Why does red mean stop and green mean go? Why is water wet? Why are fragrance containers clear? The first two questions, as any parent knows, come from a child’s curiosity. The third leaped from the mind of Eric Korman, founder of Phlur—a new fragrance company that’s out to change the way consumers think about fragrance and its packaging.


The Austin, TX based company was formed last year, but began offering fragrances only within the past couple of months. For $10, shoppers can pick out two Phlur fragrances and samples are shipped directly. Each includes enough fragrance to last about a week, ensuring a man or woman can wear it many times. The samples are part of a whole package that includes scent cards describing the notes and evolution of the fragrance as it is worn. There are six Phlur fragrances at the moment, with names like Hanami (described as complex and complete, a reflection of serenity and self), Olmsted & Vaux (the embodiment of quiet confidence and composure) and Hepcat (layered with dimensions that captivate).


Phlur credits the $10 paid for the sample set toward a future $85 purchase of a full-sized 50ml fragrance—in an opaque fragrance bottle that’s made from 20% recycled glass and coated with a layer of vegetable-based paint. According to Phlur, fragrances degrade quickly in sunlight; the paint protects the scents and enables the company to create formulas that are free of dyes and stabilizers.


“So far our package has been universally embraced and loved—both in terms of its striking yet minimal aesthetic, and the integrity of the decisions that drove its design,” Korman told Happi. “When told, customers quickly understand how absurd it is that the overwhelming majority of fragrances are sold in clear bottles.” 


The decision to create opaque fragrance bottles is just one insight that Korman had during a 20 year career working at large consumer brands from Coca-Cola to Ralph Lauren and from live entertainment to online travel.


“The thing I’ve learned is that my biggest insights occur from outside-in,” he said. “I got interested in fragrance during my time at Ralph Lauren, because candidly I did not understand why my division did not make any real money selling fragrance, as compared to apparel.”


Korman got some answers to his questions when the head of Ralph’s licensing group schooled him a bit on how the category was organized, and also suggested a trip to Barney’s fragrance counter to learn more.


“That’s where I got interested as a consumer; there we all these interesting scents being sold—but at what I thought were crazy prices,” he recalled.


As Korman researched fragrance further, everyone he spoke to in the industry recognized the same fundamental problems that he, as a new fragrance lover, identified with as a consumer.


“Yet they could not land on the solution, as they’re trapped in their existing ways of doing things,” he told Happi.


That when Korman had his “Aha moment.” He took what he knew well, how to build a successful brand and how to connect with consumers online, and immersed himself in the world of fragrance to create an entirely new way of approaching fragrance as an experience, not just a product. 


Who is the Phlur customer? Korman says it’s too early to define them completely, but since the beginning, company executives thought the target customers including older Millennials to younger GenXers “who are urban dwellers and dreamers.”
Whoever they may be, they’re buying.


“Since our launch on June 22, we've had a great start,” he told Happi. “Our initial expectations have been surpassed, which suggests to me that what we thought all along is true: many people are frustrated with the messaging, products, and experience of fragrance today, and engage quickly when exposed to what we are doing.”


Phlur fragrances are available online at www.phlur.com. Korman says his mission, at its most simplistic, is to build a business that creates value for all stakeholders; i.e., partners, investors and customers.


“How we will get there starts with this radical new approach to fragrance—and then we will take it from here!”