Confetti Group, a British brand that sells perfumes and skin and hair care products recently expanded to the UAE.
Confetti was founded in 2016 in the UK, and in January this year, the company announced its entry into the UAE fragrance market as part of its expansion strategy.
ME Retail News spoke to the company’s CEO and co-founder Ori Leslau to know more about how Confetti aims to grow in the country.
“I founded Confetti Group in 2016 in the UK with a clear objective to introduce quality FMCG brands to some of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Mr Leslau.
UAE is a gateway into the GCC market
Two years later in 2018, Confetti opened its Dubai headquarters and focused on expanding into the Middle East, African and Asian markets.
“Dubai provides the perfect launchpad for brands with unparalleled access to global markets and a phenomenal staff talent pool, which it attracts via its unmatched lifestyle quality and tax benefits,” said Mr Leslau.
“The Middle East region also has the highest consumption of fragrance per capita in the world. With that in mind, it is no shock that our fragrance brands, Confetti London and Riggs London, would want to secure their shares in this market.”
Mr Leslau, having worked with fragrance brands like Yardley of London, said that the experience helped him understand the nuances of the fragrance industry and its scope.
“While working in this sector, I have seen many multi-million-dollar brands built. With their love of fragrance and connectivity, the GCC (and UAE in particular) seemed like the natural expansion path.”
“Historically, high-end brands have dominated the perfume space. In fact, the UAE fragrance market reached a value of almost $600 million in 2021.”
He also added that between 2021 and 2030, the market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent in the UAE.
“However, today, with significant advances in technology and manufacturing, we can deliver high-end perfume quality to consumers at a fraction of the price.”
As such, the company is looking to provide high quality perfumes to consumers at lower prices. These include deodorants and body sprays as well, apart from Eau de parfum.
“Consumers today seek extra long-lasting fragrances catering to their specific preferences.”
“Budget is also a priority when investing money into a product. Our brands, therefore, seek to offer larger-than-average-size fragrances at affordable pricing, aiming to build memorable experiences for our consumers.”
Speaking of the company’s most well-known product, Mr Leslau said that the company’s ‘Perfume in a Can’ has been very well received by its consumers.
Online is the way forward
E-commerce is the way to go, said Mr Leslau. With the Mena region having one of the highest internet penetration in the world, online shopping is fast becoming the dominant way to shop.
Moreover, e-commerce also allows vendors to receive higher margins.
“Our products will be available on many of the available third-party marketplaces. For higher price point items like perfumes, e-commerce serves as a valuable higher margin channel and also presents the opportunity to connect with consumers about our products in more detail.”
“We have also been building a digital ecosystem linking consumers who buy our products through digital platforms such as our website and social media.”
“The digital environment allowed our customers to further engage with the brand and their products, being in the loop of new launches and learning more about our business.”
