Training day held at the Italian Perfumery Institute
We had the pleasure of holding a training day at the Italian Perfumery Institute, together with Paolo Roselli and Federico Huscher, dedicated to one of the themes that we believe is most central in contemporary perfumery:
The difference between a product and a project.
Starting from the turnkey production model between Private Label and Full Service Made in Italy, the discussion with the students focused on a very concrete reflection: today, producing a good product is no longer enough.
The change in contemporary perfumery
In recent years, the perfume market has changed profoundly.
The average quality of products has improved.
Access to suppliers has become democratized.
Creative possibilities have expanded.
This means that the value no longer solely lies in the ability to “create a perfume.”.
The real theme is to build a project that can work in the market.
Product vs. Project
During the lesson, we delved into a fundamental distinction.
A product is an object. A project is a system.
A system that must hold together:
- Positioning
– pricing
industrial development
– packaging
supply chain
– - Distribution
operational sustainability
Many projects fail not because the product is weak, but because there is a lack of coherence between these elements. And it is precisely this coherence that today determines the real strength of a brand.
The Role of the Full Service Model
One of the central themes addressed during the day was the role of the Full Service model within contemporary perfumery. For a long time, the market operated through fragmented structures:
– separate designers
separate manufacturers
– separate suppliers
– separate consultants
This model works as long as the complexity is limited.
But when:
– volumes increase
– markets are increasing
references increase
– Operating expectations increase
Fragmentation inevitably generates friction.
The Full Service model was created precisely to reduce this complexity through integrated phase management. Not as a simple operational simplification, but as a strategic alignment tool.
Made in Italy as infrastructure
Another point explored in depth concerns the true meaning of Made in Italy. Very often it is interpreted solely as an aesthetic or creative value. In reality, Made in Italy represents above all a unique industrial infrastructure:
– production chain
technical know-how
Flexibility
manufacturing culture
– development speed
This integration is what makes Italy one of the world's leading hubs for cosmetics and perfumery even today.
Form a new generation that is more aware
One of the most interesting aspects of the day was the students' level of attention to the sector's structural dynamics. Not just creativity or olfactory development.
But also:
economic sustainability
Operations
distribution
scalability
Industrial management
Sign of a new generation that is beginning to view perfumery not only as a creative expression, but as a complex system.
And it's probably right here that the evolution of the sector will play out in the coming years.
Conclusion
Contemporary perfumery requires an increasingly integrated vision because the market doesn't just value the final product.
Value:
– project coherence
– execution capability
– the continuity
– the solidity of the system that supports it
And it is precisely in the difference between product and project that much of the real value of a brand is created today.