Digital-First Perfume Brands in India: Market Size, Competitive Landscape & Growth Opportunities

Market Overview:

India’s perfume and fragrance market is growing into a lucrative consumer category, driven by rising incomes, increasing interest in personal grooming, and expanding access through e-commerce platforms. The Indian perfume market was valued at around USD 1.25 billion in 2025 and is expected reach USD 2 billion by 2034, led by demand for personalised fragrance experiences. Additionally, premium fragrances are seeing faster demand compared with mass offerings, reflecting a shift toward high-quality scent experiences.

A fresh wave of digital-first perfume businesses emerged within this expanding market. Utilising the social media & D2C models, digital-first brands are challenging traditional retail and legacy label dominance by selling directly online. These brands leverage aspirational branding and are tapping into India’s rapidly expanding base of online shoppers. Brands like Bella Vita Organic, Adil Qadri, EM5, and Neude are becoming household names in the digital fragrance space.

These players combine modern aesthetics, influencer marketing, and omnichannel distribution along with affordable luxury and unique scent profiles. These ventures further focus on digital-only selling with offline pop-ups and retail tie-ups to capture attention across age groups and regions.

Women remain the largest customer base (with more than 50%), though male grooming is also rising rapidly. Talking about the distribution models, offline retail still dominates overall volumes, but online fragrance sales are expanding fast. As a result, major brands like Nykaa have also invested in online channels. Additionally, trends suggest pure‑D2C players report most sales via web marketplaces. For instance, The Man Company’s filings show ~70% of its revenue comes from e-commerce. This reflects a broader shift towards a digital-first sales approach.

Value Chain of a Digital-First Perfume Brand:

A digital-first perfume company in India often follows a seamless direct-to-consumer (D2C) value chain, allowing it better control over product quality, price, branding, and customer data. The process starts with the purchase of raw materials, such as alcohol bases, essential oils, scent compounds, and packaging materials.

Furthermore, to ensure consistency, compliance, and scalability, fragrance formulation is generally performed internally by established businesses or contracted out to skilled perfumers and laboratories. Manufacturing and bottling are often handled through collaboration with third-party facilities. This step also includes packaging design, bottle aesthetics, labelling, and outer boxes.

Once the product is ready, the emphasis moves to digital marketing and branding, which are the foundation of sales for digital-first perfume businesses. To boost awareness and conversions, platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Meta (Facebook & Instagram) advertisements are often employed. Furthermore, to foster trust and encourage sales, brands spend funds on influencer partnerships, creator-led narratives, and short-form video content.

Limited-edition launches, discovery sets, and user-generated content further enhance engagement and social proof. Brand websites and e-commerce platforms are the next crucial sales channels. This is supported by logistics partners and third-party providers for last-mile delivery and warehousing. Additionally, through email marketing, loyalty programs, and reviews, firms focus on customer retention. Better margin management and quicker feedback loops are made possible by this end-to-end D2C approach. Nevertheless, it requires strong execution across both product development and digital growth functions.

Market Growth Drivers & Emerging Trends:

• With more than 300 million Indians shopping online and the country's increasing digital adoption, fragrances are now widely accessible outside of major cities. This has increased online fragrance sales and allows digital-first companies to reach new customers without spending on traditional retail expenses.

 

• Aspirational consumption and growing personal grooming standards have led urban consumers to upgrade from mass-market sprays to premium fragrances. Additionally, there is a growing demand for speciality mixes that offer distinctive and long-lasting characteristics.

 

• Celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor (ARKS) and Rashmika Mandanna (Dear Diary) have established their own fragrance brands. They are combining product narrative with personal branding to attract younger followers and increase customer interaction.

 

• Perfume “dupes” fragrances inspired by luxury originals at lower price points are gaining popularity among Gen Z and millennial buyers. This trend is further driven by social media recommendations and influencer endorsements. Some emerging brands in this segment are RZLER Perfumes, Fusion by Rizwan, Vivian Luxury, etc.

 

• Brands are also launching multiple SKUs in a single collection. These include seasonal limited editions, gift sets, travel sprays, and themed bundles. Such strategies encourage repeat purchases and cater to gifting occasions & personalised fragrance experiences.

