Key Takeaways:
Rather than following established perfumery tropes since its founding in 2018, Maison Crivelli has written its own rules, translating sensory memories and cross-cultural experiences into fragrances. Under the leadership of founder Thibaud Crivelli, the house crafted a distinctive business model where emotion, craftsmanship, and selectivity hold equal weight to design ambition. And, as the global demand for prestige beauty shifts toward emerging markets, especially in Africa, Maison Crivelli now finds itself ideally positioned to capitalize on both creative and commercial opportunities.
From the outset, Crivelli’s guiding ambition was never to produce just another luxury scent but to be driven by a conviction that perfume can be a sensory adventure. “Each perfume is inspired by a real-life unexpected raw materials encounter, marked by contrast and unpredictability, translating sensations into scent in a way that is both immersive and evocative,” he told BeautyMatter.
That commitment reframes fragrance creation as emotional storytelling, not product replication. “We combine unexpected pairings and bold contrasts to push the boundaries of traditional perfumery. This results in creations that feel vibrant, multifaceted, and truly unique,” said Crivelli.
Maison Crivelli has been doubling its growth every year since launch. Sixty-eight percent of its turnover is generated in Europe, and its performance is driven by a strong, long-term, 360-degree strategy supporting each launch, with continuous focus on in-store experience, trade, training, sampling, press, and influencer activations, as well as exclusive VIP events, Criveli revealed.
Luxury Without Dilution
This creative rigor is mirrored in Maison Crivelli’s development process. Rather than issuing standard olfactory briefs, Crivelli briefs perfumers with “a multisensory mood-board,” inviting them to reconstruct a memory or a sensory snapshot. The resulting creative cycles are long, taking “several months to two years of work,” in many cases, according to Crivelli. The brand’s discipline ensures each fragrance stays true to its emotional and artistic ethos.
Cuir Infrarouge, a fragrance launched globally in September, was inspired by a memory of a music festival alive with raspberry cocktails and night skies, pairing a vivid raspberry accord with soft-grained leather, a contrast that blends youthful indulgence with sophistication. Remarkably, after months of work, the final formula required only two revisions; a sign, Crivelli said, of “intuitive synergy.”
Yet, Maison Crivelli prides itself as more than an artisanal passion project but rather a carefully managed business. Crivelli emphasized that global expansion will be “at a pace that matches the brand’s internal maturity. No rushed expansion.” For Crivelli, each new distributor, retailer, or region must align with the brand’s identity, not dilute it.
“The idea is to build something coherent and long lasting. Every opening should be meaningful and cared for, not just a dot on a map,” he said. This selectivity is a key differentiator in a crowded niche landscape where many brands scale rapidly, often at the expense of exclusivity or brand coherence.
Present in Harrods and Selfridges in the United Kingdom, Galeries Lafayette in France, Skins Cosmetics in The Netherlands and South Africa, Rinascente in Italy, and Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue in the United States, scale must never come at the cost of soul. According to Crivelli, the UK is its number one single market, representing 26% of total worldwide turnover; the brand has grown by 137% versus the last year in France, and obtained 275% growth in Italy, particularly driven by Milan.
The Strategic Opportunity, Shifts, and Emerging Markets
Maison Crivelli’s cautious, identity-driven growth approach could not be more timely. The global beauty and personal care industry is currently evolving, and fragrances are reemerging as a growth cornerstone at a time of economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behavior. According to a 2025 report, fragrances will account for 23% of absolute growth in the global personal-care industry between 2024 and 2029.
In this context, emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, are becoming central for luxury players. The overall luxury goods market in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow from an estimated $19.76 billion in 2025 to roughly $32.97 billion by 2030, at a projected CAGR of 10.78%, according to Modor Intelligence International. More specifically, the fragrance segment in Africa is forecast to grow steadily between 2025 and 2030.
