Luxury houses and Grasse mayor drive perfume industry revival
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 3
Luxury houses and Grasse mayor drive perfume industry revival
11 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 3
Chanel says 1,000 Grasse jasmine flowers go into each ounce of No. 5 parfum, while DSM-Firmenich, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton and Dior have expanded local investment.
Viaud has protected 170 acres for new flower fields and helped win UNESCO recognition for Grasse's perfume-making traditions, reinforcing the town's status as a high-end fragrance hub.
Grasse's flower acreage has fallen from 12,000 acres in the early 1900s to about 142 today, but luxury backing is reviving cultivation as the global fine-fragrance market exceeds $20bn annually.
With the Expo Rose festival just days away, can Grasse's revival truly blossom for all, or only for a few elite brands?
Grasse defeated developers to save its flowers, but can its priceless terroir survive the much greater threat of climate change?