Fragrance Du Bois has cut out the middlemen in part of its supply chain by acquiring its own source of the perfume ingredient, oud. Oud (also known as agarwood) comes from the Aquilaria tree, and is in high demand from high-end brands in the fragrance industry. Natural oud provides fragrance with depth and longevity.
With demand increasing and finite supplies dwindling, Fragrance Du Bois decided to work with sustainable plantation company Asia Plantation Capital. Initially, Fragrance Du Bois will be investing more than US$5 million over the next 12 months in plantations that will be managed by Asia Plantation Capital, financed by private equity and perfume industry partners who have recently joined the company.
Fragrance Du Bois' oud (agarwood) and perfume oil plantations will be managed by Asia Plantation Capital, which is expanding beyond Aquilaria trees to patchouli, vetiver, tonka beans, bamboo, rose, pine, cypress and lemongrass, with many others in the pipeline.
Besides establishing its own plantations for oud in Malaysia and acquiring mature agarwood tree plantations from Asia Plantation Capital in Thailand, Fragrance Du Bois is looking at future acquisitions in India and Indonesia to provide a comprehensive range of high quality regional products. This will allow its core Fragrance Du Bois range of perfumed candles, perfumed wood chips and oils to be home-grown and sustainably produced.
In addition, Fragrance Du Bois' perfume creation business Oud Du Bois is in place to create fragrances for other international brands and perfume houses, using the pure oud oil it will be sourcing itself, along with other 100% sustainable and natural oils.
Nicola Parker, Brand Director of Fragrance Du Bois, said, "This is something we have been planning for a long time, and is designed to build on the unique success of our Soil to Oil to You story that has captured the imaginations of so many people. We can now expand to include other natural oils we use in our perfume creations. I can remember the whole buzz Anita Roddick created in the industry when she developed the Body Shop brand and range using natural and sustainable ingredients. By working with the experts at Asia Plantation Capital, we have been able to take this concept a stage further, so that we actually grow our own ingredients and, in due course, even refine them ourselves."
Parker concluded, "In today's consumer markets we find that our clients are not only conscience of where their products come from, but also their quality and purity. We believe that we are now the only luxury perfume brand that can actually do this, and we stand behind our Soil to Oil to You mantra as the key to everything we do and all the fragrances we create for our growing chain of boutiques."
Said Gary Crates, European CEO for Asia Plantation Capital: "Indeed, we are founding partners in the business and have invested heavily in the early seed capital and development of the brand. That said, it's very rewarding to see the brand now expanding and owning its own plantations under our management. Interestingly enough, this is a trend we are now seeing with other major perfume houses and brands. We are currently in the final stages of establishing similar sustainable and verifiable oud and mixed species supply chains with several of them. We believe that this is a growing trend in the global retail business, where major brands have to get more involved in their supply chains, especially where natural substances are concerned.
"In the case of agarwood, which is endangered, a greater involvement becomes an ethical imperative. The companies we are working with now have all identified this trend, and have also realised that it makes good commercial sense to not only safeguard their own supply chain, but also to be able to secure products at a discount to open market prices. Add this to the attendant sustainability and ethical approach, and you have the triple bottom line that we are all looking for in today's business world."
All the oud used by Fragrance Du Bois is CITES certified and guaranteed as to source, being both legal and sustainable, with respect shown for the environment, as well as the communities that live in and around the plantations on which the Aquilaria trees are grown.
Fragrance Du Bois is known for an expanding range of original, oud-based perfumes and associated products. Fragrance Du Bois is adding to its boutiques in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, with new outlets opening in Dubai, London, Paris, Luxembourg and Geneva between now and the early part of 2016.
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