The niche fragrance world has been a consistently blossoming source of inspiration for the fragrance world at large, with new launches and entrants to the category on a monthly basis. The global luxury niche fragrance market is growing at a 11.29% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, and popular brands like Byredo or Parfums de Marly are being snapped up by strategics and private equity firms. But navigating the road from self-made brand to consistent bestseller is no easy feat. In the tides of acquisitions and #FragranceTok viral sensations, Maison Louis Marie is a ship that has been sailing its own steady course for over a decade, a self-funded brand based in a love of botanicals and accessible luxury. BeautyMatter sat down with CEO Matthew Berkson to discuss the challenging navigation from underground indie shops to the aisles of Sephora, creating complex yet wearable fragrances and the ever-morphing landscape of the perfume industry.Botanical BeginningsMarie du Petit Thouars was born into a world of flora fantasies. Her great-great grandfather Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars was exiled during the French Revolution and ended up in the Mauritius Islands of Madagascar, where he discovered 2,000 different plant species. At the end of the revolution, he returned to France where his findings led to him becoming a celebrated member of the botanist community.Growing up surrounded by botanicals, this love of plantlife built the basis of her fragrance brand. The brand’s mark is an original drawing of Louis Marie’s discovery of the antidris dryochris orchid.