Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Fragrance Du Bois has taken the bold move to acquire and own its very own source of one of the world’s most sought after perfume ingredients, oud.
Oud (also known as agarwood) comes from the Aquilaria tree, and is in extraordinarily high demand, particularly from high-end brands in the fragrance industry who are clamouring to secure their own sustainable supplies. Natural Oud is an incomparable ingredient, lending a fragrance a unique, animalic aroma, and providing unrivalled depth and longevity.
Supplies of Oud are dwindling, with the Aquilaria tree having been harvested to near extinction in the wild due to the irresponsibility and greed of illegal loggers. This is a situation that certain plantation owners, in particular Asia Plantation Capital, have taken upon themselves to redress, but demand for pure, natural Oud continues to outstrip supply, with prices on a rising trend for more than 140 years – since records began, in fact.
As with all valuable substances, synthetic products have been created to meet the growing demand, but industry experts and perfumers all agree that there is nothing like the real thing, and never will be. With demand increasing, and supplies finite and dwindling, Fragrance Du Bois perceived the trend, and set out to work with leading plantation companies to help grow the fabled Aquilaria tree and create a sustainable, renewable, and ethically sound supply of Oud for their exquisite products.
Fragrance Du Bois is now working alongside award-winning sustainable plantation company Asia Plantation Capital, whose plantations in Southeast Asia are now providing sustainable supplies of Oud to the perfume brand. The partnership is enabling Fragrance Du Bois to go from strength to strength, with a guaranteed supply of 100% natural, pure Oud being an essential and integral element in all its remarkable fragrance creations.
All the Oud used by Fragrance Du Bois is CITES certified and guaranteed as to source, being both legal and sustainable, with respect shown for the environment, as well as the communities that live in and around the plantations on which the Aquilaria trees are grown.
Fragrance Du Bois has already achieved recognition in the global fragrance industry, and is making waves on the market with its expanding range of original, Oud-based perfumes and associated products. Demand is growing, and as a result, Fragrance Du Bois is now adding to its boutiques in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, with new outlets opening in Dubai, London, Paris, Luxembourg and Geneva between now and the early part of 2016.
This expansion has led to Fragrance Du Bois’ decision to acquire its own Oud (agarwood) and perfume oil plantations. They will be managed by Asia Plantation Capital, whose investment in proprietary technology has helped in no small way to save the Aquilaria tree from extinction, and will be expanding in terms of the species being grown to include patchouli, vetiver, tonka beans, bamboo, rose, pine, cypress and lemongrass, with many others in the pipeline.
Thanks to the relationship with Asia Plantation Capital, Fragrance Du Bois will soon be able to safeguard its own supplies, not only of the highly-valued and sough after Oud, but also a range of other premium perfume oils, all guaranteed as to source, purity and quality.
Nicola Parker, Brand Director of Fragrance Du Bois, said, “This is something we have been planning for a long time, and is designed to build on the unique success of our ‘Soil to Oil to You’ story that has captured the imaginations of so many people. We can now expand to include other natural oils we use in our perfume creations. I can remember the whole buzz Anita Roddick created in the industry when she developed the Body Shop brand and range using natural and sustainable ingredients. By working with the experts at Asia Plantation Capital, we have been able to take this concept a stage further, so that we actually grow our own ingredients and, in due course, even refine them ourselves.”
Parker concluded, “In today’s consumer markets we find that our clients are not only conscience of where their products come from, but also their quality and purity. We believe that we are now the only luxury perfume brand that can actually do this, and we stand behind our ‘Soil to Oil to You’ mantra as the key to everything we do and all the fragrances we create for our growing chain of boutiques.”
Fragrance Du Bois has entered into agreements to establish its own plantations in Malaysia, and acquire mature agarwood tree plantations from Asia Plantation Capital in Thailand. In addition, the brand is looking at future acquisitions in India and Indonesia, to provide a comprehensive range of high quality regional products. This will allow its core Fragrance Du Bois range of perfumed candles, perfumed wood chips and oils to be home-grown and sustainably produced.
As an adjunct to this, Fragrance Du Bois’ perfume creation business, Oud Du Bois, is in place to create fragrances for other international brands and perfume houses, using the pure Oud oil it will be growing itself, along with other 100% sustainable and natural oils.
“Obviously we have a very close relationship with Fragrance Du Bois,” said Gary Crates, European CEO for Asia Plantation Capital. “Indeed, we are founding partners in the business and have invested heavily in the early seed capital and development of the brand. That said, it’s very rewarding to see the brand now expanding and owning its own plantations under our management. Interestingly enough, this is a trend we are now seeing with other major perfume houses and brands. We are currently in the final stages of establishing similar sustainable and verifiable Oud and mixed species supply chains with several of them. We believe that this is a growing trend in the global retail business, where major brands have to get more involved in their supply chains, especially where natural substances are concerned. In the case of agarwood, which is endangered, a greater involvement becomes an ethical imperative. The companies we are working with now have all identified this trend, and have also realised that it makes good commercial sense to not only safeguard their own supply chain, but also to be able to secure products at a discount to open market prices. Add this to the attendant sustainability and ethical approach,” Crates concluded, “and you have the triple bottom line that we are all looking for in today’s business world.”
Initially, Fragrance Du Bois will be investing more than USD5million over the next 12 months, in plantations that will be managed by Asia Plantation Capital, financed by private equity and perfume industry partners who have recently joined the company.