How has Covid Affected the Perfume Industry
Perfumes and scents have witnessed a number of changes since antiquity. The unprecedented Covid pandemic, however, has brought about huge revisions in the ever flourishing fragrance industry. From online perfume shops, ‘touchless’ marketing solutions and blurring the lines between perfumes for men and women, the pandemic introduces the world to the proper rescripting of the perfume industry. So, here’s how the Covid pandemic’s disastrous effects extend into the industry, critically paralysing it, but all the same inspiring fresh mindsets and ways of marketing to bloom and take the wheel.
1 – Emerging Problems
With the advent of the Covid pandemic, a number of hurdles were thrown at the fragrances industry – essentially regarding raw materials and distribution.
Firstly, the availability of raw ingredients like floral extract, local exoticities, regional ingredient variants etc was heavily affected. Material crops went unpicked, poor produce was gathered because of lack of proper care, import and export limitations due to different virus scenarios around the world etc.
Secondly, one can definitely notice the lack of availability of one very crucial element in Perfumery – ALCOHOL!
Yes! Alcohol is a necessary element for the proper production of any premium fragrance . As alcohol usage got prioritised for the manufacture of hand sanitizers, disinfectants, cleaning agents etc due to their increased demands in these perilous times, the perfume industry has been receiving a considerably low amount of alcohol for perfume synthesis. The import and export of materials turns out to be fairly complicated as it remains heavily dependent on the delicate balance of the exporter’s and importer’s regional abilities to make the transaction, which may often prove to be impaired due to the spreading virus causing lockdowns, delays, lack of funds etc.
2 – Demand Dynamics

3 – Primary Shift to Online Means
To counter the majority of problems, the perfume industry renovated its means of marketing and inclined more towards online forms. The statistics note a shift from 19% of perfume sales to a whopping 33% of online sales in the span of two years from 2019 to 2021. Although the sales of perfumes seem to be booming in the online sector through any online perfume shop, it fails to make up for the loss experiences in the brick-and-mortar sale of these scents and fragrances. Furthermore, the perfume brands are expected to have an existing online reach overseas and hence an established international identity to ensure the necessary sale patterns.
4 – Branching and Counter-Measures
