Re-Launched: 2022
Key Executives:
2025 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $100 to $125 million
2025 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 1,500
Primary Category: Fragrance
Other Categories: Bodycare
Key Markets: United States, Canada, United Kingdom
Retail Partnerships: Sephora, SpaceNK, Selfridges
Primary Distribution Channel: Prestige
Other Distribution Channels:Department Store, DTC, TikTok Shop
Funding Rounds: Self-funded
Notable Investors: Ben Bennett
Notable Advisors: Pamela Baxter, Neda Daneshzadeh
Accelerator Program: The Center
At Phlur, we believe in making fragrance that is as multifaceted as you are and in making scents that you can truly live in. Traditional fragrance has been focused on a “signature scent,” which can feel a bit precious and doesn't always fit your current mood or moment. We aspire to make fragrance that acts as an enhancement to who you are or to who you want to be that day.
Our line of eau de parfums, body mists, and bodycare fills an unmet need in the fragrance market. We are making fine fragrance accessible and bringing it to new formats (body mist, body oil, deodorant) that allow you to live in your desired scents. We partner with the finest fragrance houses to create nuanced, timeless eau de parfums that reflect different feelings and personas, as well as sophisticated body mists and bodycare that allow you to bring an elevated, more subtle scent to your every day.
We connect with our customers in a genuine, vulnerable way that is new to the fragrance industry. Each of our eau de parfums is inspired by a story and a deeper emotion, such as with Missing Person, which is inspired by missing a loved one and uses skin musks to replicate that distinct emotion. We find these stories are both intimately personal and universally shared, and our community connects with each other and with Phlur in sharing their interpretations and experiences. We encourage our customers to build a fragrance wardrobe that they change up with their desires, moods, and moments.
Insights provided by Elizabeth Ashmun, CEO
Key business initiatives for 2025?
In 2025, our focus is on expanding Phlur's reach and deepening our relationships with our customers. We have built a genuine connection with our community through storytelling, sharing the inspirations behind our fragrances and hearing our customers' own interpretations and feedback. Each fragrance evokes an emotion or persona, and our customers delight in collecting and wardrobing our fragrances based on their mood and moment. This connection to our customers inspires us everyday and even influences our pipeline; we have brought forward and changed fragrances based on direct customer asks. The fragrances you'll see from us in 2025 are largely a reflection of our community's feedback.
In 2025, we want to give our customers even more opportunities to share and engage with us—through enhanced digital storytelling and in-person experiences that bring Phlur to life in new and memorable ways. You'll also see us expanding internationally as we look to bring Phlur's unique approach to fragrance to even more markets. The year 2025 is all about growth, innovation, and staying connected to what makes Phlur special.
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
I'm so proud of how Phlur has truly disrupted the fragrance industry. Traditionally, fragrance has been focused on a singular signature scent or fine fragrance in a precious bottle that feels like it should be saved for special occasions. Phlur has made fine fragrance accessible, taking sophisticated, nuanced fragrances and delivering them at price points and formats that allow our customers to bring their favorite scents into their every day.
We're seeing our customers collecting Phlur fragrances across eau de parfums, body mists, body oil, and deodorant—and picking up each new "drop" to add to their fragrance wardrobe. Then, they're changing their scent based on where they're going, who they're seeing, and how they are feeling.
It's been inspiring to see. Our customer may be wearing Vanilla Skin deodorant and Body Mist to the gym and layering on Father Figure before going into an important presentation. We've even heard of customers wearing Missing Person to bed to evoke an intimate feeling.
Our customers are really able to live in their favorite fragrances, playing, layering, wardrobing, and changing it up based on their mood. It's been fun to be part of and inspiring to see.
What has been the biggest surprise?
The biggest surprise to us has been seeing how our customers are reacting to the different fragrances and how they are really collecting each new drop. Typically, you may see people stick to a certain olfactive family—like florals or gourmands—but with Phlur, our customer collects across scent types and formats (eau de parfums, body mists, deodorant). I think it's a testament to this changing behavior. Phlur customers aren't afraid to change up their scent based on their day or season.
