How To Start Your Own Fragrance Brand! Part 2 | Chris Collins & Mona Kattan

welcome back everybody so I've got the amazing Chris Collins for part two learning all about his fragrance Journey his tips make sure you guys check him out follow him check out his site everything yes tell us about your retail Journey because like for me I was very lucky that we were already selling kind of Beauty with all the retailers so like getting in was not so hard the pressure was hard to keep them interested because the bar was so high but getting in wasn't so hard so how did you start because I think as an indie fragrance for that it's really hard to get people to trust in you it's not like selling lipstick it's like selling something you can't see you have to be noticed right you have to do something or start something that's either unique or that's never been done before and if it's been done before you have to put your own spin on it so it's different when I first launched I started online and again that goes back to my first point Chris Collins check it out you just have to start and I still get excited by every purchase that I get now just the same way I get excited about the first purchase that came through when I launched my website but the retail journey is a little different that's a whole other animal that you need to learn how to do that but I would just literally walk into department stores and say is the buyer here because I like to introduce them to my brand and wow that takes a lot of guts it takes a lot of guts because you got to be a little crazy a little bit I mean you don't want to go in there like causing the scene but I politely walked in and said I went to my first stores Bergdorf Goodman and I walked in and I said excuse me can I speak to the buyer I was dressed nice so everybody was a little they were relaxed and you know so I said I would like to introduce the buyer to my brand and they said well we'll connect you and we'll see what happens they call me back but I've literally walked in the stores and said I have something special that I need to show people and then other stores notice and saw all the things were happening that's amazing and it is hard like I remember when we first launched before we launched like even getting into Sephora I think it took us two years and I remember getting into Harrods we emailed the buying team from many different emails I think for two years they just like don't always respond so if you're trying to get into anywhere whether you're a fragrance brand a fashion whatever keep trying right be persistent you're smart for going in dressed up nicely and asking I don't know why we didn't think of that we're just emailing people all over I actually walked into Howards and did the same thing and I did that and I said can I speak to the buyer and they said okay we're going to connect you and I left them so they walked out my phone away and I came back in that is epic but you know the retail business is a whole different animal like I said it really is you know it's hard to get in but it's even harder to be successful because it's very competitive it's also changing it's changing non-stop I feel like every year it's different and you have to learn fast you got to change your plan fast exactly in the beginning it was challenging as a man of color that has never been seen before in perfume it was actually very challenging but it was also something that was a benefit because it was a unique stance in perfume perfume is a very French white culture and that's just what it is and that's what it was so I decided to be a little disruptive and launched my own brand and it was tough but I believed in it and there were people that believed in me and I think like what we're doing inspires other people absolutely at the end of the day that's very important to me I owe it to every little person of color who didn't think that it was a future in perfume to let them know either directly or indirectly that there is a path so important and I do feel like what you're saying it's like if you look at all the most successful Brands they're either part of like a big conglomerate that are basically white French men behind it or it's a white Frenchman doing it so it's like there aren't that many women there aren't many people of color and I think you're probably one of the only black men in fragrance I don't really know of many there's not that many men that was you know a very proud moment for me yeah and for you sure absolutely so inspiring so I live in Harlem in New York City and I felt it was very important I sell my fragrances for everyone there's no gender sex race that purely so much perfumes too so I make them for everyone but with that being said my first collection it needed to be an Ode to the neighborhood where I live the culture the history so the Renaissance collection which has Dan Savage Renaissance and Harlem Nights was very important for me people always ask like what's your favorite I don't have one because I love them all but I know the most important was that collection because I needed to tell a story of the Harlem Renaissance so I think in our stories and our packaging it basically tells about our heritage thanks for Kay Ellie I try to keep so many elements that are like representative of the Middle Eastern culture that I got reintroduced to when I moved to Dubai like a Nim Middle Eastern originally but I was so disconnected before and after moving to Dubai I was like so inspired and that's why I like the name it means my imagination in Arabic and there's different elements of the Middle East and the bottle and even the fragrances themselves like I always try to keep a little touch of it but I think it's so important to keep you know keep a connection to your roots because it's a part of who you are it's a part of us and yeah and it comes through absolutely and our brand and our fragrances and our style absolutely proud of you for doing that thank you I'm proud of you too so what are some resources or ways you can share for people who you know maybe struggling to to find enough information or get started like what do you recommend I think one of the things is to like reach out to either myself or Mona and stay I'm really looking to launch a fragrance brand like where do I start some people may not get an answer that they think is the right one because you know it's really difficult yeah I don't think anything is hard I just think it's not that easy like right and it takes a lot of work so you got to be prepared for that it takes resource it takes mentorship it takes me being able to call Mona and say Mona you know I'm working with this retailer what do you think do you think I should you know we need each other you know so we work together we support other people in the perfume industry who are looking to create stuff I mean the internet has a ton of information on ways to stuff to find perfumers to find like a fragrance class start somewhere knock on every door someone gonna close some will stay open be prepared for that again the universe will support you if you keep at it and if you quit then that means that you weren't supposed to be in that place anyway but I haven't done this in a while but I like to end my videos with a quote or a mantra since I have you as my guest of honor what is your one Mantra or quote that you live by that you feel really resonates with with who you are so here's a mantra that live by every single day you must relentlessly participate in the manifestation of your own blessings every moment of your life I love that so much all right guys as always thank you so much for watching and let us know if you want us to do a part three maybe I'll go to New York or New Jersey you're always welcome bye

Channel: Mona Kattan

Views: 9,344

Keywords: mona kattan, huda kattan, huda beauty, kayali, beauty, love, personal development, therapy, reality star, huda boss, Dubai, business, feminist, fragrance, life coach, makeup, sephora, fragrance business, fragrance biz, perfume business, business tips, business 101, investment, small business owners, business owners, business advice, chris collins

Id: d67TCnPpYdQ

Length: 6min 31sec (391 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 19 2022