Creating The Aroma Of Christmas: The Process By Which Bath & Body Works Develops Its Yearly Line Of Festive Goods

For some, the official release of Starbucks’ holiday cups coincides with this season. Some people feel that the holidays genuinely arrive when they can smell it. The manufacturer of scented goods, Bath & Body Works, has found this out.

The corporation has developed a core cult of loyal customers, conducted extensive global research, and created fragrances that recall luxury, nostalgia, or food flavors in order to generate $7 billion in sales annually.

Put differently, “Vanilla Bean Noel,” a sales hit, is not by coincidence.

Bath & Body Works releases its seasonal line of candles, soaps, creams, and room fragrances each year, right in time for the holidays. Each product ranges in price from $1.95 to $26.95. The most important time for the shop to make sales is during the last quarter of the year, which coincides with the lead-up to Christmas.

Because Bath & Body Works’ goods are so highly giftable, the holiday season accounts for 38% to 40% of their yearly sales, making it a crucial quarter for the company, according to Lorraine Hutchinson, an analyst with Bank of America Securities.

This implies that the merchant needs to consistently offer a novel sensory interpretation of the holidays every year.

In an interview with a media outlet, Julie Rosen, president of retail at Bath & Body Works, stated, “We actually never stop thinking about the holidays.” “We have customers that come to us for our heritage scents, like Vanilla Bean Noel, Fresh Balsam, and Tis the Season, which have become part of their family traditions.”

However, how many diverse ways are there to continue preserving the joyous winter “fragrances” in bottles? Rosen remarked, “You’d be surprised.”

To put things in perspective, we introduced 65 new scents for the holidays. This is often the time of year when we release the most perfumes. She stated that you must begin the process a year in advance. Rosen and her team will be traveling the globe to gather inspiration and information for this project.

That is an impressive amount of frequent flyer miles for a relatively new business.

Modest Beginnings

Originally, Bath & Body Works was a line of skincare goods carried by the Express fashion company. From there, in September 1990, the first Bath & Body Works concept shop opened its doors in Boston.

It had grown to 50 stores by the next year.

Bourbon, cookie butter, and storybooks

Rosen explains that the origin of their seasonal products starts with “patterning.” It involves a team of individuals from several departments, including the product, design, and merchandising teams, who go to different nations to identify trends.

The young chain grew to 500 locations and $1 billion in revenues in just six years. By 2004, sales had risen to $2 billion.

The company’s predominantly female fan base expanded with it, and some of them became emotionally invested in the merchandise. Many fan sites on TikTok or YouTube are frequently found discussing customers’ “hauls” from the retailer’s semi-annual sale, their favorite soap or cream, or the brand’s well-liked three-wick candles