There's a corner store in Manhattan selling pistachio perfume for $138 an ounce.
Not because it's made from rare Persian pistachios. Not because it's blessed by monks. But because in 2024, smelling like dessert became a $32.6 billion market where search interest is exploding 77% year-over-year, and everyone from Burberry to your local supermarket is scrambling to cash in.
Here's what they're missing: Nobody's building the lab.
Search volume for gourmand fragrances exploded +77.5% YoY, with 4.2K monthly searches. Pistachio specifically posted the fastest search growth in personal fragrance. The Carolina Herrera Good Girl scent, which has base notes of vanilla, saw sales increase by +27.6% in 2024. Meanwhile YSL's Libre, which has a Madagascan Vanilla base, has seen a +33.5% boost in sales.
"We'll see scents featuring nostalgic or whimsical inspirations going viral on social platforms, such as 'cereal milk,' bubblegum, or cotton candy with a sophisticated edge". Fragrance shops are predicting "Layerable gourmand scents that encourage users to create their own 'signature dessert,' with multiple compatible products for layering".
The market just told you what it wants. A lab where people can build their own snack stack.
And the rails to sell it? Beauty & Personal Care is the standout across all TikTok Shop markets. In H1 2025, this sector generated nearly $2.5 billion in GMV worldwide, representing roughly 22% of total transaction value.
The Signal: Everyone's Selling Bottles, Nobody's Selling Systems
Here's what we need to know:
The Gourmand Gold Rush
- The Global Gourmand Fragrance Market size is expected to be worth around USD 48.7 Billion by 2033, from USD 32.6 Billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 4.1% - but search interest is up 77% YoY
- Synthetic fragrances are expected to account for 67.3% of the gourmand fragrance market in 2025 - they're cheaper, more consistent, and can replicate any dessert note (yup, if you're still thinking essential oil and "all natural", time to update your frame a bit)
- The trend of maintaining a "fragrance wardrobe" - multiple scents for different occasions, seasons, or moods - contributes to both volume and value growth
The Platform Shift
- US TikTok Shop sales touched $10bn of GMV in 2024, making it the largest global market for TikTok Shop
- Beauty and personal care is the leading TikTok Shop product category based on gross merchandise value (GMV) worldwide, reaching almost 2.5 billion U.S. dollars
- More than 80% of TikTok Shop Sales Come from Repeat Customers - up from 65% just months earlier
The Behavior Change
- In U.S. markets, 60 percent of consumers purchase fragrances multiple times per year, while 32 percent actively seek custom blends
- 55% of U.S. fragrance consumers are interested in trying personalized or tailored blends
- Consumers want more complex gourmands, higher intensities, and varied fragrance products
- Young buyers specifically want fragrance that's interactive and customizable
Big fragrance is responding predictably: more SKUs, more celebrity collabs, more limited editions. Kayali drops Yum Pistachio Gelato for $138. Sol de Janeiro launches Cheirosa 62. Every brand races to capture the pistachio moment.
They're fighting over who owns pistachio. You're going to own the entire snack aisle.
The Play
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