WHAT started as an alcohol-free perfume range meant for Muslims has fast become a household name here.
It’s also making waves abroad. With its spanking new packaging, One Drop Perfumes, inspired by world-renowned designer scents, makes a gift that doesn’t require wrapping.
How great is that?
During a recent product launch, Josafri Johari, group managing director of One Drop Group of Companies, says: “When we first came into the market, we were targeting Muslims because the perfumes don’t contain alcohol. But it’s become popular with non-Malays as well.
“Unlike alcohol-based perfumes, our perfumes range, do not evaporate as they are oil-based, one of the reasons it’s popular with the Indians and Chinese. Since it has taken off so well, we decided to re-design its packaging into something more contemporary and chic. We wanted something that spoke for itself, something more stylish and more relevant to the market.” Life & Times finds out more from Josafri.
How did it all start?
The idea was mooted by my mum who was working in a factory then. We noticed there were many local cosmetic companies but not many were into perfumes. So we decided to introduce alcohol-free fine fragrances in the market. I left a senior position in Bank Negara Malaysia to kick off our dream. We aspired to become a household name. We started small, developed alcohol-free fragrance oils, added extra ingredients, and went from shop to shop to sell our perfumes. We have succeeded because, at the end of the day, we have a good product in terms of price and quality.
What is the concept behind One Drop Perfumes? It is pure, concentrated fine fragrances without alcohol. You get longer-lasting scents at only a fraction of the cost of designer perfumes. It is like comparing freshly squeezed juice to cordial. The oil-based fragrance lasts longer, up to nearly 12 hours.
What is the difference between attar and One Drop Perfumes?
Both are alcohol-free fragrances, but attar has a woody scent, is old-school and is more masculine. Our fragrances are powdery with floral scents and are exclusive and upmarket. It comes beautifully packaged. How many perfume varieties does One Drop have? There are 80 fragrances in all, which come in 10 boxes (named Set 1 to Set 10).
These boxes are in different colours — six for women and four for men. Each box contains eight different fragrance bottles. We have a set that is inspired by celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Beckham and designer brands like Bvlgari, Giorgio Armani, Issey Miyaki, Estee Lauder and others. What we do is we mimic their fragrance but do away with the alcohol content. That is why our labels always read “inspired by”.
What is your favourite One Drop fragrance?
I like Set 2 in the blue box inspired by Bvlgari.
How far has One Drop Perfumes grown since it was first conceptualised?
We now have more than 14,000 dealers in the country. We have an in-house French perfumer, Phillipe Barbossa, based in France who develops our fragrances. He has 20 years experience as a perfumer with various established brands, including Escada. He is like a chef who conjures up recipes. We have sold over a million boxes in the last 2½ years in business. There are 300 types of fragrances and we have only introduced 200. Another 100 will be introduced soon.
How are you promoting your perfume range?
We work closely with the media and we advertise in print and over radio. That’s our strategy in securing the market. The perfume range is available throughout the country through dealers and distributors. Those interested can visit our website at www.onedropperfumes.com. Most dealers start off as customers. Local celebrity Rozita Che Wan is one of our top dealers. It was a natural progression for her from being a user to becoming a dealer and she’s doing very well.
Which is your best-selling fragrance?
The blue, green and the celebrity ranges.
Why was there the need to re-package the perfumes?What is the direction of the company?
For most products, the packaging and the components and bottles are custom-made and imported. In order not to remain complacent, we decided to go with a new look. So far, the feedback has been very receptive. People abroad, (our markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Britain, India, Bangladesh and the United States) like the colourful packaging and it is a good catalyst for us to grow even bigger.
It is only fitting for us to look the part and to achieve a certain standard, especially in the overseas markets. The local market growth has been excellent. Based on year to year, we have seen a growth of eight per cent. In terms of the direction of the company, we have grown considerably. At home, there is increasing penetration into the non-Malay market. We introduced One Drop Perfumes to the Indian market before Deepavali last year and sold 45,000 boxes. We have gained about 400 distributors in the Chinese market in the lat six months.
Is there a price increase with the new packaging?
No. We are maintaining the old pricing of RM40 (S$16.70)-RM45 a box. With this kind of packaging and pricing, we make it affordable. We are introducing two more boxes next month.
Is One Drop planning to venture into other areas? The cosmetic line perhaps?
No. Our forte and strength is fragrance. We will not lose our focus.
