Trends in Home Fragrance Packaging

Restoration Hardware’s new home fragrance candles and room spray evoke a vintage feel.

Innovative designs and stylized packaging wrap up today’s home fragrances, which are now available at a wide array of venues.

Written by Lisa B. Samalonis, Contributing Editor

The economic downturn just might be leading to an upturn in the home fragrance market. While odor elimination and control are still the primary needs among home fragrance consumers, interest is increasing in fragrance as a year-round home design element.

“Consumers are spending more time at home and want it to smell pleasant all year round, not just for seasonal holidays or special occasions. The odor neutralizing benefit has influenced the assortment and construction of new fragrances into the market,” says Diane Piscitello, director, Creative Fragrance Development-Home, at Mane, USA, in Wayne, NJ.

She notes that buyers can expect to see Spring 2011 fragrances with greater emphasis on simple single note scents, such as rose and coconut, in the mass market, while niche markets will boast classic floral scents that are less singular and instead convey a generous floral experience.

“Consumers seeking value are getting more for the buck with odor neutralizing lines in their favorite fragrances.We are seeing a wider range of home fragrances on the market, which allow us to layer or mix and match scents in our homes with plug-ins, diffusers, candles and room sprays,” Piscitello says.

Slow and Steady Growth
The home fragrance market, which includes air fresheners, candles, and specialty products, housed in a number of forms from pillars to sticks to sprays, will continue to grow slowly over the next several years. Total sales are projected to reach about $6 billion in 2012, up from roughly $5 billion in 2007, according to estimates from the market research firm, Packaged Facts.

In recent years, private label players have joined the ranks of brand leaders like SC Johnson and Procter & Gamble in the home fragrance market. Private label or store brands are a significant factor in the candle segment and account for about 20% of total sales in the mass market, according to the “Home Fragrance Products in the U.S.: Air Fresheners, Candles and Specialty Products Report, 6th Edition,” from Packaged Facts. This growth is attributed to an increase in introductions and greater importance given to the category by chain store leaders, such as Target and Walmart.In addition, stores like Bath & Body Works and direct sellers like Scentsy have staked their claim in the market.

“Like all industries, the home fragrance market has slowed a bit in the past two years.However even with the slower growth, it is still a growing market at $5 billion in the U.S. and $8.5 billion worldwide,” says Jill Belasco, CEO of Maesa Group. The company designs and manufactures turnkey home fragrance products for leading retailers and brands, including Target.

Target’s Smith and Hawken line of home fragrance features “greener,” cut-out window packaging, and provides the customer with sensory experiences of touch and smell.

“The slower economy has actually attributed to the growth of home fragrance.Customers are staying home more and see home fragrance as an affordable luxury that creates a comfortable home environment,” says Belasco.

In addition, the green trend has had an impact on the industry with more eco-friendly and sustainable packaging, less plastic, and overall less packaging.“Now you see more cut-out windows so that the customer can smell the product without opening the package. The cutouts subtract from total packaging overall, take away plastic windows, and in addition provide the sensory experience of touch and smell,” she says.

For example, when Target recently acquired The Smith & Hawken upscale gardening brand it wanted to have an attractive, environmentally friendly style.“Target realized that home fragrance was a natural addition to the outdoor and garden supplies for which the brand was known.Smith & Hawken wanted an upscale vintage gardening look and feel which was achieved specifically through the natural colors of the packaging and the botanical images portraying the fragrance of each product,” Belasco explains.
The line features less secondary packaging with cutout windows, minimal plastics, and candles formulated with plant-based waxes designed to keep the line eco-friendly and appealing.

Restoration Hardware’s recent redesign of its home fragrance line also picks up on the vintage style and evokes the images of treasures that are rediscovered. Several home fragrance products, including a home fragrance spray, a vessel candle, and a chunky rectangular pillar candle, are available. The products are the beginning of a more comprehensive line which will roll out in the spring, says Lisa Wilson, creative strategist, of Through Smoke, the Sausalito, CA design firm working with Restoration Hardware.

Fragrance Drives Candle Purchases by Women According to research conducted for the National Candle Association: • More than 95% of all candles are purchased by women. • Two-thirds of candle purchasers say they use candles once a week or more often. • Fragrance is by far the most important characteristic impacting candle purchases today, with three-fourths of candle buyers saying it is “extremely important” or “very important” in their selection of a candle. Projected U.S. Sales of Home Fragrance Products 2007-2012. (Source: Packaged Facts)

The secondary packaging for the candles includes a crate (made of French Oak wood that has been branded with wording) because as Wilson explains, “This line is all about found objects and curated collections. The feeling is that these treasures are things that have been brought back from travels.”

Because Restoration Hardware products represent the best of everything, she says, the finest materials, finishes, and fragrances were searched out and used. “The fragrance was developed by Givaudan, the global leader in the fragrance and flavor industry. It is a wonderful rich green scent. It has a holiday feel, but it doesn’t scream ‘holiday’ so it can be used longer as more of a winter-type fragrance as opposed to just a holiday scent.”

