NEW YORK — Calgon is out to prove that the best way to a woman’s wallet is through her sense of smell. This spring, the Coty specialty brand will tap into the rising gourmand trend with a collection inspired by baked goods, called Mmmmm!
Leveraging Calgon’s “Take Me Away” positioning, the line of body lotions and mists combines dessert aromas with fruit essences for a playful yet sophisticated spin on the concept, noted Roslyn Griner, Coty Beauty’s vice president of bath and body.
“This is a true fine-fragrance experience,” she added, “It’s not cotton candy flavors.”
Mmmmm!’s trio of scents includes Vanilla Swirl, Pear Caramel and Coconut Sorbet, all of which will bow in February.
Griner acknowledged that Mmmmm!’s brightly colored packaging and bold graphics may tempt a slightly younger consumer to shop the brand, but said it was designed to appeal to Calgon’s core loyalists — women between 16 and 34 years old.
Industry sources estimate the line could generate between $10 million and $15 million in first-year sales. Coty executives would not comment on sales, but said they intend to duplicate the success of food-inspired products in other channels.
Over the last few years, several prestige brands, namely Origins with its Cocoa Therapy line and Dessert Beauty, backed by Jessica Simpson, have built the gourmand beauty category in the department store and specialty channel. The trend has also spilled over into the fragrance arena, with the vanilla orchid-scent of Miami Glow by JLo, from Coty’s Lancaster division, and Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf.
“The whole gourmand trend really started with vanilla,” said Griner, who added that Coty was part of that genesis with the launch of the Vanilla Fields fragrance in 1993.
“Coty is one of the largest purveyors of vanilla fragrance,” noted Paul Seplowitz, Coty Beauty’s vice president, product development, referring to Vanilla Fields.
Calgon consumer research indicated that when browsing the Mmmmm! assortment, consumers tend to pick up the Vanilla Swirl scent first and then gravitate toward the other blends, which executives say are more wearable than single dessert notes.
For instance, Vanilla Swirl is a “smooth, creamy vanilla blend” with top notes of blackberry and white anise, a heart of vanilla crystals and a base of sugared amber and warm vanilla musk. The Coconut Sorbet scent is described as “an exotic coconut scent” with top notes of mandarin sorbet and pink grapefruit, middle notes of mango and white guava and a drydown of young coconut milk and tropical sandalwood. Both Vanilla Swirl and Coconut Sorbet scents were developed by Fragrance Resources. Pear Caramel, developed by Firmenich, has top notes of apple and pear, middle notes of jasmine buds and bottom notes of caramel and white musk.
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“R&D was focused on creating long-lasting quality,” said Seplowitz, referring to Mmmmm!’s staying power in the marketplace.
The three body mists and three lotions will launch on countertop displays and sell for suggested retail prices of $6.95 and $4.65, respectively. Calgon will introduce three additional scents in fall 2006.