‘Less but better’: Bon Parfumeur on authenticity, long-term partnerships and creator trust

Bon Parfumeur is an independent French haute parfumerie house, renowned for its artistic, colourful and contemporary identity. Entirely Made in France, from the fragrance to the label and packaging, the brand stands out in the niche perfumery market through its commitment to craftsmanship, storytelling and authenticity. Thanks to an engaged community of enthusiasts and content creators who support the brand organically, Bon Parfumeur aims to strengthen long-term relationships, raise the quality of collaborations and assert its positioning through a sincere and thoughtful influencer strategy. In this interview with Kolsquare, Aurélie Boudoux, Bon Parfumeur Marketing and Communications Manager, shares her vision of influence, the brand's priorities, the evolution of creative partnerships and the major changes shaping the landscape of perfumery and social media.

What’s your approach to working with KOLs and creators?

Our identity as an independent, artistic and contemporary house is directly reflected in our communication. We are keen to maintain an expert discourse so that everyone can understand our creations. With creators, the challenge is to explain the olfactory experience, because we all know, you cannot ‘see’ a fragrance.

For us, creators are not advertising billboards. They are partners, ambassadors, almost editorial partners. We want them to be able to describe the fragrance, highlighting the excellence and rarity of the ingredients as well as the uniqueness of the compositions.

We favour long-term relationships, and that's what Kolsquare helps us to do. The data helps us to track and reactivate profiles we have already worked with.

And in our boutique, twice a month, we organise olfactory masterclasses exclusively for creators. Building relationships is essential. The goal is to do less, but better. To get to know the people we work with personally, so that this sincerity is reflected in the message.

You place a lot of emphasis on the human connection with designers. What makes this relationship so central to the brand?

Of course we share briefs, particularly on olfactory vocabulary to avoid mistakes. But the goal is to avoid artificiality. We want a real relationship.

Our strategy has always been centred around gifting, not paid advertising. Creators speak out about Bon Parfumeur spontaneously because they want to, not because they are forced to. This sincerity is precious.

But we are aware that perfume alone doesn't pay the rent. That's why, in the coming years, we will start working with a selection of brand ambassadors. We are aiming for a fair relationship, but we need to find the right model: the investments are significant, so we will need to monitor them carefully and make thoughtful choices.

We prioritise commitment over the size of the community, as long as there is a real editorial alignment. We engage perfume experts, people who work for several international houses, but also lifestyle, fashion, artistic and architectural profiles. We love the diversity of viewpoints, just like our multifaceted perfumes.

You talk about going further with certain profiles. How do you envisage the next step, particularly in terms of the ambassador programme?

We have an extremely strong community. Some creators have been fans of the House since 2017. We have nearly 1,000 people with whom we are in regular contact. Some have gained millions of followers in just a few years. The connection remains.

The transition to ambassador status mainly raises questions about contracts. We want to preserve a system based on discussion rather than an imposed contract. An affiliate platform will probably be necessary to automate payments and avoid overly burdensome manual management.

We are planning a test phase in 2026 with around ten profiles. This will allow us to understand the mechanics, adjust the model and then roll it out on a larger scale internationally.

The real challenge, for me, is choosing ambassadors without creating exclusion. I want to set up tiers so that everyone can progress towards this status, because every voice counts, regardless of the size of their community.