Even in country-specific markets, the opportunity is tangible. In South Africa alone, the luxury perfume market was estimated at around $121.6 million in 2024, with a projected growth to roughly $203 million by 2033 (a 2025-2033 CAGR of ~5.85%). It is against this backdrop that Maison Crivelli began its Africa strategy, not as an afterthought, but as a deliberate, high-conviction move. Crivelli is explicit about why the continent matters. “Personally, I love the continent. I spend a great deal of time there. There is a genuine affinity between our olfactory proposition and the tastes of the African clientele.”
Here, “affinity” means the resonance and same qualities that defined Maison Crivelli since its inception. Think vibrancy, contrast, cultural memory, sensual complexity. According to him, those sensibilities—a celebration of richness, layering, emotional intensity—arguably dovetail better with many African luxury consumers than more muted, classic European fragrance aesthetics.
Crivelli also noted that African or Afro-descended customers already formed a “significant and enthusiastic segment” among Maison Crivelli’s global clientele, often purchasing from London, Paris, Dubai, or the United States. That made an official footprint on the continent less of a gamble than a strategic consolidation. “In Selfridges in London,” Crivelli revealed, “the top five African nationalities—Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya—represent 87% of all African international sales year to date, demonstrating a highly concentrated yet powerful customer base.”
The first South African foothold came via a partnership with high-end retailer Skins (via the brand’s Dutch distributor), a store whose service standards and luxury positioning fully aligned with the Maison Crivelli identity. The brand has been present in seven doors and e-commerce since 2020, and is currently ranked as the number one brand in the Skins network. From there, expansion followed carefully, now targeting major West African hubs, starting with one of Nigeria’s most commercial powerhouses, Alara Lagos.
“Our choice then focused on Alara, in Lagos, because we have a significant number of Nigerian customers who have embraced the brand and typically purchase it outside the continent.” Their strategy is not about mass distribution, but strategic presence, as it plans to build legitimacy with consumers who already know and love the brand, and enabling repeat purchase without the friction of international shipping or travel.
The timing is also not accidental. With Africa’s perfume and luxury goods markets growing steadily, and with a youth-skewed demographic and rising affluence in many markets, Maison Crivelli is positioning itself to ride a broader wave of premiumization. As Crivelli puts it, “The African continent is highly strategic for Maison Crivelli.”
He expects the brand’s growth on the continent to “align with its international expansion,” especially as future launches lean into perfume extracts, a category that often appeals to consumers seeking richer, longer-lasting, more luxurious scent experiences. Right now, its overall global growth in the African market has risen by 70% in comparison to the previous year.
The Challenges Ahead and the Company’s Levers for Success
Expanding in Africa or any emerging market is not without risk. Market growth may be modest or volatile, distribution infrastructure can be uneven, and consumer price sensitivity amid economic constraints remains a factor in some segments. Moreover, luxury retail in much of Africa continues to rely heavily on in-person sales. A 2025 industry report found that physical stores account for roughly 81% of luxury-goods sales in Africa, underscoring the importance of carefully staged, experiential retail rather than e-commerce-first strategies.
For Maison Crivelli, these constraints reinforce the need for discipline, including areas like retailer selection, positioning, and consumer education. The brand’s ethos of storytelling, emotional depth, and sensory immersion may give it a strong advantage but only if supported by thoughtful distribution, localized marketing, and service-driven retail experiences.
According to Crivelli, Maison Crivelli’s ambition is not simply to sell more bottles. “We want to build something coherent and long lasting. Every opening should be meaningful and cared for,” he said. If the early indicators are correct, that is, growing global demand for fragrance, rising African luxury consumption, and existing brand affinity among Afro-descended clients, then Maison Crivelli could achieve something increasingly rare in perfumery, and that is scaling without losing soul, and expanding markets without diluting identity.
The beauty landscape is saturated with trend-chasing and mass-appeal launches, but Maison Crivelli’s strategy could offer a counter-narrative using artistry, emotional resonance, and selective presence. As the house steps into Africa, the coming years could redefine not only its commercial footprint, but also the role niche perfumery plays in a global, culturally diverse, and increasingly aspirational beauty market.
