Author: Rahul Shah
Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-shah-0a725b84/
Suryakumar Yadav just became "Kachra Seth" for a D2C fragrance brand.
And I think that tells you everything about where this category is headed.
House Of EM5 - a brand making solid perfumes - pulled off one of the more unexpected brand campaigns recently. Last year, they also raised ₹1 crore from Aman Gupta on Shark Tank India Season 4.
And they’re not alone. Since 2025, a ton of fragrance startups have started drawing serious VC attention. Investors are already calling it the fastest-growing BPC sub-segment in India.
Most Indians are still using deodorants. The shift to actual perfume - selecting a scent for a specific mood, occasion, or moment - is still early. And that's exactly what makes this interesting.
The fragrance space today looks a lot like skincare did 6-7 years ago. It was a small category with low awareness. But once adoption starts, it moves fast.
Mass players like Fogg, BellaVita, and Wild Stone own the bottom.
Affordable brands like Pilgrim, Secret Alchemist, and Plum are carving the middle.
And the mid-premium tier - House Of EM5, Bombay Perfumery, Beardo, Villain Life - is where the real white space is opening up.
The next big D2C play in India isn't another food brand or a quick commerce bet. It's fragrance. The category is under-built, the consumer is ready to move up, and the early movers are just getting started.
Worth watching closely.
And I think that tells you everything about where this category is headed.
House Of EM5 - a brand making solid perfumes - pulled off one of the more unexpected brand campaigns recently. Last year, they also raised ₹1 crore from Aman Gupta on Shark Tank India Season 4.
And they’re not alone. Since 2025, a ton of fragrance startups have started drawing serious VC attention. Investors are already calling it the fastest-growing BPC sub-segment in India.
Most Indians are still using deodorants. The shift to actual perfume - selecting a scent for a specific mood, occasion, or moment - is still early. And that's exactly what makes this interesting.
The fragrance space today looks a lot like skincare did 6-7 years ago. It was a small category with low awareness. But once adoption starts, it moves fast.
Mass players like Fogg, BellaVita, and Wild Stone own the bottom.
Affordable brands like Pilgrim, Secret Alchemist, and Plum are carving the middle.
And the mid-premium tier - House Of EM5, Bombay Perfumery, Beardo, Villain Life - is where the real white space is opening up.
The next big D2C play in India isn't another food brand or a quick commerce bet. It's fragrance. The category is under-built, the consumer is ready to move up, and the early movers are just getting started.
Worth watching closely.
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