My situation back in 1993 was this. I had a sure shot opportunity to sell a men's cologne and, while I knew next to nothing about perfume at the time, I did know it could give us a good markup -- if we got it directly from a manufacturer rather than buying it through a wholesaler, which is what we had done for a marketing test.
A person working for me at the time went out and put it all together -- or almost all together. We had a fragrance from Novarome (now part of Robertet), we had 1,000 sprinkler neck bottles, we had caps, we had labels -- all ready to be assembled. Then the filling house told us (this was in 1993) our job was too small. They refused to do it. And the ads had already been placed!
The book tells, in step by step detail, how a commercial job became a do-it-yourself project -- successful, but only after we worked out technical hurdles that almost sank us. The good news was that we sold all 1,000 bottles, every one at full price, and then made more!
Since writing the original version of this book I've added a lot to it, based on what I've learned since 1993. At the time I never imagined that I would become my own perfumer or that, all these years later, I would find myself deeply involved with perfume and loving it.
Today, for me, it's more than a high return product but at the beginning I was just watching the numbers.
If you are thinking of launching your own perfume, you might be surprised to find how beautiful scents can grow on you and your business might someday take the direction of art.
