Fragrance darling Kayali has entered the Chinese market with a 300-plus-door rollout — with dedicated space within its longtime retail partner Sephora — and a founder-led approach that reflects the brand’s “sweet overload, joy explode” ethos for the local market.
The project, which was two years in the making, marks a new chapter for the Dubai-based fragrance brand known for its gourmand scents and category-defining approach toward scent layering.
The initial product lineup covers seven of Kayali’s cult-favorite scents, including Vanilla 28, Yum Boujee Marshmallow 81, Musk 12, Freedom Musk Santal 34, Eden Juicy Apple 01, Eden Sparkling Lychee 39 and Fleur Majesty Rose Royale 31, which are also available on Sephora’s WeChat Mini Program store.
The collection will continue to expand throughout November with the arrival of nine additional scents.
“We’re patient, we want to build our local community slowly, we are not here just to move volume, we are here for the long run,” said Mona Kattan, founder and chief executive officer of Kayali.
Having tried local desserts — known for their not-too-sweet appeal — Kattan said her team is researching local culture and preferences, and wants to learn from Chinese consumers rather than assume the brand already knows what they want.
The founder’s patient outlook reflects the practical realities of building a global fragrance business, which also requires the right balance of steadiness and risk-management. Working with DSM-Firmenich, a Kayali scent’s development can take around two years on average, with the oil itself often requiring about 18 months. “My dream is to take everything in-house, which requires a lot of investment and even more risk,” Kattan said. “Maybe 10 or 15 years from now,” added the beauty entrepreneur, looking to Chanel and Zara as benchmarks.
Kattan’s whirlwind China trip began Wednesday, when she met with local beauty advisers at a Sephora flagship, followed by hosting an intimate Scent Lab where Kattan demonstrated fragrance combinations for local beauty voices. Kattan also used the Shanghai conversation to show how scent layering can create different moods, a trending discourse in local consumer culture.
“People should know what they like and what they don’t like, so they can make better decisions,” said Kattan, who observed the Chinese consumer is “very studious and research-driven.”
“We want to help people become perfume experts. I think Chinese consumers have already mastered skin care, fragrance has to come next,” added Kattan, seeing the category as a catalyst for confident self-expression.
“In my part of the world, we were probably held back in many different ways, not really with perfume, but with clothing, seeing that change was great. In its own way, there’s a different shift I see in China, where people are able to be bold with fragrance and not feel like that’s rude, which is really cool,” Kattan said.
The ever-curious founder of Kayali also hosted a masterclass with singer and creator Harrison Yu, followed by a day of retail culture immersion where Kattan got to know the founder behind Documents, the local label known for its artful narrative centered on Chinese traditional culture. “I loved their car scent, their diffuser, we should do a collaboration,” Kattan enthused.
The meet-up is a part of Sephora’s ongoing investment in building its community of brand founders. “What we would like to do is to make sure that all the great creativity can cross-pollinate, and this is what we’ve been doing for many years with many, many brands,” said Agnes Brissiaud, Sephora’s vice president of global merchandising for fragrance and hair care.
“We want to continue to bring what we believe is the most curated assortment that clients would want, both from international brands but also Chinese founder brands,” Brissiaud added.
Since last year Sephora has been updating its China lineup with local players, including the addition of makeup labels Joocyee, Red Chamber, Passional Lover, Babi, Out Of Office and Censto. Last April, 11 beauty brands joined the fold, including Florasis, Perfect Diary, Into You, Funny Elves, Nuscents, You&Pure, Guyu, C Ka and more.
Kayali’s China launch coincided with the fourth annual Sephoria Shanghai, which made its debut at Zhangyuan ahead of the Singles’ Day online shopping festival.