Strategic partnerships: Firmenich and Harmay link up to develop fine fragrance category in China

18 Jan 2022 --- Flavor and fragrance giant Firmenich is partnering with avant-garde warehouse-style retail brand Harmay to develop Firmenich’s fine fragrance category among Chinese consumers. Harmay has a strong Gen Z appeal and is known for its unique physical stores.

“This partnership with Harmay serves as a significant enhancement to our capabilities in China and fortifies our ambitions as the partner of choice in the Chinese market,” says Ilaria Resta, president of global perfumery at Firmenich.

The companies say the move will support the development of new brands, fragrances, models, concepts and experiences.

China: a prime market for expansion
Firmenich says the move will bolster Firmenich’s growth both in China and globally. As PersonalCareInsights has noted in the past, China represents the world’s second-largest beauty and personal care market and the world’s largest eCommerce market. 

The country is home to the world’s fastest-growing consumer market.

Firmenich has been active within China for the past 30 years. “China is projected to be the new frontier of the global fine fragrance market, with many local brands emerging and a significant increasing usage among consumers, especially with Gen Z,” states Jason Ju, Harmay’s co-Founder.

For the newest generation of consumers, innovative and experimental branding and products, especially within the fragrance industry, is critical. A partnership between Firmenich and an eccentric retailer like Harmay is thus very timely.

eCommerce and warehouse retail
Harmay, founded in 2008, started as an online retailer but since its founding has constructed twelve in-person stores centered around an artistic, industrial “warehouse culture” aesthetic. 

The concept for the warehouse-stores was borne from the fact that, as primarily online retailers, Harmay’s employees would mostly work inside warehouses in the past.

When the company decided to open physical stores, Harmay merged the concepts of warehouses and stores in design, offering customers a unique in-store experience. Customers are encouraged to explore, and the concept allows consumers to feel like they are shopping inside a factory or warehouse rather than a typical retail outlet.

Aside from its warehouse concept, Harmay uses non-traditional, poetic messaging and visuals to reach customers, and its website includes art exhibitions and showcases of its various store locations. 

Each warehouse-store is an art exhibition in itself, and each location follows a different stylistic theme, usually offering social commentary. For example, in January 2021, the retailer redesigned its store in Xintiandi, Shanghai, to be modeled after local wet markets. The store included cages filled with products specifically not tested on animals. 

Harmay recently announced the opening of a “cave factory” warehouse-store inside a former air-raid shelter in Chongqing. The salmon color-themed location features large metal conveyor belts and is designed to evoke a sense of solitude from customers.

Firmenich seems to be pursuing innovative technologies and partnerships with unconventional companies as a core strategy to update its operations for the new generation of consumers. 

Last year, Firmenich also partnered with Pantone to create its “Pure Imagination” collection of fragrances inspired by the color design company. The collaboration was meant to demonstrate an “emotional relationship between color and scent,” according to the companies.

In November 2021, Firmenich was awarded Digital Innovation of the year by the Digital Economy Awards 2021 for its AI flavor and fragrance generator.

Edited by Olivia Nelson