Why teen boys are turning to fine fragrances

This article on fragrance is part of our Vogue Business membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to our weekly Beauty Edit newsletter, which contains Member-only reporting and analysis, the Beauty Trend Tracker and Leadership Advice, sign up for Vogue Business membership here. Teenage boys are into streaming, snacking and smelling good. At least that’s what’s evident from the 2024 ‘Taking Stock with Teens’ survey by investment bank Piper Sandler. The study, conducted across 6,020 American teenagers, 54 per cent of whom are male, reports that fragrance spend among teen boys is up 26 per cent year-on-year. Mintel’s 2024 fragrance report supports this, with 44 per cent of US boys aged 12 to 14 (Gen Alpha) and 57 per cent aged 15 to 17 (Gen Z) using fragrances. The trend is also visible in the UK, where The Fragrance Shop reports that 48 per cent of its customers are male, as well as 70 per cent year-on-year growth across its Gen Z purchasing category. Dior, Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier are key players in both markets, according to Piper Sandler, Spate, The Fragrance Shop and The Perfume Shop. There’s change in the air, but what’s driving this new wave? “The current fragrance obsession within this demographic is recent and unique, and there’s no doubt that TikTok has played a crucial role in this,” says Rachel Goalby, CMO at The Fragrance Shop. Directly targeting young males is a new wave of influencers specialising in scent: 18-year-old Jatin Arora (@TheCologneBoy) shares videos explaining ingredients and unboxing luxury elixirs to his 1.4 million followers; 15-year-old Tristan Rodriguez (@ThatFragranceKid) reviews the likes of Tom Ford, YSL and Bulgari to 406,000 followers; and faceless account @SuperrScents showcases a scent collection worth thousands of pounds to a 30,000 follower base. All three accounts focus on luxury price points and building fragrance collections while educating their followers on when, where and why they should wear each scent. Unlike previous marketing methods, these teen social media influencers have “developed a way to communicate what the fragrance smells like and how the fragrance will make you feel solely through your phone, so you feel more comfortable trialling something even if you only see it online”, says Korinne Wolfmeyer, beauty and wellness analyst at Piper Sandler. VP of Rabanne Jerome Leloup echoes this sentiment: “TikTok is a place where there is a real dialogue around fragrance, and most importantly creators are able to convey and communicate about an olfactive experience guiding a potential purchase.” This purchase persuasion is proving powerful. After Valentino fragrance Born in Roma and Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male trended on TikTok with countless review videos, including one with over 2.8 million views, sales grew 173 per cent and 93 per cent, respectively, at The Fragrance Shop. The shifting perception of scent Teenage boys are drawn to luxury fragrances as a form of self-expression, similar to fashion and skincare. “Tween boys have long been buying fragrance — the success of the Lynx effect was a prime example of this. But luxury fragrance for men has become more accessible, and also less binary,” says Millie Kendall, CEO of the British Beauty Council. “They are collecting fragrances like they collect trainers, building out fragrance wardrobes and collecting scents that match their moods or connect with their personal style,” adds Goalby. “They have shifted gender stereotypes around scent and deconstructed the perception that luxury fragrances are exclusive or only for those with expensive tastes,” Goalby continues, noting that “cohorts of 12 to 13-year-old boys come into our stores, sometimes with parents, sometimes with saved-up pocket money, and buy two, three luxury fragrances at a time.” Behind this is the growing selfcare movement, as 78 per cent of British consumers believe fragrance can improve overall mental well-being, according to Mintel’s report. This idea is becoming increasingly prominent among younger males, says Karen Harris, customer director at The Perfume Shop. “We’ve seen men care about their skincare routines; now they’re caring about their fragrance routines thanks to the wellness boom,” Wolfmeyer adds, pointing to the deeper connection between scent and the inner psyche. Tapping into the teen boy market Simply tapping into TikTok, however, isn’t enough to secure sales. “Generation Alpha will have high expectations of the products and brands they choose. They want to see more diversity, equity and inclusion… in the beauty industry,” says Andrew McDougall, global beauty and personal care analyst at Mintel. In his view, brands looking to appeal to this consumer should be using models and spokespeople from varying backgrounds, “creating products inclusive of all skin, hair [and] body types”. Rabanne, whose 1 Million scent is a favourite of this demographic, has “a strong focus on social media”, particularly TikTok, where the brand shares videos of men wearing makeup and dancing with the robot-shaped scent bottles — according to Leloup, Rabanne has witnessed “a strong resonance with young audiences”. Other successful players have also begun spending in this area: Mugler selected Willow Smith as the face of its Alien Goddess perfume, Valentino has Anwar Hadid representing Born in Rome, and the Gucci Guilty campaign features faces like Oscar nominee Elliot Page and rapper A$AP Rocky. The use of talent is key to differentiate from the darker side personal care when it comes to teen boys. The ‘looksmaxxing’ arena, for instance, is an incel-derived idea pushing boys to make physical changes in order to become more appealing to the opposite sex. “Often the desire here is to look (or smell) hyper-masculine, confident and mature to a degree that far surpasses their actual age,” says WGSN insight strategist Brielle Saggese, who emphasises the need for caution when targeting a younger consumer group. Brands should also consider that although teen boys are the end consumer, it is often parents entering the stores with them to purchase, according to Goalby, so the marketing must satisfy both demographics. Affordable luxury has an advantage Is there a booming market here for luxury labels to swoop into? Not so fast. “This trend is not necessarily a smart investment area for luxury players,” says Saggese, as it only appeals to a small group of shoppers who can afford high-end prices. There is, however, opportunity for more affordable brands to “innovate age-appropriate fragrances for tweens looking to experiment with different notes, try out mood-boosting scents, score a dupe of a luxury fragrance and find confidence in selfcare rituals”. Gen Alpha are also less likely to be brand loyal. “They’re constantly moving on to the next best thing,” says Wolfmeyer, making newness and innovation fundamental — both of which mass-market brands are often more adept at. Mass-market legacy lines have a big advantage, says McDougall, given their reputation, familiarity and cheaper price points. “They also appeal to the 39 per cent of 12 to 14-year-old US beauty consumers who mostly use mainstream brands and the 73 per cent who agree that mainstream brands work just as well as premium ones,” he says. Lynx, also known as Axe in the US, has done exactly this, launching a fine fragrance range at the beginning of 2024, which retails at £3.75, around £1 more than its core collection. “We know that young guys are buying more luxury fragrances, but we also know that they want affordable options, and there is a gap in the market for luxury products at accessible prices,” says Caroline Gregory, global brand director for Axe/Lynx at Unilever. “This is the area we see value playing in, and the reaction we have received to the collection has surpassed our expectations.” For this generation, selfcare is important, gender norms are shifting and social media leads the conversation. For luxury scent players who understand this and get the marketing right, there’s a potential young men’s beauty market to tap into. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

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