India powers global perfumery, so why aren’t we buying homegrown perfumes?

For most fragrance collectors, classics from YSL, Christian Dior, Tom Ford, and Chanel are a given. And if they’re seriously invested in fragrances, they will also collect some from niche perfumery brands. However, a dedicated spot for homegrown fragrances? That isn’t too common yet. 

Historically, perfumery has been deeply rooted in India. From Kannauj to Assam, and Madurai to Kashmir, several regions in the country are synonymous with the fragrant raw materials they produce, which are then used to make some of the most exquisite perfumes in the world. According to the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, out of the 110 cultivated fragrant raw materials, India is the global hotspot for approximately 50—sandalwood, rose, jasmine, and oud being some of the widely known ingredients.

A 2025 report by New Delhi-based Basic Roots Consulting reveals that fragrance is the fastest-growing category in India’s booming beauty and personal care industry—projected to reach a market size of $2.5 billion by 2028. While the foray of legacy designer giants and niche luxury brands has made fragrance a hyper-active market in India, a slew of Indian perfume brands such as Bombay Perfumery, NASO Profumi, Boond, and LilaNur have also made their presence felt in the recent past. The once unorganised and largely mass-produced homegrown perfumery market is steadily coming into its own. Yet, Indian fragrance labels haven’t entered the mainstream so far.

But what’s keeping consumers from switching to homegrown perfumes? Is it the local positioning, a loyalty towards prestige brands, or a lack of awareness about Indian brands? 

How Indian perfume brands are reinventing the homegrown fragrance market

Not so long ago, homegrown perfumes meant handmade attars sold loosely in parts of central and north India or eminently massy brands introduced by conglomerates like ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Procter & Gamble. In the past few years, however, a small clutch of homegrown brands have entered the market. Naso Profumi (launched in 2020), Bombay Perfumery (2016), Boond Fragrances (2021), Olfa Fragrances (2023), Call of The Valley (2019), Kastoor (2018), and Isak (2022) are some established names in the homegrown fragrance market. As a result, today, 30 per cent of the homegrown fragrance market is organised, a notable progress from 10 per cent in 2015. 

“The fact that we didn’t have a homegrown luxury niche perfumery brand [in India] bothered me,” says Astha Suri, founder of NASO Profumi. “I wanted to create something made by us and for us, and the world to understand the intricacies of Indian recipes—whether it be perfumes or food.” 

Given that her grandfather was a perfumer, Pallavi Bhatia grew up surrounded by scent—not just in bottles, but in stories and rituals too. “While India has been the birthplace of some of the world’s most precious ingredients like oud, sandalwood, and mittiattar, we have been exporting our soul to be bottled and branded elsewhere. I wanted to change that.” She launched Olfa Organics in 2023 to bottle the land, heritage, and craftsmanship she grew up on, and offer it to the world.

Siblings Krati and Varun Tandon, founders of Boond, experienced a similar sense of frustration. “We were heartbroken to see the struggles of the artisans and local perfumeries during the lockdowns. Boond was born to revive this craft, support the communities behind it, and reintroduce people to the slow beauty of Indian attars.”

Today, launching body mists, sprays, and artisanal perfumes has become a natural extension of most Indian beauty brands. From mass brands like Plum, Honnasa-owned Aqualogica, Titan’s Skinn, and FabIndia’s Fab Essentials to luxury brands like Forest Essentials and Pahadi Local, fragrances are cropping up on every beauty brand’s checklist, almost as a cheat code to profits. While Mintel India’s Fragrances and Deodorants Market Report 2024 reveals that affordability is among the top three purchase drivers for fragrance and deodorant products, and brands are now innovating with more affordable formats such as pocket perfumes and mini-sets to address this gap, Nykaa’s Beauty Trends Report 2024 confirms that offering body mists rank high among brands’ strategies to tap Gen Z consumers. 

Why Indian consumers still prefer foreign perfume brands 

Traditionally, Indians have looked at fragrances either as a utility item or quiet luxury (think colognes and perfumes from Calvin Klein, Prada, Tommy Hilfiger), and barely as an extension of their personality. That perhaps explains why the fragrance market in India has been highly two-dimensional—predominantly headlined by mass and international luxury offerings.

Today, with several options populating the market, the biggest factor driving Indian consumers’ purchases is the longevity of the juice, followed by its ability to tackle body odour. The proof is in the numbers—since YSL launched on Nykaa, the e-commerce platform has reported a 53 per cent year-on-year sales growth in 2024. 

While India has recently become a fertile market for luxury and prestige brands, why do made-in-India brands remain inconspicuous?

“For too long, we’ve romanticised the West and forgotten our olfactory roots,” begins Pranav Kapoor, chef, perfumer, and founder, Perfume Tourism. “India has a 2,000-year-old perfumery tradition, but somehow, we let the idea of luxury become synonymous with being foreign.”

Historically, India didn’t lack great perfumers—it lacked platforms, points out Bhatia. “The narrative of luxury perfumery was monopolised by European houses, and while India supplied the ingredients, we were never positioned as creators. Moreover, there’s been limited investment in brand-building, consumer education, and retail presence in the fragrance space for homegrown names.” 

Since homegrown perfumery names have just begun to drum up attention, and are fairly new for “legacy” to kick in, Suri agrees: “Branding is not everyone's cup of tea; as humans, we are automatically drawn to something aspirational, and since decades, consumers have been fed well with international brands, filling that space for them.” Indian brands have a different approach to branding. “I know a lot of brands that have scaled up immensely in numbers, being in the Indian market, but you and I wouldn’t hear of them in the everyday scenario. So, there's still a while to go for us to see the depth of which we can brand—being in India,” adds Suri.

