In the early 90s, I moved to São Paulo to head up the flavour division of the Givaudan perfume group. In 1996, they wanted to send me back to France. That was out of the question.
So I set up my own fragrance consulting business for the Brazilian market, drawing on my dual expertise in marketing and perfumery.
It wasn't long before the Natura group (one of a dozen Brazilian companies considered to be 'future global stars'), which specialises in beauty products made from Amazonian plants and sells by catalogue, asked me to provide them with their press samples. This little piece of scented paper, which can be found in every American or European magazine, was virtually non-existent in Latin America.
That's how I came to represent the Arcade group, which has a worldwide monopoly on sampling. I signed an exclusive contract with Natura, which publishes 3 million catalogues every three weeks. The development of this market shows that there is a real need for expertise here. A real niche market. Two years ago, I was thrust into a second adventure. More and more customers were asking for fragrance diffusers for their 'olfactory communication'.
I got in touch with a group based in Lyon, and launched the perfume diffuser market in Brazil.
