Making Scents Of Africa: The Brands Betting Big On The Perfume Market
African fragrance houses are creating olfactory products that combine global luxury standards with distinct cultural narratives, giving rise to an almost billion-dollar homegrown perfume market with its own stamp.
Chikeluba Okafor’s journey into African luxury perfumery began with Catherine Omai’s Contagious.
“It is a rich balsamic oud composition that immediately stood out for its quality and originality,” Okafor, a Nigerian technical program manager and fragrance collector, shares with FORBES AFRICA.
More recently, he discovered Thé à Marrakesh by Maison Fidé, a fragrance inspired by Moroccan tea culture that he says captures “the warmth, spice and atmosphere of Marrakesh with remarkable accuracy”.
Experiences like those, he says, reinforced his belief that African fragrance houses are producing scents that are both globally competitive and culturally distinctive.
Okafor now owns more than 25 fragrances from four African perfume brands, part of a wider assortment of over 70 bottles accumulated during more than a decade of collecting.
“Earlier discoveries came while traveling abroad—at Jovoy in Paris, Harrods in London, and airport duty-free boutiques between flights—experiences that introduced me to niche perfumery and luxury scent culture. Among my favorites are Nefs by Nishane, Gladiator Oud by Electimuss and Purpose 50 by Amouage,” Okafor shares.
His passion eventually evolved into content creation. Through his Instagram and TikTok pages, he reviews perfumes, oils, and niche fragrances for an audience interested in artistic perfumery.
That appetite is growing across Africa, where consumers are becoming more sophisticated and intentional in their fragrance choices.
According to Global Market Insights, the global perfume market was valued at $62.1 billion in 2025 and is projected to rise to $85.5 billion by 2035. The Middle East and Africa fragrance market alone was valued at $3.7 billion in 2025, driven by rising disposable income, expanding luxury consumption and deeply rooted grooming traditions.
WRITTEN & PUBLISHED BY: Oluwatomisin Amokeoja, Forbes Africa Staff
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