Grasse, a small town in southern France, is located in the hills north of Cannes on the French Riviera. It is described as a jewel on the Riviera, the capital of fragrances or the world capital of perfume. The cultivation of perfume plants and the extraction of scented oils has a centuries-old tradition. That's why many perfume manufacturers still advertise Grasse's flower fields to this day.
The Fragonard perfumery, one of the largest perfumeries, has been producing perfume for 100 years. Indispensable: the May rose, one of Grasse's most famous perfume plants. Adrien Baugiraud, Fragonard's tourism officer, leads a tour of the garden with May roses and other fragrant plants. However, the fields are surprisingly small for such a large manufacturer: Fragonard only owns two areas with a total of around six hectares. The flowers are not nearly enough for the total production.
Instead of being used for production, the fields are now important for one reason: marketing. "We use our flowers, but not for the entire production. That's impossible," says Adrien Baugiraud in the current episode of the ARD format ECHT?. Depending on the quality, you need around ten to 30 rose petals for just one drop of rose oil. This is why perfume plants from other parts of the world are sometimes used, but manufacturers primarily rely on synthetic fragrances.
Many manufacturers significantly reduced their fields in the 1990s. However, they later realized that the image of naturalness and floral splendor is difficult to sell if no real fields exist. Today, the fields are primarily used to sell the image of naturalness, while most fragrances come from the laboratory.
The industrial area of Grasse no longer has much to do with the romantic flower fields. Here, Xavier Blaizot runs a company that deals in fragrance oils on a large scale and develops recipes for niche brands. He stores fragrances worth over three million euros in the warehouse. Of the around 1,100 fragrance ingredients that it provides, around 400 are of natural origin and around 700 are synthetic.
“Synthetic products are not a dirty word,” says Blaizot. Perfumers worked with them every day. Some synthetic molecules are even better for the skin because natural extracts often contain mixtures of many molecules, including potential allergens. And you can often leave these out if you recreate scents artificially.
However, many of the finished fragrances can still bear the label "natural" even if they consist largely of synthetic substances: "I would call it a 'very natural' perfume if my perfume contains eight to ten percent natural oils," says Blaizot.
In the “Duftorgel”, the mixing laboratory, Blaizot implements recipes for perfumes. Synthetic substances are dosed first, followed by natural products last - they are more sensitive to heat and usually more expensive. Like the natural jasmine oil from Grasse. According to Blaizot, it costs 4,000 to 8,000 euros per kilogram. However, only a minimal amount of it is used in a perfume: around 0.1 percent, i.e. one thousandth of the total mixture. This corresponds to about “half a drop” in a bottle.
The finished mixtures, the so-called perfume oils - i.e. the fragrance mixture without alcohol - can be really expensive even with small amounts of natural ingredients. For particularly creative, high-quality mixtures, prices are around 300 euros per kilo. However, what determines the price that customers ultimately pay in the store is how much of this perfume oil ends up in a bottle.
An example calculation from ECHT? shows: For a luxury fragrance with an oil price of 300 euros per kilo and an oil content of 20 percent in a 100 milliliter bottle, these 20 milliliters of oil correspond to six euros per bottle. The remaining content is essentially alcohol and water. Nevertheless, such fragrances often cost 400 euros or more in stores. The fragrance oil itself only makes up a small part of the final price.
In addition to the fragrance oil, there are other manufacturing costs that arise per bottle: According to Xavier Blaizot, you can expect between five and eleven euros for the bottle itself with the cap. The packaging costs between two and ten euros, the production and bottling costs three to five euros. In addition, there are costs for storage and transport of one to two euros and the costs for official tests and approvals, also one to two euros per bottle.
In total, the complete production of a 100 milliliter bottle usually costs between 15 and 36 euros. However, the retail price is often several hundred euros per bottle.
REALLY knows why this is? based on a leaked internal document on the luxury fragrance “Alexandria II” from the Xerjoff brand from 2025. Xerjoff sells the perfume ex works to wholesalers for 126.80 euros. These wholesalers in turn pass the perfume on to perfumeries for around 280 euros. And the perfumeries set their own margin, plus VAT. In the end, the price for the customer doubles again - the fragrance then costs 545 euros in the store. Xerjoff did not want to comment on this when asked by ECHT? and also did not answer the question about his own margin.
The Federal Association of Perfumeries e.V. explains the high surcharge with the high costs of selective perfumery retail. According to the association, the total costs - for example for rent, staff and equipment - are estimated at around 45 percent of net sales, and the trend is rising. A company must therefore earn at least “45 percent plus X” in order to be able to operate economically, according to the association when asked by ECHT?
For small providers, the costs are even more significant: "Since products in the niche and artistic sector are generally less in demand and sold less frequently (...), a higher margin naturally makes sense from a calculation point of view than for 'standard products'."
Niche perfumes are actually often more expensive than fragrances from major fashion brands like Dior or Chanel. Brands like Xerjoff, The House of Oud (THoO) and Roberto Ugolini only sell perfumes, not fashion. They produce in smaller quantities and present themselves as particularly exclusive. The Federal Association of Perfumeries e.V. estimates sales in this niche industry to be up to 100 million euros last year - only in Germany.
This is also because many customers are willing to spend several hundred euros on a fragrance. Because for perfume fans, the scent is more than just a product. The 17-year-old student Luca Seifert is a luxury perfume fan. There are over 40 niche perfumes in his room, along with hundreds of samples. A set of two scents is his favorite: worn together, it creates a special sweet-powdery combination. The price is around 660 euros for the set.
One reason for the popularity of expensive niche perfumes: social media. Kai Porten is one of the most successful German perfume influencers. He presents fragrances on YouTube and TikTok and sells many of them through his own online shop. “Many people see influencers as purely an advertising tool,” says Porten. Brands sent him free bottles, ideally expecting positive reviews. "They want free advertising even though the product is so expensive."
Porten emphasizes that he also addresses critical points. But he admits: Fragrances that he doesn't actively present in a positive way are hardly ever bought. In order to market a fragrance successfully, you need above all a strong emotional story - "Summer evening in the south of France" has a stronger effect on many consumers than a sober list of fragrance notes. Because when it comes to the south of France, images arise very quickly in your head.
