Post-Covid, when there is so much focus on well-being, lifestyle aromas that refresh and vitalize the overall atmosphere, ensuring physical and mental well-being, are fast becoming an integral part of homes, offices, hotels, F& B outlets, and high street shopping.
Gone are the days when the idea of home aromas, mostly hovering around inexpensive bathroom fresheners and room sprays, was found on the shelves of hypermarket stores. The Indian home aroma market has gone from strength to strength in recent times. Increasingly, households now understand how the aroma is integral to the idea of décor and ambience. It is no more a non-essential luxury but gradually becoming indispensable to one’s lifestyle. Like people decorate their homes in a specific style, similarly now they prefer to use aromas. Home aromas and fragrances are now becoming an extension of our personas.
Increasingly in homes, offices/ workstations, hospitality/F&Bs, high street outlets, fragrance products such as diffusers, scented candles, scented tea lights, potpourri, are finding their way. People now understand how having the right fragrance product in a space can refresh the surroundings, vitalize the overall atmosphere, and ensure physical & mental wellbeing. A growing Work from Home (WFH) culture is also making Indians realize how keeping the right aroma at the work desk can help in focusing better, cut distractions, and fight the fatigue of isolated working hours.
Currently, the lifestyle aroma market has a size of around USD 500 million, out of which home aroma category comprises 40 percent of the market share The market is still small and constitutes just 3 percent of the global aroma market which is valued at around USD 7.2 billion. However the market in India will continue to move upwards, stemming from growing demand for lifestyle products, evolution in consumer preferences, and transformation in retail. As per internal research by Rosemoore, the aroma market iset for exponential growth and is expected to reach USD 700 million by 2027 as institutional investors are realizing the potential in the segment and are betting big on it.
The pandemic has also reinforced the idea of hygiene and the importance of maintaining air quality. Though there is limited clinical evidence available, anecdotal research in the past has suggested that numerous popular aromas such as lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, jasmine, etc. are rich in antibacterial properties and can be a natural line of defense to neutralize airborne infections.
The retail reach of home aromas has also transformed in recent years. Today, we can find them widely available on the shelves of malls, supermarkets, hypermarkets, high streets, departmental stores, etc. Interestingly, they are also now available in gift shops, book stores, furniture and décor shops, etc, underlining their growing popularity in recent times.In the foreseeable future, e-commerce will also give a big push to the demand of home aromas and the lifestyle market in India. Horizontals like Amazon and Flipkart have grown multifold in recent times, thereby pushing the reach of categories such as personal care, lifestyle, home fragrance, interior décor, etc.
The growing digitization of retail and grocery channels will also continue to fuel the demand for home fragrances in India. Besides horizontals and retail-based verticals, individual brands are also augmenting their e-retail capabilities. Going forward, a sizable portion of demand will emanate virtually and accordingly build new digital capabilities. And as the trend of luxury homes and luxury malls catches up, lifestyle aroma products are going to gain greater foothold.
1
2
3
4
5
6