Grasse app Perfumist opens its capital to users

The start-up, which uses an algorithm to advise fragrance lovers, is launching a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube with a target of €350,000.

Invest in your favourite perfume app from €10: that is Perfumist's offer as it launches an equity crowdfunding campaign on the Crowdcube platform on Monday, according to Sophianet. The Grasse start-up is seeking €350,000 to develop its app, Le Journal des Entreprises reported. It is its first campaign of this kind.

Founded in Grasse in 2017 by Frédérick Besson, its chief executive, at the InnovaGrasse business incubator, Perfumist recommends fragrances based on the notes and ingredients a user likes. The app claims more than 2 million downloads worldwide. Co-founder Romain Krafft runs operations; the team has nine staff.

The company made its name among airport retail professionals. In spring 2018 Lagardère Travel Retail tested the app for two months in its Aelia Duty Free shops at Nice Côte d'Azur airport, a trial the operator described as “extremely encouraging”, according to trade magazine DFNI. In 2019 Perfumist won the Pépites du Pays de Grasse award.

In the perfume capital, the start-up is betting on digital tools to guide the choice of a fragrance, a purchase still largely made in shops, tester bottle in hand.