Interview with Coralie Frébourg the founder of Versatile

My first question is about your brand name "Versatile". What does versatility mean to you, and what inspired you to choose this name for your brand?

Coralie Frébourg: - "Versatile" refers to a person who often changes their mind. That name says a lot because at Versatile, we like to change our minds and moods. All of our fragrances represent real-life moments such as breakfast, tea time, hangovers, aperitifs…that we all know. One mood means one Versatile fragrance.

I have been following you for a while, even before you announced the creation of Versatile, and I believe that you are a courageous person, but not crazy, because you have probably made your decisions not solely based on dreams and emotions, but on important facts. I'm referring specifically to creating a new perfume brand in a saturated market during the uncertain times of the pandemic, and also choosing a less common form of perfume in a roll-on. What was your motivation for creating your own brand despite the uncertain situation related to the pandemic, and why did you choose a roll-on form, which is more commonly found in Middle Eastern perfumes rather than in Europe?

- I graduated from Ecole Supérieure du Parfum in Paris, so I have a little background in the perfume industry, I did all my internships in the industry. When COVID arrived, I didn't know that I wanted to launch my brand. I wanted to find a job in a luxury group, but no jobs were available during the pandemic. Six months after doing nothing, I decided to launch a brand, but it was obvious to me that I shouldn't do what everyone else is doing because the market is already saturated. Our concept is really simple: we aim to create the opposite of institutional perfumery, which typically includes large 100ml bottles, sprays, eau de parfum, and alcohol-based fragrances. Instead, we offer a small 15ml bottle with a roll-on application, highly concentrated at 30-38%, and made with alcohol-free, oily fragrances. We like to think that our fragrances are small but powerful - because size doesn't really matter!

Of course, the small size of Versatile's oil-based perfumes, made with sweet almond oil, is a huge advantage, as they are highly concentrated. However, does this not create an issue with slightly lower volatility of these scents? How did you deal with this?

- Well, since the beginning, we have tried to be the most transparent with our customers about the ingredients and production process, as well as the differences between spray and roll-on perfumes. It’s an alternative way to perfume that's more confidential and sensorial. It won't hurt anyone on the subway or at the office, but you'll still smell good!

What is the most challenging stage in the process of creating a new perfume brand or launching a new scent?

- Money...! Most brands launch with a budget of 60-100K€, but for me, it was 20K€, so I had to be smart and flexible, doing everything myself with the help of my boyfriend - from packaging the fragrances and preparing the orders to shooting, website design, and more.

You have just returned from the Esxence trade fair in Milan. How do you rate the fair and your participation in it? How was your brand perceived by visitors?

- The exhibition was amazing! I highly recommend it to all singular brands. We were looking for distributors or agents to distribute the brand, and we found them. Most of the visitors already knew about the brand, so it was just amazing to see that our new brand (only a year and a half old) has such beautiful visibility internationally.

During the exhibition, you presented a new fragrance called Sea, Sud & Sun. Can you tell us more about this scent?

- Yes, it's our new scent inspired by the apéritif in the south of France. Anne-Sophie Behaghel from Flair created it, and it's highly concentrated at 33%. The main notes include fig, orange blossom, pastis accord, musk, salty notes, and nougat accord.

Aperitif in southern France sounds very interesting. How much freedom do you give to the perfumer? Do you just give a brief and say, "this time I want a scent inspired by the aperitif in southern France" and give a wide range of interpretation, or do you create every scent in your head and give specific directions to the perfumer?

- Contrary to other brands, I'm super rigorous and very rigid. I attended a perfume school, so I know what I want and which ingredients can go well with one another. Therefore, I create a clear and specific brief with the notes that I want, and the perfumers make the perfect blend. However, sometimes I can be wrong, as with Rital date. At first, I wanted orange blossom, but with all the other notes such as pesto, pistachio, limoncello, oregano, the blend was bad. This is why we switched to neo lemon!