 

Competitive Landscape - Leading Digital-First Perfume Brands in India:

• Bella Vita: Bella Vita is an ayurveda-inspired brand selling perfumes as part of their wellness lineup. The brand generated a revenue of USD 50.3 million in 2025, driven by aggressive growth and a broad product mix. Bella Vita offers a wide SKU range from fragrances for men and women to gift sets and more. Core USPs include “organic/natural” formulations and stylish packaging, positioned as affordable luxury.  Additionally, Bella Vita is expanding both online and in retail shops, targeting aspirational youths nationwide.

 

• AdilQadri: A modern attar brand founded by Adil Qadri in 2018, blending traditional Indian attars. The brand’s annual revenue surged 1.5 times since 2024 and reached USD 22 million in 2025. AdilQadri’s USP is authentic, high-purity attars in attractive bottles, along with standardised quality & long-lasting fragrances. The brand gained popularity after its appearance on Shark Tank India and has opened 40 exclusive stores nationwide since then. It targets Gen‑Z millennials by making attar cool again, combining traditional Arabic notes with modern scent.

 

• Beardo: Originally a D2C men’s grooming startup, the brand now operates under Marico (a major FMCG brand). Beardo generated a revenue of USD 23.6 million in 2025, with a year-on-year growth of 23.7%. The brand is known for bold “beard culture” branding and attractive price-performance. Since the Marico acquisition, Beardo has benefited from wider distribution and tighter operations. The company’s vision focuses on expanding offline reach as well as digital ads.

 

• Villain Lifestyle: A young men’s lifestyle brand cofounded by Ashutosh Valani (ex-Beardo). The brand distinguishes itself with its edgy image and vast range of products. USPs include unique fragrances like “Villain Desire” and pop-culture tie-ins (e.g. official Joker perfume in partnership with Warner Media). Villain leverages influencer marketing and social media heavily. Furthermore, the company aims to become a household-name lifestyle brand for men by 2030.

 

• The Man Company: A pioneer in premium men’s D2C grooming and fragrance. The brand reported an annual revenue of USD 20.3 million in 2025, and more than 70% of its sales come from the online channel. The Man Company offers 100+ SKUs, including a range of men’s Eau de Parfums (woody, citrus, etc.), shaving oils, and skincare. The brand’s premium feel and broad portfolio make it a market leader in men’s personal care.

Strategic Opportunities for Market Entry & Growth:

For digital-first businesses, India's thriving e-commerce industry is estimated to reach USD 70 billion in 2026. This presents a powerful avenue for fragrance sales. Premium perfumes used to be difficult to get in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, but online platforms offer greater reach, creating opportunities for direct-to-consumer development.

Customers are looking for fragrance alternatives that are eco-friendly, sustainable, and organic. The increased popularity of natural-based goods (including herbal, botanical, and cruelty-free formulations) presents an opportunity for businesses that value clean ingredients and ethical positioning.

 There is a significant trend toward customisation and personalised fragrances, particularly among metropolitan consumers. For newcomers hoping to charge premium pricing, custom fragrance experiences offer tremendous differentiation prospects. 

 Metro areas continue to have an essential part, but as disposable incomes increase, Tier-II and Tier-III cities are increasingly embracing niche and luxury scents. These regional markets represent mostly untapped demand for businesses that customise their marketing and pricing to local customer behaviour.

Brands can also differentiate their products beyond typical male/female lines by catering to gender-neutral and unisex perfumes. This promotes wider customer appeal and fits perfectly with global trends for inclusive personal care products.

There is a visible opportunity in creating occasion-specific fragrances such as formal, party, casual, sports & fitness, etc. This trend will further rise in the face of surge in per capita income levels. Likewise, brands can research more about formats (standard vs smaller sizes), notes and packaging.

 

How Can The India Watch Help?

For investors, founders, and brands looking to enter or scale within India’s digital-first perfume and fragrance landscape, The India Watch offers end-to-end market intelligence and strategic advisory support to enable informed decision-making and sustainable growth. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Market Sizing & Opportunity Assessment
• Market Intelligence & Feasibility Assessment
• PAN-India Consumer Surveys & Stakeholder Interviews
• Competitive Intelligence & benchmarking
• Consumer Behaviour & Trend Analysis
• Financial Modelling & Investment Readiness
• Risk Analysis, Contingency Planning & Growth Roadmaps
• Value Chain, Supply Chain & Operations Mapping
• Regulatory, Compliance, and Licensing information
• Go-To-Market (GTM) planning
• Strategy on optimal channel selection
• Investor Pitch Decks

Let’s turn market insights into profitable growth strategies. Connect with us at:

E-mail: info@theindiawatch.com || Phone: 8076704267 / 81977 49919