There were some scents that took us by surprise too like Strawberry Letter. We all loved it, but know that a strawberry fragrance could be niche. When we launched it though, it immediately became one of our top sellers and remains one of our most beloved fragrances. Strawberry Letter is a different take on a traditional strawberry fragrance. Every Phlur fragrance is a little unexpected and unique; never straightforward. Vanilla Skin is the same way; we say it's a vanilla like no other. It's part of why people love our scents and trust our new launches, even before they smell them. You know when you get a Phlur fragrance, it will be distinct and unique.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Phlur's competitive advantage lies in our ability to make fragrance feel approachable, relatable, and personal. Unlike traditional fragrance, which can feel intimidating, Phlur is meant to be lived in; to become a natural extension of who you are and who you want to be that day.
We are making fine fragrance attainable, partnering with master perfumers to create unexpected, sophisticated fragrances that are both effortless to wear and elevate your every moment. Phlur is also filling a hole in the market, with fine fragrance priced in a way that enables customers to collect and play across scents and formats.
This blend of high-quality craftsmanship, evocative scents, and genuine relatability sets us apart. It allows Phlur to resonate with our customers in a way that feels authentic and modern, inviting them to experience fragrance as an everyday luxury rather than something reserved for special occasions.
Insight on the future of the beauty industry.
I think that we are going to see beauty become even more democratized with the continued influence and reach of social media. There are so fewer barriers to reaching customers now than ever before; you don't need to be a big player to win.
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have leveled the playing field and given brands and consumers direct access to each other, allowing for instantaneous discovery, sharing, and discussion.
It's a really exciting time, and it requires us all to be nimble and adapt. As we collectively spend more time online, I think it becomes even more about content, creation, and authentic community. You need to constantly be participating in the conversation and giving your customers new ways to experience your brand.
Ultimately, I think this shift will foster an environment of more creativity, inclusion, and innovation. We're able to see what's happening globally in real time and connect across cultures through shared experiences.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
The best piece of advice I have ever received is to never deviate from the consumer as your North Star. As your business grows, it is so easy to get distracted and pulled in different directions. It's crucial to keep the customer at the heart of every decision; this will never steer you wrong.
This applies to everything, and it seems so simple but it can be hard to do. When I find myself overrun with decisions or at an impasse, I always try to take a pause and put myself in my customer's shoes. What would they want to see from us? How would they want to hear from us? Where would they like to interact with us? That reset always offers me clarity, and I can make a decision confident that I am doing what I believe is in the best interest of our consumers.
What is the best mistake you've ever made and what did you learn?
The best mistake we ever made was accidentally revealing one of our new launches early. Last summer, we planned to launch three body mists together: Heavy Cream, Coconut Skin, and Caramel Skin. Before we were ready, Coconut Skin and Caramel Skin were revealed on social media. It took some of the wind out of our sails for the launch, but we still had Heavy Cream, which had not been leaked. We last minute changed our PR mailer, and covered Heavy Cream in a sleeve that said not to open until a specific date. After the reveal of the other two fragrances, this level of secrecy generated a ton of excitement and buzz. Everyone wanted to know what this third mist was and what we were holding back. When we finally revealed Heavy Cream, it ended up being one of our best-selling body mists, ever. There was a natural frenzy around the fragrance driven by the reveal and the secrecy, and customers just organically loved the scent. It was a lesson in taking what could have been a mistake, reacting quickly, and making the best of the situation. Sometimes the biggest wins are found in plans that go awry.
What advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
My number one piece of advice to someone starting a beauty brand would be to choose your team wisely! This is a big undertaking and you want to be surrounded by energetic, talented, dedicated individuals who you are excited to work with. We spend so much time at work, you want people around you who will make it feel fun and who want to take on new challenges. Finally, hire to your weaknesses. We can't do everything; recognize where you need more help and hire there first.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry what would it be?
If I could change one thing about the beauty industry, it would be to make clean and sustainable practices table stakes. Phlur was the first clean fragrance brand. We know that being clean and prioritizing sustainability doesn't have to come at cost to consumer experience or product performance.
I know the industry has made great strides, but our domestic regulations continue to fall behind much of the world. I would like clean, ethical, and sustainable choices to be the standard, not the exception. We know that consumers look for transparency and responsibility from brands they support, and it's time for the industry to meet that in a consistent way.