© photo: planarparfums.com

In the world of perfumery, trends come and go, partly due to increasing restrictions from organizations such as the IFRA. Currently, there is a noticeable trend towards emphasizing the naturalness of ingredients, as well as caring for sustainable sourcing of raw materials and ecology through packaging and materials used. However, often this is just a marketing ploy, and in reality, it is difficult to create a fragrance that is 100% natural. Versatile aims to dispel the myth that natural ingredients are always better, and instead seeks a balance between natural and synthetic ingredients.

- For us, it's all just marketing nonsense. I've been trained in the industry and know all the tricks and fake ideas. Most brands are lacking in DNA and concept, so they take advantage of consumers' fears. It's a lack of information for consumers, because when we consider the carbon impact of some natural ingredients, extraction, rendering and production, natural is far from being 100% clean. For me, clear and transparent claims are better than simply choosing between synthetic or natural.

Is there any fragrance note that is your favorite?

- Iris!

What are your thoughts on the role of scents in shaping our emotions and perception of the world around us?

- This question is tough. For me, perfume is not linked to personality but rather to mood. You can be a very nice girl and love a big, leathery, smoky oud scent, and on the contrary, you can be a very "bad girl" and love a kind and soft, sweet scent. It's all subjective. You wear what you like, depending on your mood.

In which direction do you think the fragrance market may go in the coming years, and can you give us a hint about what else Versatile might surprise us with?

- The fragrance market will not change so much for me, ahah. Flowers will always be considered for women and woods for men. Niche perfumery will become oversaturated like mainstream, but I hope that brands will surprise us with ingredient innovation, new gestures, and more transparency... fingers crossed! As for Versatile, we are working on other kinds of products, always perfumes but different from roll-on perfumes (laughter). But I can't say more. You know that Versatile loves teasing, eheheh.

© photo: planarparfums.com

Scented candles were added to your offer, but their production has been suspended for the time being. Is candle production more difficult than perfume production, or were there other factors that influenced this decision? Perhaps you will consider returning to this idea in the future?

- Candle production is very easy. Our perfumers made incredible scents, and we loved developing the candles. Unfortunately, the cost is now too high for us to launch a new production due to inflation (vegetable wax +40%, transport +20%, etc.). So we hope that they will be back one day, maybe with other friends, and if not, we will plan to launch other things! This is the funniest part of the job. We can launch what we want!

Inflation is actually noticeable everywhere. When it comes to money, Versatile perfumes still have a quite reasonable price. I assume that this is the result of reducing various costs, such as marketing, while also doing many things personally, as you pointed out earlier. What do you generally think about perfume prices? I have a feeling that you have something interesting to say on this topic.

- Ah, it's always nonsense! No, seriously, most mainstream brands only spend around 5 euros on the juice that they sell for 100 euros. It's very low, but we also have to consider that they have a lot of expenses, such as salaries, advertising, shops, marketing, and so on. So, yes, luxury brands have different kinds of costs than niche brands. In the niche market, most brands try to put all their budget into the perfume and not into communication or packaging, etc. Generally, most perfume brands, mainstream and niche have a margin between 70-90%. For us, we have a 70% margin. At Versatile, all our formulas cost between 300-600 euros per kilogram. It's really high while most mainstream formulas are around 80 euros/kg, but yes, I make a lot of things myself. For a perfume priced at 55 euros, I have 10 euros of VAT, my product cost is around 9 euros, and I give 3% to a French association. I also have expenses such as office and apprenticeships, but it's also true that retailers buy the product for half of the HT price - 27 euros. So, as you can see, I don't make a lot of money on a perfume. I need to sell a lot of perfumes, but it's okay. Last year, we sold around 11 000 perfumes, so we're happy. After two years and a half, I am ready to be paid, so it's good news!

It's amazing how openly you speak about these issues. I don't think everyone would have the courage to speak so clearly about "these are my costs, and this is my margin." The same goes for the ingredients that are openly available. It's a different level of transparency

- We try to do our best! Everyone knows that each perfume brand needs to make money, so why keep secrets? Money has always been a secret. We love what we make, and we put all our energy and passion into it. So, like everything else, we need to earn money. But with transparency, I guess it's better, haha!