skincare, PDRN has become one of K-beauty's fastest-growing ingredient categories thanks to its links to skin repair, collagen production, and hydration. As brands look for plant-based alternatives, banana-derived PDRN is emerging as a new frontier.

Products such as Shaishaishai's Banana PDRN Conceal Eye Cream are already incorporating the ingredient, positioning banana not just as a sensory cue but as a functional skincare active. The development reflects a broader evolution of the trend. While banana first gained traction through fragrance, lip care, and body products, its appearance in advanced skincare formulations suggests brands are beginning to explore the fruit's potential beyond nostalgia and gourmand appeal, moving it closer to the efficacy-driven territory that increasingly defines modern skincare.

Glow Recipe recently reintroduced its Banana Soufflé Moisture Cream as part of a limited-edition Banana Milk Kit, alongside its first banana milk–flavoured Glass Balm, highlighting how brands are using banana as both a functional ingredient and a nostalgic storytelling device.

What's Next for Banana?

The bigger question is whether banana will become beauty's next matcha or simply enjoy a fleeting moment in the spotlight.

There are signs the trend may have staying power. Like matcha, coconut, and cherry before it, banana's popularity has been building outside of beauty first. The fruit was gaining traction across food, beverage, and social media culture before making its way into beauty products, creating a familiar pathway for mainstream adoption. In 2026, banana-themed drinks, desserts, and bakery products have become increasingly visible across consumer culture, with brands such as Dunkin' launching a banana-focused latte as part of a broader wave of nostalgic, comfort-driven flavors.

"Banana is still in the early-to-mid phase of its trend cycle," said Taurua. "Everything is being set up for it to follow in matcha's footsteps over the next 12 months as the beauty world favors more playful ingredients and combinations."

The trend also aligns with several broader shifts shaping the beauty landscape. Consumers are increasingly gravitating towards products that offer emotional benefits alongside functional ones, while social media continues to reward products that are visually distinctive, instantly recognizable, and highly shareable. Banana delivers on all three. It evokes nostalgia, signals comfort, and carries a bold visual identity that translates easily across digital platforms.

For brands, that may be the most important takeaway. Banana's rise is not simply about a fruit. It reflects growing consumer demand for beauty products that feel joyful, familiar, and culturally relevant. As fragrance, skincare, and bodycare continue to borrow from food culture, ingredients that can bridge sensory experience, emotional connection, and social shareability are likely to define the next wave of beauty trends. Today, that ingredient happens to be banana, whether in coffee, bread, perfume, or face masks.