Fragrance Queen Discusses Embracing Diversity

are grateful to have with us. Linda Levy, President of the Fragrance Foundation. She's also known as the Fragrance Fragrance Queen. She's with us Interactive Broger Studio. How did you get that title? Well, it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sniffing. But I'm really happy to be here. Carol and Tim, thank you for having me today. Well, you know, it's funny when you were coming on, because I find the fragrance industry fascinating. The are people who

are noses like professional? Are you a professional like? Are you one of those individuals? Now? The nose term is often is most often used for a perfume or someone who's come through real training. I'm sort of an amateur knows though. I would take that well, you know, and you represent that a lot of professionals I was looking at. There's tons of people. I mean everyone from Cardier, Tionelle,

Cody Harlem, Candle Company. We've had them on air. Um, she's really cool in terms of what she's doing, l v M, H new Sacks, Alt Beauty. So many these are your members. Tell us a little bit about the group and what they are focused on. Sure, the Fragrance Foundation is actually a not for profit organization and we have over one hundred members, including all that you mentioned

and more. We have the biggest Fragrance hounds, as we have the retailers, we have the brands, and we even have you know, people who contribute on a very small level. I would say that what we do is try to make sure that we are the go to place for

expertise education, We nurture talent and together. Even though many our competitors, there's no competition when it comes to Fragrance, so we all really share and our biggest priority today is galvanizing the dustry at the Fragrance Foundation with hashtag Fragrance Forward, t ff. We're just getting all of these fabulous entities to work together to open up the fragrance industry for diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's a big, big

deal for us. Well where are you starting from? Because even though and I know this from the notes that our producer gave us, but it's it's not an industry that has a lot of diversity, despite the fact that a diverse population actually buyas fragrances. This is true, and that is exactly what we want to change. You know, it's not just about recruiting, it's about celebrating. So we started an initiative actually in no October November this year,

and we have united everyone. You know in a lot of these big companies you're mentioning, there's hr, there's legal, but there is such a spirit to make sure that we make sure that those who work in the industry show the diversity of the United States population. And I'm positive we're going to do that. Why hasn't been diverse? I always think it's going to be like a creative air like fragrance would be a little bit more diverse. Maybe I'm just silly and stupid, but I just why

hasn't it been more diverse. You're not silly or stupid. I think many of us questioned it ourselves. The heritage of the industry had a lot to do with gross in France and a lot of perfumers, and that was always the face. But as you just mentioned, there are many diverse people involved with all. What I have really learned is we have to get out there. So we are going to go into schools and show students that

there is actually a course. You know, almost everything you're studying could be applied to being in the fragrance industry. We also have to show them people who look like them. We understand. You mentioned Terry Johnson from the Harlem Candle Company or my good friend Chris Collins from the World of Collins. There are so many people that have established

brands and worked very hard to get there. So Number one is getting out to tell people we want them, we welcome them, we embrace them, we celebrate them, and we just don't want a list of we're selling these brands in the store. We want to celebrate them and make sure that the entire population knows where we're going. It's one thing for the independent companies to have these diverse founders and you know, diverse leaders. But what about the larger, more established companies like an st lawder or

something that's got is known for its fragrances. Well, I'm glad you asked that. We now a miss Monson who is the head of diversity, Equity and Inclusion that is at spearheading the Estate Lauder companies. We also just had a panel l v M H Huge corporation has Corey Smith,

who is the diversity equity and inclusion maestro. And what we have gotten is these people to tell us what they're doing at how they're doing it, and there really are people in these companies that are dedicated to joining us what it's Listen, it's just important for on so many different levels. But you know, we talked about it even from a business perspective, like think about the markets that you're leaving at by not having a more diverse, you know, point of view within your company base. I

can actually speak from my retailer experience. It's just prior to this job which i'm in four years, I worked at Macy's and actually ran the fragrance business. Our biggest we over indexed in the Hispanic population. That was who was buying our fragrances more than ever. And what we did is we looked to see how we could really translate our stories and make sure that they felt welcome and that we had people in the stores talking about

fragrance who looked like them. What might surprise people about what was going on when it comes to fragrances and maybe purchases of fragrances during the pandemic. During the pandemic, we were very surprised that fragrance actually became even bigger and hit a wider audience. I would say there are a couple of reasons. One is no one was getting dressed. It's true they weren't wearing enough lipstick or using skincare, but they really some of us put clothes on and

they just weren't spiffy clothes. But we often call it the personal invisible accessory. So when you were going to work and sitting on your zoom, it really felt good to feel like you had an identity and personal fragrance as were big. But the other thing is all about the home environment. Candles, candles, candles, home diffusers, spas in

the bathroom there are more candles. Oh my god, I do candles I like lower the Why I do the whole thing, I must tell you, And it's a famous story for me, But I am really and I hate to admit. Never used to candle at home till the pandemic. Now every night where Steve and I used to go out to dinner, we now have a great bottle of wine and I match it with a candle, and it really creates a mood. It is transportive and it sets

you up for a great night. And there are twenty five different brands that are out there that are soaring, So candles were really big. Also, weren't you using hand sanitizers? Weren't you using hand lotion? Didn't you want to put some moisturizer on that really made you smell good? And transport sanitizers, Tim, I've got one for you. If you were to smell a fragrance that reminded you of your grandmother or your father or whoever, you actually embrace that

fragrance more during the pandemic to transport you. Or where did you go on vacation, Tim, during the pandemic? Nowhere? And before that, oh before that, we went all over you know, out west, but out west, it was probably a fragrancy war and if you just put it on it would transport you there. All right, we're gonna come back with Linda Levy, she's president of the Fragrance Foundation. We're going to continue this conversation right here on Bloomberg

Business Week. I'm Carol Masser along with Tim Stanovic. You are listening to Bloomberg Radio. Alright. First of all, I just have to stay behind the scenes and someday I'm going to bring this out on air. Tim, just talking about fragrances and candles and a sense. Okay, everybody has like personal associations with different things that smell good. It's powerful, literally is with that. She's president of the Fragrance Foundation

here in her Interactive Broker studio. You know, you pointed out something though that maybe a lot of us haven't thought about. But no, during COVID and people losing their sense of smell, it's a big deal. It's a very big deal. Prior to the pan them make the sense of smell was probably the bottom of the list if people said which of the senses do you most value? Vision, hearing, etcetera.

