Fragrancing the Functional Product

I think I will step back in time. I speak as an old-time new product developer having spent many years creating new products in accordance with old principles which, incidentally, have resulted in some major products. The name of this paper might also be retitled: The Perfumer as New Product Developer, or Who Knows More About Perfume Than the Perfumer?

Several years ago I published, in Cosmetic & Toiletries, a paper on new product development. The major theme of that paper was the interaction of innovator, consumer and the attitude and atmosphere of the marketing company involved. The situation was presented diagramatically as in figures 1 and 2. In figure 1, we see that the new product experience can be represented by three components: (1) the consumer, (2) the innovator of the new product, and (3) the atmosphere in which the product is marketed—the market research, the concept, the advertising, the sales force, and all the other parts of an organization that determine the ability of an organization to get its message across to the consumer and the product onto the store shelf.

Only where the three circles overlap is there a marketable product, It was proposed that the key to a successful product in the marketplace was a good mesh of the three major elements, as shown in figure 2. Here, we see an example of a good fit--a situation in which there is a sizeable group of consumers to which the product appeals, an innovater who has been able to conceive and develop a very unique and appealing product, and a “normal” or “average” organizational desire and ability to introduce and sustain the product in the marketplace. The consumer is happy and the new product is a success.

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