Russian women want their fragrances to convey professionalism and power

According to the report, one of the main motivators for Russian women to wear fragrances is the desire to express their aspired gender identity. Traditional stereotypes are evolving and this is causing a change in consumers’ behaviour. Veronika Zhupanova, analyst at Canadean, says: "Women’s attention is no longer only centred on family, but divided between home, professional and personal achievements. This means that women will look for fragrances that communicate a story beyond pure femininity and convey characteristics that were previously seen as exclusively masculine, such as power and stamina."

Canadean’s report finds that Russian women will look for these new gender characteristics in both fragrance formulations and packaging. Fragrance notes previously associated with men, such as wood and leather, will be successful in the female fragrance market in Russia; as will packaging that features modern designs with clear lines as opposed to overly feminised and decorative packaging. However, as image is strongly associated with status in Russia, fragrances should look like premium products. Manufacturers can achieve this ‘luxury look’ via high-end packaging with a matte glass finish, an elegant shape or lush colours.

Women’s busy lifestyles require smaller sizes

According to Canadean, Russian women apply fragrances 19.4 billion times per year, almost twice as much as men who apply frangrances 10.3 billion times. To fit into modern women’s busy lifestyles, manufacturers have to launch travel-size fragrances. Zhupanova adds: "Travel-sized packaging allows Russian working women to refresh their scents during busy days, after a shower in the gym or before after-work social events. This is especially important for big urban areas, where consumers often don’t have time to go home after work and reapply their fragrances." Canadean data shows that Russian women apply fragrances 18.8 times per year in urban areas, as opposed to 0.5 billion times in rural areas.

Products with a story resonate with Russian women

To tap into the trend further, manufacturers should create stories behind products which are inspired by role models that consumers have access to via web-sites or promotional materials. For example, Oriflame’s ‘Power’ fragrance is marketed towards the ‘passionate, driven and charismatic’ woman who ‘always gets what she wants.’ The bottle is designed to resemble ‘the beauty of a crystal chess piece’ and ‘serves to reinforce the symbolism of a woman at the very top of her game,’ while the ‘seductive’ scent underlines her femininity. It is endorsed by a famous presenter on Russian TV, Tina Kandelaki, who is a professional female figure that modern Russian women aspire to.