But when people lost their sense of smell during COVID, it was monumental, and it was really a terrible thing. And they also lost their sense of taste with smell.

So the Fragrance Foundation works very closely with the Monell Institute in Philadelphia, And to make a long story short, for those people, we taught them if they even went into their spice cabinet and smelled three different things on a regular basis a few hours apart every day, we helped them get their sense of smell back to some degree. There's also a new thing. Has your doctor given you

a test for your sense of smell? This kind of thing is going to be rampant across the United States because the sense of smell gives pleasure to are low, for instance, but it also enhances your evening or your bathtub. But the most important thing is the sense of smell is really probably at the top of the list right now. It's powerful. Yes, Um, So where is the industry going?

Because I do think there's this great evolution. I've worn men's clogs like I just love this kind of I've mixed oils like I I love kind of doing a layering impact. But tell me about what's going on, because you do feel like we talked about innovation, disruption, a lot of different industries. What are you seeing? There are

a lot of exciting things going on. First of all, in the olden days I call it, there were ladiess fragrances and men's fragrances what we now call fragrances for all our universal If you think about Joe Malone that you like or Tom Ford that you like, they have had a brand from the beginning that is not specific to men or women, and that is becoming a bigger and bigger trend. If you think of going in a store, you go to the ladies department of the men's department.

That's not what the United States of America is about. Everyone doesn't want to associate that way. It's not about pink and blue. So universal fragrances. And if we didn't tell you what it is, you would be wearing that men's cologne. For instance. Another thing is ambiance, and I'll lot of hotels, a lot of homes, a lot of places have a scent that will associate your the West End exactly. Oh my god, that what is it that it's everyone has? The Nike store has something that smells

like the basketball. I mean, if you flashback to why you remember every time you walk in that store and you feel really good. It brings you a sense of you know where you are today. There are so many different ways of delivering um scent as well. This could be a show unto itself, but right now I t

that's what it is. In Western I had to up and they and they sell stuff like so that you can have it at home or you go on vacation and in the bathroom they have bulgari advert every time you smell that bulgari, you think you're on vacation again. So I think the transportive is a really big deal. But about a move toward natural rather than synthetic smells and the idea that people want to be breathing in stuff that isn't necessary really harmful. I'm so glad you asked.

Don't forget what I'm about to say. Natural is not better than synthetic. I'll give you a few reasons why. First of all, what's poison ivy Think of how many natural plants and items are out there that actually have allergic reactions, and it goes back all the way to Chanel number five. Some of that is a molecule. It was a synthetic that was created. The other thing is, you know, the world is changing and on planet Earth sometimes something that was available whenever is not available now.

So the fragrance houses are able to create headspace, as they call it, and they can replicate a scent like you think a road smell so good, But if you really squish that rose down, I'm being quite vulgar. In the fragrance industry, it might not smell exactly like you like. So the synthetic fragrances continue. And the last part is things change in terms of regulations. What might have been okay to be in a formulation years ago is not today,

so we have to find solutions. So I need you to know though many people think natural is the better or it is not always, but I do think about skincare and makeup like I'm a big mover into cleaner makeup and stuff. I do think about It's interesting in a time where people are afraid to take a vaccine, yet we'll throw products on ourselves that we really don't know what's in it. What? How is that though impacting

your industry, it does have an impact. There are certain consumers who absolutely want natural and absolutely want clean Sophora is one of our big members. They actually have a department you've seen where it's clean. Now, I'm not saying they're worse. I'm just saying it's a matter of taste and what are your priorities, because a lot of the fragrances that are out there with synthetics are not in any way inferior to those that are natural. And I

do wonder about shelf life life. I bought some oils that are very kind of organic and stuff, but they don't necessarily always laugh and I'm torn because then the smell or whatever it is, it turns out I gotta I gotta move quickly. Well, there is a shelf life, but naturals do actually, like you say, they don't last

as long generally speaking. Did you ask I want to ask Linda about just fragrances versus how we think about sense uh, you know, And when Carol mentioned this the growth of the industry when we were talking earlier, and the massive growth that it's expected, how much of that has to do with cologne perfume versus sense that are added to hand sanitizer. What does the segmentation of the market look like. Well, you're the ones with the stats. And I usually talk about MPG giving you the data,

but I can tell you this. All of the companies that make prestige fragrances which we've been talking about, also make flavors and also make a sent that goes with anything like tropic cana tastes exactly the same because of the flavors part of these places. When it comes to sense, I would say that at this point it really is going to be the future. I think I lost my train of thought. What was your question? It's just about segmentation. But the segmentation, but lysul Or, we were talking about

the garbage can um bags that are in there. They smell like lavender. Just about everything right now, you have an option for a cent if you wish it. And everyone who tells me they don't wear fragrance, they do. You took a shower, you use soap, you put on a lotion, you put on an oil, you shaved today, so much fun come back. This is really we really preach a happy holidays, Happy holidays, and get out there and buy some fragrances. We will do that, all right.

She gave us our marching orders. Linda Levy, she's president of the Fragrance Foundation in our studio