Planning A New Perfume
Some thinking, questioning, and dialog engaged in before starting to draft a serious business plan for a new perfume |
I received the following email from the UK and it caught my attention for a number of reasons. The writer had done some WORK (always a big plus) toward a specific goal and had come to believe that the project might be taken farther — possibly to the point of launching a new perfume.
At the time I received this email I was at work on a fragrance of my own that overlapped in theme the market described in the email. I was curious to see if, perhaps, we could engage in a dialog that would be mutually beneficial.
What follows is first my immediate "notes" and thoughts interjected into the email in brackets and in red. This is followed by my outline of "missing" information — details that would be needed to develop a serious business plan.
I want to thank the sender of this email for allowing me to publish it — and critique it — here at this website.
A Perfume Proposal
On 22 Jun 2009, at 20:53, a friend wrote:
For my GCSE Graphics Project I produced a perfume package after a year of planning. [OK. Notice the time involved.] I am personally very pleased with the outcome [what have others said? What grade did you receive?] and am now intending to produce the product [as I understand it, at this point the "product" is simply a design]. However I will obviously need support [advice or money?] and was hoping if you could help me do this [let's see what might be required]. Moreover I strongly believe that my product is marketable and will be profitable.
To begin if the perfume production was to continue it will be aimed at 18-27 year old females [young women, what background?] at the price range between £39.99-£49.99 [will the price define the background of the women who would be able to purchase it? Here in the U.S., this is not so cheap]. It will be appreciated if you could give me your opinion on the price [selling price is largely determined by the selling environment, which in turn is determined by marketing. Your price must 'fit' the price expectations of buyers in the venue where the perfume is being sold. Upscale shop? Higher price. Mass merchandiser? Lower price. It's as simple as that]. Additionally the perfume has an Arabic theme [an excellent market to address. But you have to get the Arabic people with money. What country would you propose to sell the perfume in? Are there shops in the UK that would work for you or would you have to take it to the Middle East?]. Furthermore this is different and elegant [just about every new perfume makes this claim but certainly it doesn't hurt], something that isn't currently in the market [if it's not on the market, are you sure that there IS a market for it?].
However the changes I would make is the shape of the box [what? Change the graphic design after a year of work?]. Instead of it being a boring rectangular shape I want it to be a hexagonal or pyramid shape [how will the affect the cost of the packaging?]. I will be happy to show my designs on this. Also another change will be the color of the font, altering it to brown [is this important?]. These changes will be beneficial [has any audience testing been done?] and after these stages would be ready and set to produce [in other words, the perfume itself comes last!].
Another crucial point we must consider if this was to take place was the production of the fragrance [yes. A fragrance at last.]. At the moment I am not clear on the exact scent but do have a certain smell in mind [can this smell be communicated in words? How will you work with a perfumer?]. Therefore this part will need to be revised first. [revised? It will need to be STARTED.]
To conclude I will be grateful if you will provide your aid. I have considered the price, theme, market group. I am fully prepared to be part of this [I certainly hope so as it is your project] and produce success. [we are a long way from that at present.]
I hope you will look into this matter. Hope to hear from you soon. Please do not hesitate to contact me: [done]
An analysis of where we stand now
I. Current Assets
- A graphic design for a rectangular perfume box.
- A desire to develop and launch a perfume around the concept and marketing ideas that inspired the box.
- Lots of enthusiasm.
- Perhaps a dollar or two in cash.
II. Issues
- Media Considerations
A market is useless unless a practical, affordable means of reaching it exists. In this case our funds are quite limited so to reach ANY market at all we will have to depend upon sales generators such as:- Face to face sales to shops and/or individuals,
- Internet resources — websites, blogs, social networking, RSS feeds, tweets, etc.,
- Very low cost promotional events, if appropriate.
- Market
The market has been defined as women, age 18-27, who can afford to purchase an unknown fragrance at £39.99 to £49.99 (approximately $65 to $80 US on 07/02/2009) and will relate positively to an Arabic-themed fragrance. Now for some questions to be answered:- Will the initial market be young women of Islamic background, or will the product have a STRONG appeal to non-Islamic woman?
- What country will be targeted first?
- Do shops exist in that country that will take our new fragrance on a trial or consignment basis?
- Will we be able to walk into these shops and make an arrangement to have our perfume displayed?
- Will the women in our target group who shop in these shops be tempted to purchase our new fragrance?
- Will one of these shops allow us to put a "demonstrator" in the shop for a few hours a week so that we can spray some women and get their reaction?
- Product Costs
These figures are simply rough estimates of our costs per bottle. Fragrance cost was estimated for filling a 1.2 oz bottle with perfume mixed at 20 percent compound to 80 percent pure (200 proof in the US) ethyl alcohol. Bottle, spray and overshell are assumed to be "stock" rather than custom as a custom bottle will be unaffordable at our initial production volume, which may be no more than as few dozen — or a few hundred — bottles while we 'test the waters.' Notice that we ARE budgeting a considerable amount of money for the packaging which will surround the bottle as the entire promotion is inspired by the graphic theme of our packaging design.- Fragrance (what goes into the bottle) to fill a 1.2 oz bottle — £1.54 to £1.84 ($2.50 to $3.00 US)
- Bottle, pump & overshell — £1.84 to £3.00 ($3.00 to $5.00 US)
- Box — £0.46 to £6.12 ($0.75 to $10.00 US)
- Label — £0.16 to £1.84 ($0.25 to $3.00 US)
- Assembly — £0.62 to £1.84 ($1.00 to $3.00 US)
- Profit Margins
At a product cost of from £4.62 to £14.64 ($7.50 to $24.00 US) we have the ability to wholesale this perfume at from £20 to £25 ($32.84 to $41.00 US). This should allow us a comfortable margin for advertising, sales promotion, profit, and unexpected expense.
