There was a 24% decrease in the mean price of a perfume container in Russia

In 2023, the mean price of all kinds of fragrances in the Russian Federation was 1,545 rubles per container. This information was extracted from the report of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT; operator of the Honest Mark marking system), as per Vedomosti’s review. In 2022, the figure was 24% higher (2,042 rubles per unit), states the review. Analysts from Honest Sign justify the drop in the mean price due to a surge in demand for domestic products, “the price of which is lower than that of imported goods.” Since October 1, 2020, labeling has been made obligatory for manufacturers and importers of perfumery products (this rule includes parallel imports as well).

On average, a bottle of imported economy-class fragrances ranged from 1,000 to 4,500 rubles, premium fragrances from 4,500 to 9,000 rubles, and luxury fragrances from 9,000 to 27,000 rubles, according to Anna Dycheva-Smirnova, a board member of the Russian Perfumery and Cosmetics Association. She mentioned that a bottle of Russian fragrances across all segments had an average price of 800 to 1,500 rubles.

Market players interviewed by Vedomosti affirm the shift of certain consumers towards domestic products. The representative of the Golden Apple cosmetics and perfumery retail chain expressed that revenue from Russian-made brands in the perfume category surged by 71% in 2023. No specific values were provided. According to its representative, Wildberries only included Russian brands in the top 5 best-selling articles in 2023. Additionally, the representative of Ozon marketplace stated that the Russian brand Novaya Zarya made it to the top 10 sales leaders in the women’s perfume segment last year (the other brands were foreign).

“Consumers have started paying more attention to domestic products due to the liberated market,” stated Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics. He recalled that major international perfume manufacturers, such as Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, Clinique, Lancome, Giorgio Armani, and others ceased their operations in Russia in 2022.

However, some products of these brands are still available in Russian stores through parallel imports, he pointed out. Furthermore, Burmistrov noted that the cost of imported perfumes has at least doubled over the past two years. Due to this, Burmistrov highlighted that the interest of buyers in domestic perfumes, including designer brands, has increased. He indicated that today, they are more appealing in terms of price and consumer characteristics. Dycheva-Smirnova believes that it is currently a great time for Russian companies to support their products and increase production. According to the representative of the Golden Apple, their assortment was replenished with Russian-made perfumes in 2023, and the number of such perfume brands in the network increased by 20% in 2023 in comparison to 2022. Burmistrov predicts that the trend will persist, with consumers increasingly preferring Russian perfumes and manufacturers boosting production volume. Burmistrov also mentioned that, apart from Russian brands, Turkish, Chinese, and Arab brands have started actively filling this niche.

Infoline Analytics reported that the perfume sales volume in 2023 totaled approximately 166.5 billion rubles, excluding the gray market and duty-free (in comparison to 178.6 billion rubles in 2022). In 2023, Russia produced 90.4 million bottles of perfume (includes perfumes, toilet water, scented and perfumed water, and cologne), while in 2022, the number was 67.6 million bottles, as per the CRPT report. Additionally, 65.6 million bottles of perfumes were imported from abroad in 2023.

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Russian companies procure raw materials (essential oils, perfumes) for perfume production from overseas. A representative of the Association of Manufacturers of Perfumes, Cosmetics, Household Chemicals, and Hygiene Products mentioned that even though access to European ingredients has been hindered due to sanctions restrictions, companies have found alternative sources for the necessary raw materials. According to the representative, supplies of the required ingredients (including fragrant raw materials) are being sourced from China, India, Turkey, as well as some other countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Manufacturers of perfume products “Novaya Zarya”, Brocard Group, and Siberian Wellness did not respond to requests. Likewise, the sellers of perfumes “Rive Gauche” and “Girlfriend” refrained from commenting.