The packaging is designed to be multisensory and decorative. “The glass is an apothecary-type glass and the color of that glass for the winter home candle was very carefully chosen with just the right amount of gray and black and smoke. Wood wicks were used and they sound like wood crackling in a fire when lit. This adds to the multisensory experience,” she explains. “The candle when it is out of the crate is a decorative object in itself. It is a vessel and it is something that looks beautiful where you put it, whether it is put together as a collection or whether it is a standalone.”

Satin embossing is used for the labels for the glass. “It is very soft and chic,” Wilson says, noting that while the information is there, it is delivered subtly.

Unique Products
While great style has been injected into the home fragrance market, so has innovative functionality. Two unique home fragrance products have been commanding attention in the global arena. The Scentbug Home Fragrance Oil Fan, from Slatkin & Co., by Bath & Body Works, was a category finalist for fragrance mass in the HBA Global Expo Annual International Package Design Awards (IPDA).The product was developed and is manufactured by Aromatic Fusion, in Bensalem, PA.

The Shimmering Body Candle canister is ceramic, made with a custom mold, and has an easy-pour spout. Decals are fired onto the canisters after coloring.

By pressing a button on the Scentbug home fragrance oil fan, consumers can stream pure scent throughout a small space. The product has a quiet yet powerful fan that works with the company’s home fragrance oils to disperse fragrance into the air without a plug or a flame. The collection, which also was a winner of The Fragrance Foundation’s 2010 FiFi Award for Interior Scent Collection, can be used with a selection of more than 30 home fragrance oils. They also can be mixed and matched to create custom scents. The Scentbug includes 2 AA batteries which last up to 75 hours, a fan unit, and three fragrance oil pads.

Scentsy, Inc., a flameless candle company, was recently named the No. 1 fastest-growing consumer products and services company in the country in the 2010 edition of the Inc. 500 list, published by Inc. magazine. Overall, Scentsy rankedNo. 19 on the list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

The direct selling company, headquartered in Meridian, ID, offers a variety of scented, wickless candles heated in decorative ceramic candle warmers through its 70,000 current independent sales consultants in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and Canada. Instead of a flame, it uses a light bulb to slowly melt soft scented wax bars to maximize fragrance time. The warmers are made from porcelain or ceramic and come in a variety of styles and sizes.

“At Scentsy we always strive to bring value to customers by creating and selling high-quality products that warm the heart, enliven the senses, and inspire the soul,” says Orville Thompson, Scentsy chief executive officer and co-owner. “We are humbled at the tremendous customer response and loyalty that our products have generated.”

The Shimmering Body Candle (a candle, massage oil, and shimmering moisturizer in one), from Scandle, LLC, of Lewisville, TX, is another innovation in the home fragrance, personal care market. The candle burns at two degrees above body temperature to produce soothing oil for massage, manicures/pedicures, or as a daily moisturizer.

Scandles, made from 100% natural ingredients, are available in 18 fragrances, including limited edition fragrances for the holidays. The products are packaged by Splendid Printing and Packaging, Los Angeles, in refillable/reusable canisters and sustainable packaging. The Scandle canister is made with ceramic using a custom mold, and has an easy-pour spout.

“We make these canisters in five different colors for Scandle—Terra Cotta, Lavender, Olive Green, Tan and the newest, Pearl Shimmer,” explains Bertha Leung William, owner of Splendid. “Decals are fired onto the canisters after coloring. All paint used on the canisters is 100% toxin free.”

Elegant Inspiration

The Jardins du Seda France candle collection is inspired by the opulent French tradition of Chinoiserie, the Chinese-esque gardens and pagodas.

Since its inception in 2001, Austin, TX-based Seda France Home Fragrances has become known for its high quality scents and signature packaging. The new Jardins du Seda France candle collection is inspired by the opulent French tradition of Chinoiserie, the Chinese-esque gardens and pagodas depicted in elaborate decorations including intricate engravings and porcelain to ornate wallpaper andfabrics. The collection has five different fragrances in gold-edged square Chinoiserie print boxes with European colorways containing a hand-poured candle in an etched bamboo motif glass. Jardins du Seda France ceramic containers were designed in-house after a Paris flea market “find” picked up by Seda France CEO and founder, Robert Hernandez.

Another elegant addition to the market is Illume’s rich home décor in gourmet fragrances, which are reminiscent of fall and winter gatherings, according to Liz Barrere, senior vice president, at Illume. The packaging is divided into three color and fragrance stories: apple wood, heirloom pumpkin, and roasting chestnuts.

“We like playing with metallic foils and in this case wanted a collection that represented matte and shine in a monochromatic color story suited for our fall fragrances,” explains Barrere. “These are the perfect hostess gift,” she adds. “They are a pretty little luxury that shines and holds the wonderful gift of fragrance inside.”

Standouts from this collection include the new Bubble Tin Candles and a Mini Diffuser Set that offers the chance to sample three fragrances for under $30. The home fragrance line is available in boxed glass, demi-boxed glass, bubble tins, classic jar, mini glass, mini diffuser set, reed diffuser, pillar candles, and six-piece votive candles.

No matter the market—mass or niche—or the home fragrance product type, opportunities abound for packagers to seize these sweet-smelling opportunities.