Sweet smell of success

Artisans of aroma at Givaudan

Good morning, fragrance fanatics. This is your Stock Market Rundown for February 20th, 2024. Thanks for reading. Let’s get started:

TODAY’S TOP STORY: THE SMELL OF MONEY

When you’re getting ready for a night on the town, fragrance is the finishing touch. Do you prefer sexy (Dior Sauvage), luxurious (Creed Aventus), or juvenile (Axe Body Spray)? Either way, don’t be the guy who overdoes it… you want your scent to linger, not make their eyes tear up.

You may not know the name Givaudan, but if you’ve worn fragrance, you’ve experienced its products. Givaudan makes scents for brands such as Dior, Calvin Klein, and Yves Saint Laurent. The company also supplies flavorings for foods, from soft drinks to salami.

It was founded in 1895 by Leon and Xavier Givaudan, two brothers who built a perfume factory in Zurich. Alas, they had to relocate when a local bakery complained that the fumes were making its bread smell like flowers. Many acquisitions later, Givaudan went public on the Swiss stock exchange. 

The pandemic saw a lull in demand, since not many people are spritzing on perfume for a Zoom call with the boss. But in 2023 the company enjoyed better-than-anticipated sales.

That’s partly thanks to Gen Z getting into oud, oakmoss, and patchouli: consumers aged 13 to 26 are becoming big buyers of pricy prestige fragrances. But before you stock up your Sephora cart, remember: fragrance doesn’t have to be expensive to smell good.

Heck, Old Spice aftershave costs ten bucks, and men have been relying on it for over 80 years. (Old Spice’s tagline: “If your grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't exist.”)

SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

And that closes out today's session. Excited to see you all first thing tomorrow for more. Yours in capitalism, The Axe