How do you explain what perfume smells like on video?

Can a video describing a fragrance get over a million viewsIt turns out it can According to YouTube there have been more than 770 million views on videos related to perfumes in the past 90 daysFragrance is the latest niche that digital creators have sniffed out While the category is well established in the West itrsquos only now gaining traction in India As more homegrown brands launch in India those with a nose for perfumery are jumping on to review new releases and recommend a scent for every moodMegha Seehra digital creator Vaibhav Gupta Manan Gandhi Jameel SheikhBut how do you explain what a perfume smells like on video Screens are yet to develop the scratchandsniff feature And so creators have to resort to creativity Delhibased digital creator Megha Seehra says ldquoI once tried a perfume that smelt to me like chocolatedrizzled strawberries So thatrsquos exactly how I described itrdquo Seehrarsquos content often describes the mood the ingredients and what time of day the perfume is fit for For instance she describes a perfume to have a European summer mood honey and fruity notes and one thatrsquos fit to wear during the dayJameel Shaikhrsquos content describes the notes top initial smell middle after one to two hours and base after the perfume dries You will find him explaining that a perfume has notes of lavender saffron or Damascus rosemdashwidely declared as the most fragrant of roses with origins in Central Asia and go on to explain how this one smells different from a regular red rose you encounter at your neighbourhood floristShaikh who is a Vadodara resident says he had a nose for good perfumery During the COVID19 lockdowns he began creating content with the perfume bottles he had collected He goes by Fragrancejam on Instagram and has 198K followers which makes him one of the biggest scentfluencers in India today ldquoI just did it began creating content to be able to justify why I was buying so many perfumes which can be costlyrdquo he laughs Shaikh started by checking perfume labels to understand the notes and ingredients itrsquos only after he watched influencers from the West did he realise that others take fragrance seriously tooPiciStockSeehra had a similar journey While she is already a 711k followersstrong fashion creator on Instagram she began her scentfluencing journey as scentstoriesbymeegha two months ago ldquoIrsquom very passionate about smelling good I believe that a great outfit needs a matching fragrancerdquo she tells midday How does she match the two ldquoI spend time with my fragrances I usually pick one to match my mood Do I want to feel sexy happy or powerful I express myself with my fragrancerdquoShaikh says that till a few months ago he had not seen any women enter the category Since itrsquos still a niche category is it wise for creators to venture in ldquoDiving into a niche segment such as fragrance within the broader beauty category helps creators establish themselves as experts in a specific area This specialisation can lead to a more engaged and loyal audience as followers often seek detailed and specific information that generalists may not provide Additionally niche creators face less competition making it easier to stand out and attract brand partnerships that are highly targeted and relevant to their contentrdquo says Vaibhav Gupta cofounder and CPO of KlugKlug an influencer marketing software toolThe scent influencers have help from Indiarsquos perfume market thatrsquos rapidly growing Exhibiting a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 1523 per cent during the forecast period between FY2023 and FY2030 it is all but promising ldquoThere are a lot of indie brands cropping up And therersquos a premiumisation in this fragrance categoryrdquo says Manan Gandhi founder of Bombay Perfumery the Mumbaiheadquartered fragrance house that claims to pout a modern twist on Indian ingredients He adds that his brand has worked with influencers in the past but now relies strongly on performance marketing Apart from that he also prefers marketing at events and creating experiences where customers can experience his products firsthandFor Shaikh being an early adopter of the niche has proved beneficial He says that the growing number of perfume brands in India means he has several requests for brand partnerships Seehra adds ldquoUnlike beauty which is a crowded category on social media this market fragrance has potentialrdquoWhatrsquos the future of scentfluencing then The answer lies beyond brand deals Like in the West it wonrsquot be long before we see creators craft their own unique fragrance