The Dubai-based Foundation announced the launch of the ‘Perfume Oscars’ at its business breakfast held in the ballroom of The Address Downtown Dubai on Monday.
The event was attended by a host of industry players, including L’Oreal Middle East, CPL Aromas and LVMH.
Organised in association with Firmenich Dubai, the event also provided guests with networking opportunities, said the Foundation, where ways of collaborating through the foundation were discussed.
Middle-Eastern fragrance market
According to the Fragrance Foundation, the Arabian Gulf is the world’s largest consumer per capita of fragrances, and the Middle East represents a fast growing market for fragrances.
“Today the fragrance industry in the region is growing faster than in other part of the world,” said chairman Shahzed Haider. “The fragrance industry has historically always been an integral part of the daily Islamic culture and way of life, and Arabs have a very unique passion for fragrance.”
A recent Euromonitor report published last year revealed that fragrance sales in the Middle East rose by 10 per cent over 2007 and 2008. Fragrances account for 31 per cent of the cosmetics and toiletries market in Saudi Arabia and enjoy a 21 per cent share of the market in the United Arab Emirates.
Haider noted that Oriental perfumers are adapting their products to suit the global markets, while there is also an ‘exponential increase’ in international fragrance brands in the region as a result of high interest and demand for such brands in the Middle East.
Up-coming events
In addition to the Perfume Oscars, the Fragrance Foundation Arabia will be holding several other events over the coming year.
January 2011 will see a training seminar for fragrance retailers take place, focusing on sales, visual merchandising and concessions.
An event co-hosted with Euromonitor International entitled ‘State of the Industry’ is scheduled for March, which will discuss the performance of the fragrance industry over the last year, and how the state of the economy impacted consumer spending with regards to fragrance.