Behind the world’s fragrances sits a shadowy oligopoly

America’s Justice Department recently sought to intervene to stop some documents from becoming public, as it is considering a case of its own. Unilever, a consumer-goods giant, is also suing dsm-firmenich, Givaudan and Symrise, and has said it will invest €100 million ($179 million) to build its own fragrance capabilities.

All this may have weighed on the share prices of the four firms, which are down by an average of nine per cent over the past year, despite the fact that business has been good. In the first quarter of 2025, their sales grew by an average of a little under six per cent year on year, excluding acquisitions and divestitures.

“The fragrance market is booming,” notes Sylvain Eyraud of Takasago, a Japanese rival not under investigation. That is thanks in part to Gen Z. Perfume was the fastest-growing beauty category in America in 2024, according to Circana, a research firm, which has found that more than 80 per cent of Gen Z wear it at least three times a week.

Mr Eyraud’s optimism flags only when he talks about so-called dupes – copycat perfumes whose sales are fuelled by those same youngsters. Still, the industry’s growth is nothing to sniff at.

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