III. Summary
- While this promotion is based on a graphic theme for a perfume package design, the success of the project will depend upon the development of a FRAGRANCE that will have the ability to generate sales within the target market.
- To succeed, this perfume launch will require a great deal of personal selling and energetic viral (buzz) marketing. At present we cannot be certain of our ability to generate "talk" which will translate into sales for this new perfume.
- As funds for this project are limited or non existent, successful test marketing will depend on the ability to develop a reasonably sophisticated promotion at the lowest possible cost.
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While much is written about perfume – the beautiful fragrances... the beautiful bottles – little is available on the "mechanics" of perfume production – the steps that take place on the "factory floor" where a beautiful vision is turned into a finished product, a "ready to sell" perfume. Now you can experience all of these steps, hands on, by making just one quart of your own perfume. If you follow each chapter and do what you are instructed to do, you will end up with from 8 to 64 bottles of your own perfume, depending on the capacity of the bottles you select. Along this "insiders journey," each step is profusely illustrated with professional color photographs and you'll learn — • Exactly what alcohol you'll need and where to get it • Why you'll want (just a little!) water in your perfume • What type bottles you'll need and why you cannot use others • Why you will use a spray and not a cap • How to fill and seal your bottles • How to label your bottles with the correct information so they will be legal for sale • How to select a name for your perfume that will allow you to acquire powerful trademark rights free. If you are a developer of scents you are encouraged to use one of your own for this project. If you are not a scent creator yourself you'll learn how to get a fragrance oil that is exactly right for this project. Online sources are given for all required supplies and materials. Nothing can hold you back from starting your project immediately!
Perfume is famous for the markup it can achieve, even for a middle market fragrance. While "everybody knows" that perfume costs next to nothing to make (not completely true) the making of it is often considered an esoteric secret. "Creating Your Own Perfume With A 1700 Percent Markup!" details how a 3-person company with no experience created their own fragrance in response to a marketing opportunity that was too good to pass up. The book explains exactly what was done to create a fragrance for that opportunity but it is far more than a history of the author's project. "Creating Your Own Perfume With A 1700 Percent Markup!" lays out every step in the process of creating your own perfume, either as a do-it-yourself project – and without the benefit of automated equipment some compromises and workarounds are required – or full bore professional production under your supervision. Either way you will be producing a quality fragrance at a remarkably low cost. Do you have a marketing opportunity that would be wildly profitable if only you could obtain your fragrance at a ridiculously low cost? "Creating Your Own Perfume With A 1700 Percent Markup!" is the guide you need to do it.
A really great name, a special name that is just right for a particular perfume or perfume marketer (or entrepreneur with money to invest!) can be worth a ton of money. But few individuals with great ideas ever manage to cash in on those brilliant ideas. Instead they wait while others "discover" their idea, acquire legal rights to it and make all the money while they are left out in the cold without a penny having been earned for what was once THEIR idea.
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You can build a perfume business of your own using this business plan as a guide. By following its detailed strategy you learn to identify motivated groups of potential perfume buyers. Members of these groups are near the tipping point of desire for a new perfume. You don't know these people and they don't know you but you know a marketer they trust, one who does not currently sell perfume and might never think of selling perfume were it not for your approach. Here is where you step in with a professional plan, promotion, and perfume to take advantage of this ripe opportunity for mutual profit. Before your first promotion has peaked, you will already be developing a relationship with your next marketing partner. Following this plan, you will gain more and more profit with each new marketing partnership.
Now when you make your own perfume you can make it fully "commercial" meaning you will be creating a product ready for regular, continuous sales to friends, relatives, and the public! If the fragrance you've made has already won praise, why not share it with others? Some might pay you for it and want it for their web stores or retail boutiques! Creating your own perfume from dropper bottles: Methods, mechanics, and mathematics guides you through steps that can turn your hobby project into a perfume business. Discover how close you are now and how little more you must do to take what you made with essential oils and dropper bottles into a business of your own! For an introduction to this book, watch this video.
When you name a perfume you create a valuable asset – the name itself. To sell your perfume you want the most effective name possible. But a good name can have value beyond the edge it gives your sales. In naming your fragrance you are creating a trademark and a trademark can have value independent of the product. The value of that trademark can vary. Much depends on how well, in naming your perfume, you follow the trademark "rules." How To Create A More Valuable Name For Your Perfume first helps you develop a name that will be effective in selling your perfume. It then prods you to make use of certain techniques that can turn a good name into a great trademark, strong and valuable. If you have questions about how to protect a name, How To Create A More Valuable Name For Your Perfume will answer many such as:
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Philip Goutell
Lightyears, Inc.
