There is something subtle about fragrance – the ability to spark cherished memories and a wealth of emotions that can lift spirits, enrich romance, improve one’s mood and lead to an overall feeling of happiness.
As French beauty entrepreneur Coco Chanel said: “No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.”
The fragrance trade is gaining popularity in Kenya, more so in the capital Nairobi, where many beauty shops have cropped up.
Every few metres, at every turn in the city centre, there is a refill shop offering doses of knock-off scents from as little as Sh100.
Gone are the days when shoppers used to worry about how much they needed to save up to buy a nice, branded perfume with a signature scent, and now with just a few coins you can have it.
The demand for the signature scent among the aspiring class, who can easily distinguish between perfume and cologne, has also been steadily rising in Kenya over the years. Ms Sheila Wawire, a mother of one, says after being introduced to refill perfumes, she has never looked back.
A perfume refill at Best Aroma Scents shop located along Ronald Ngala Street.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“I initially used to buy perfumes worth Sh5,000, but my friend’s scent was amazing and I really admired it, and then she introduced me to refills at Sh100 for 3mls, which will last me about a month,” she said.
On Ronald Ngala Street, we find Ms Eunice Waithera, founder of Best Aroma Scents, the business she started in February 2021 after she and her friends had struggled to find an affordable signature scent.
“The reason I started the refill business is so that people can afford to smell good despite their finances,” Ms Waithera said.
“Many people cannot find Sh20,000 to buy an original perfume but they want to smell nice, so I thought why not import original perfumes but do refills instead, because I know the struggle of not having money but wanting to smell nice.”
Fragrances make up one of the largest segments in the personal care industry, with growth in double digits annually. A survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that, between 2017 and 2021, the market value of the essential oils and perfumes industry increased from Sh21.926.9 billion in 2017 to Sh26.341.1 billion in 2021
The value of principal imports of essential oils and perfumes in 2017 was Sh21.926.9, Sh22.859.6 billion in 2018, in 2019 Sh24.229.1 billion, Sh21.124.6 in 2020 and in 2021 Sh26,341.1 billion.
Import quantities increased from 64,353.3 tonnes in 2017, 64,187.5 tonnes in 2018, 72,427.3 tonnes in 2019, 73,134.0 tonnes in 2020 and 85,819.5 tonnes in 2021.
Ms Waithera refills perfumes at Sh1,300 for 30ml, Sh2,000 for 50ml and Sh3,500 for 100ml. But pennywise Nairobians have found a way of smelling nice without necessarily breaking the bank. Many go for original brands that have been diluted with oil and sold at affordable rates. These, they say, are better than the ones sold online that are mostly imitations.
The high prices and many imitations have created a gap in the market that has seen many small-scale entrepreneurs venture into the refilling trade as the capital needed to start a perfume refilling business is low.
