Key Takeaways:
One every five seconds. That’s how often India’s top beauty and lifestyle retailer sells fragrance in the country’s underpenetrated beauty market.
In February, Nykaa ramped up its investments in the category with the launch of Nykaa Perfumery, a fragrance-only retail format. Opening two locations in Mumbai, the omnichannel giant isn’t just selling products; it's actively cultivating demand, with stores featuring export-led consultations, discovery tables, and an assisted discovery tool that helps translate preferences into personalized recommendations.
And so far, it’s working. In a recent earnings call, the company reported that Nykaa Perfumery stores are already generating three times the average order value of its regular stores. Notably, more than 45% of sales come from men’s fragrance, much of it incremental, suggesting an expanding consumer base.
Nykaa isn’t the only company taking note of this blossoming opportunity. Indian DTC brands like Bombay Shaving Company, Ustraa, and mCaffeine have added perfumes to their portfolios, while local fragrance startups Fraganote and Secret Alchemist have raised $1 million and $3 million in seed funding, respectively.
As fragrance evolves from a nice-to-have into a lifestyle essential, India’s perfume market is set to grow at 19.5% annually and surpass $2 billion by 2028, according to Kotak Securities. Though local brands have the home advantage, global players have ample room to walk this fragrant path as well.
From Routine to Ritual
India has a long history of scent, from attars (a type of alcohol-free perfume oil that boomed under the Mughal Empire) to deodorants and powders. However, the market is now moving toward more evolved formats such as body mists, eau de parfum, and premium fragrances, driven by rising disposable income and cultural shifts.
Young consumers, in particular, are leading this transformation. With millennials accounting for 34% of the population, personal grooming has become a priority, according to Kotak Securities. Influenced by social media, they’re not only learning about notes, routines, and fragrance wardrobes but also thinking about scents like they do skincare, Sunia Pervez, Global Merchandising Leader and founder of The SP Collective, a San Francisco–based beauty and lifestyle consultancy, said to BeautyMatter.
“In terms of daily use, [fragrance is] becoming much more ritualized and personal,” Pervez told BeautyMatter. “People are wearing lighter, more versatile scents during the day, reapplying throughout, layering oils with sprays, and even matching fragrance to mood, time of day, or setting like work, gym, or evening. It’s less about one signature scent and more about having a rotation that fits different moments in your day.”
This shift toward personalization and experimentation is also reflected in emerging scent trends.
“Fresh and woody fragrances continue to dominate daily wear, especially in warmer regions,” Piyush Joshi, Relationship Manager at Arome (formerly known as Arochem), an Indian fragrance brand and manufacturer, told BeautyMatter. “At the same time, oriental and gourmand notes are gaining traction among younger consumers who are more experimental and influenced by global trends.”
Why Local Brands Are Winning
While international brands like Chanel and Gucci rule luxury, India’s homegrown brands have a strong foothold in the mass and midrange segments. Their advantage lies in both market know-how—climate concerns, usage behavior, cultural preferences—and agility, whether that’s adapting to trends or optimizing prices.
“Local Indian fragrance brands have really succeeded by building from culture first, not just product,” Pervez shared. “They’ve also been able to meet consumers where they are on price, format, and accessibility, offering everything from fragrance oils to mists to more traditional perfumes without losing that cultural connection.”
Ankita Gill, founder of Indian niche fragrance house Param Sara, notes that as the country’s creative confidence surges, consumers are turning toward scents that “reflect who they are, not who they are expected to be.” Founded in 2024, Param Sara draws on Eastern sensorial traditions to craft perfumes that are both culturally rooted and globally resonant.
“Niche brands are reframing luxury through heritage, elevating indigenous materials and storytelling to speak directly to a new generation seeking cultural capital through local authenticity. Status is now personal, not borrowed, which underpins why we coined ‘Eastern Universality’—to position Eastern heritage on its own terms for a globally discerning audience,” she said.
At the same time, local brands are stepping up to fill in the missing middle: the premium tier. Nykaa, for example, launched its masstige label Moi in 2018, a contemporary take on French perfumery. It has since become the platform’s #1 non-luxury perfume brand, with prices ranging from Rs 1,099 crore to Rs 1,800 crore ($12-$19).
“We are seeing that while pricing remains important in India, consumers are increasingly seeking value through quality, longevity, innovation, and relevance, which is why premium-yet-accessible fragrances are seeing strong traction,” said Anchit Nayar, Executive Director and CEO of Nykaa Beauty.
Building Consumer Awareness
Despite a widening base of consumers and brands, India’s fragrance market remains largely untapped. Kotak Securities estimates user penetration was just 6.2% of the population in 2025—far behind the world’s largest fragrance market, the US, where a whopping 74% of Americans report using perfumes or fragrances, according to a YouGov survey.
To unlock this potential, education is key. “The [fragrance] experience needs to feel more intuitive and integrated into daily life,” Pervez said. “That means better entry points, stronger sampling and discovery, and formats that fit seamlessly into existing routines.”
Nykaa is promoting fragrance education in a few ways. In 2024, it introduced the Fragrance Collective, an online platform showcasing over 350 global and high-end perfume brands to help consumers discover new and niche labels. The following year, it rolled out FragTok, a four-month incubator program to nurture fragrance creators. And now, with its new stores in Mumbai, it extends the discovery journey into an immersive offline environment.
Reflecting on these initiatives, Nayar said, “We expect growth to be driven by premiumization, education, creator-led discovery, and omnichannel retail. Our role is not just to retail fragrance but to build the category in India through curation, content, immersive retail, and innovation, and we see a long runway for growth across both mass and luxury segments.”
This focus on education isn’t unique to retailers. Isak Fragrances, a luxury artisanal brand with a 170-year legacy, showcases the art, heritage, and depth of Indian perfumery to build an informed and emotionally engaged community rather than just a customer base.
“Through storytelling-led content, we decode notes, ingredients, and traditional techniques like attar-making, making fragrances more approachable and relatable,” Vidushi Vijayvergiya, founder and CEO of Isak Fragrances, told BeautyMatter. “Our in-store experiences and discovery sets allow customers to explore scents at their own pace, while digital platforms are used to share insights on layering, longevity, and choosing the right fragrance for different moods and climates.”
A Way Forward for Global Brands
Where does this new era of Indian perfumery leave international houses? With opportunity, but only for those willing to rethink their approach, said Gill.
“The future belongs to brands that treat culture not as an aesthetic but as an ecosystem. Brands that tailor fragrances to India’s climate and rituals. Brands that offer personal, sensory-rich experiences. Brands that see collaboration as creativity, not compliance,” she said.
Gill emphasizes the need to move from cultural observation to partnership, working alongside distillers, farmers, and traditional attar to show that “perfumery is a lineage, not a palette to be borrowed.”
Meanwhile, Joshi reiterates that the market’s biggest opportunity lies in democratization and education, as many consumers still see fragrances as either a luxury indulgence or a basic deodorant, with little understanding of fine perfumery in the middle.
“Brands that can educate consumers, offer credible quality at accessible prices, and build trust at scale, especially beyond metro cities, will define the next phase of growth in this category,” he concluded.
In a market that is underpenetrated and rapidly evolving, there’s all the potential—and all the challenges. For global players entering this space, local names offer a playbook on how to layer strategies for success.