Even Manan Gandhi, founder of Bombay Perfumery and Zero Zero, attributes this lack of excitement regarding homegrown perfumery to the longstanding brand value (or trust) that international brands have enjoyed, and continue fuelling with high-scale campaigns and celebrity endorsements. “There’s a big difference in marketing strategy and budgets, especially the latter. Legacy perfume brands are backed by legacy labels so they can rope in global brand ambassadors as the face of their campaigns—that’s not so easy for homegrown labels,” says Gandhi. “India is a complex market; while consumers in tier-1 cities are more discerning and willing to experiment, people in upcoming luxury markets relate luxury to logos and owning ‘branded’ luxury. It then becomes a tough market for homegrown brands to break into,” he adds. 

Can Indian perfume brands compete with global luxury fragrances? 

While Suri admits witnessing a 90 per cent retention rate, Tandon notes a growing audience that’s actively looking for something more meaningful, rooted, and conscious. But, despite homegrown options galore, a major shift is due. 

Gandhi thinks it’s easier to now discover homegrown brands than it was about ten years ago due to the possibility of omnichannel advertising—such as influencer collaboration and pop-ups at bazaars. Kapoor, meanwhile, opines that the awareness needs to go beyond Instagram. “We’re only scratching the surface. The average Indian still doesn’t know that Kannauj is one of the oldest perfumery hubs in the world. We’ve got generations of knowledge sitting in copper degs and no platforms mainstreaming that narrative.” In concurrence, Bhatia shares, “There’s a growing tribe that seeks homegrown perfumes and understands artisanal blends, but the larger market is still in its early stages of discovery. We need more voices, more conversations, and more access points to make niche Indian perfumery visible and desirable to a broader audience.”

“Homegrown perfumery has often been boxed into tradition or Ayurveda, rarely given the stage to stand as modern, global luxury. So, the awareness exists, but in fragments,” says Praveen Kenneth, founder of Beautiful India. “What’s missing is a unified voice that positions Indian fragrance as rooted and refined, as heritage meeting haute.” The problem isn’t about lacking heritage, it’s the missed opportunity of not packaging it in a language the modern consumer can relate to, cites Kapoor. “Most homegrown labels have stayed either too traditional or too trend-chasing. Very few have found that middle ground where identity, aspiration, and cultural pride coexist.”

India’s homegrown fragrance market is growing, yet, 70 per cent of it remains unorganised. This leaves brands with a goldmine opportunity to tell their stories, establish a brand voice and positioning, and build a community of loyalists. Kapoor, who curates perfume-based tourism experiences in Kannauj, believes that brands can’t just do away with selling perfume any longer—they must sell a story. “Indian consumers are evolving; they’re curious, informed, and emotionally driven. When the story and soul behind the brand are strong enough to earn that shift, they’ll move away from legacy brands.” He furthers, “You can’t out-market legacy giants with budgets; they’ll always win the ad war. But you can outconnect them. Take my perfume tourism in Kannauj for example—it’s about giving people an actual memory of plucking flowers at sunrise, distilling mitti, pairing scent with food, creating your signature scent, and suddenly, the perfume isn’t just a product. It’s a moment.”

At Bombay Perfumery, Gandhi taps cultural nuances that are unique to India’s pulse through his line-up of perfumes with variants like Chai Musk and Madurai Talkies. “Chai Musk is a fragrance inspired by the perfumer's memory of sipping masala chai at a Mumbai tapri, so the fragrance has notes like ginger, lemongrass, hot milk accord, green tea, mate, and cardamom.” 

Tandon, on the other hand, is carving a niche for Boond by doing what legacy brands often can’t: offering transparency, direct connections to artisans, and products that are place-based. “We tell the stories of our makers, our ingredients, and our land (often seen on our Instagram account), building trust and emotional connection. Plus, we’re also investing in experiences like distillery visits, to help people build a personal relationship with fragrance.” 

Similarly, Bhatia’s Olfa offers studio visits, bespoke perfumery sessions, ingredient journeys, and limited-edition releases with a story behind every drop. Suri also wants to dig deeper into the craft of perfumery and understand nostalgia through the sense of smell. “That alone will have half our boat sailing—the other half is largely adapting to my consumer. More in-person fragrance testing is going to be key for me.” 

While fragrances are still perceived as a luxury item, as of 2023, 56 per cent of Indian consumers under the age of 35 prefer purchasing beauty products that are cruelty-free and sustainably sourced, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Plus, the inclination towards made-in-India beauty and personal care products is rising among Indian consumers. This gives Indian brands a leverage over legacy brands. “It’s not easy breaking into a cluttered market, but there’s a discerning, well-travelled audience with a certain aesthetic who are willing to experiment with their choices and help homegrown brands become big,” shares Gandhi.

According to Suri, the globalisation of Indian perfumery could also change the narrative of this sector back home. “A global audience is the goal for Indian perfumery as an art to be explored since that part of the story hasn’t even been explored yet. When that happens, the Indian consumer will largely have a different perception of homegrown perfume labels.” Bhatia agrees: “The moment you place an Indian-made fragrance next to a global one, and it stands shoulder to shoulder in complexity, longevity, and craftsmanship—people are willing to shift.” It’s about trust, and homegrown brands are steadily earning it, she concludes.