Russian perfumery association joins Fragrance Foundation

Although headquartered in the US, the Fragrance Foundation has international partners in the UK, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Germany and France.

According to Perfumery Club director Marianna Penkova, it is this access to resources internationally that makes the partnership so valuable.

“It’s encouraging to know that we can share resources from the US and other countries around the globe as this gives us a strong sense of belonging to a worldwide industry,”​ she said.

Earlier this year the Russian association signed an agreement with the Fragrance Foundation to allow it to use the trademark FiFi Awards to help promote the industry.

An annual event, the FiFi Awards aim to reward innovation and honouring creativity within the sector.

According to Penkova, the Perfumery Club will be hosting its own Russian FiFi awards as well as implementing a number of other educational and informative programmes in the country.

“We are delighted that the Perfumery Club is establishing itself as such a responsive and dynamic support to the blossoming Russian fragrance market and industry,”​ said President of the Fragrance Foundation, Rochelle Bloom, commenting on the partnership.

Market dominated by international players​

According to market research company Euromonitor, the Russian fragrance market was valued at €1.3bn in 2009 having benefited from impressive growth over the previous five years.

However, due to the economic downturn which has significantly affected real incomes in Russia, growth is expected to slow and the market research company is predicting stagnation over the next few years.

Although some domestic players are making their mark, notably Novaya Zarya-Nouvelle Etoile, the market is still dominated by international companies, in particular direct sellers Avon and Oriflame.