Lin Jing, senior vice-president of Eternal Group, delivers a speecn through an online meeting. (Photo provided to China Daily)

On Dec 14, the Chinese Perfume Industry Research White Paper 3.0 was published in Shanghai during an online press conference jointly organized by Eternal Group and Kantar China. The white paper seeks to provide a valuable reference for the industry to explore new trends in the "smell economy".

Lin Jing, senior vice-president of Eternal Group, said that although a certain degree of economic downturn has had a certain impact on the cosmetics and perfume markets, compared with the 50 percent penetration rate of cosmetics, the current penetration rate of perfumes in the Chinese market is only 10 percent. There is still a wide space in the market waiting to be developed.

Li Xiaojie, senior research director of Innovation & Customer Experience Business of Kantar China, mentioned that Chinese consumers are pursuing more meaningful uniqueness to show their own taste in subtleties. Consumer behaviors have also changed, mainly five areas, namely customer base, emotional value, preference for "pure aesthetics", feeling value and omni-channel connection.

Wang Wei, chief operating officer of Eternal Group pointed to the home fragrance sector as the growth driver of the industry — consumers' use of various aromatherapy categories increased significantly in 2022. It is an area worthy of in-depth exploration and research by industry practitioners.