Messi Eau de Parfum kicks off North American retail footprint expansion

Football icon Lionel Messi’s Messi Eau de Parfum secures a new exclusive North American distributor, Sheralven. 

Messi Eau de Parfum is manufactured by Game On Product Group, a Melbourne-based fragrance company. Sheralven chose JCPenney to serve as the brand’s exclusive US retailer, selling through its online webshop and in over 600 JCPenney stores across the US and Puerto Rico.

Each JCPenney Beauty location now sports a dedicated Messi fragrance display at the front.

“I was thrilled at the opportunity to create an olfactive experience that was as unique, special and memorable as Leo Messi himself. The scent contains fresh top notes of cardamom and wild cypress contrasted by warm notes of leather and cedarwood,” says Frank Voelkl, principal perfumer at dsm-firmenich.

“These notes, together with hints of vanilla, wear nicely on the skin and create a siege that is bound to make everyone want more of it. It is a scent to be worn by anyone looking to feel confident and strong just as Messi.”

The 3.4-oz. (100 ml) eau de parfum is packaged in a dark base of navy-blue glass molded in the Messi logo, with a gift set that also includes an 8.5-oz. (250 ml) body wash and Messi logo toiletry bag.

Triple-digit projected retail sales

Messi spent most of his professional career with FC Barcelona and is currently captain of Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.

Sports polling organization SSRS recently named Argentinian the most popular athlete in the US on the heels of becoming Time Magazine’s 2023 Athlete of the Year.

“We are confident that with his devoted fan base, we will hit the projected retail sales of US$100 million by 2026,” states Steven Koss, president and CEO of Sheralven.

“As Messi’s signature scent, it is sure to be embraced by millions of devoted US fans as the embodiment of his competitive essence, a men’s fragrance that inspires confidence and exudes a winning spirit.

Michelle Wlazlo, chief merchandising and supply chain officer at JCPenney, adds: “When Leo Messi announced he was going to launch a signature scent in 2024, we knew immediately it would resonate with our customer.”

Throughout his illustrious career, he has won numerous awards, including multiple FIFA ballon d’or trophies.

“I have always been passionate about fragrance, and I am extremely excited to produce my very own signature scent. This is truly a unique and inspirational fragrance, in a personalized bottle, for all fans around the world,” says Messi.

In other recent fragrance activities, minimalist beauty brand Merit expands into fragrance with its first scent, Retrospect, stepping into the new category less than four years after its launch. Retrospect is a “complex, layered scent” that Merit says took more than two years and over 200 rounds to develop.