Perfume is big business in the region. According to a report by Euromonitor International (EMI), the retail value of the Middle East and African (MENA) fragrance market is expected to reach $8.5 billion by 2021 – up from $6.1 billion in 2017.
In the GCC, consumers spent an estimated $3 billion on fragrances in 2017, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, bringing in the most money, at $1.8 billion and $674 million, respectively. And the industry shows no sign of slowing down, with the GCC’s retail value of fragrances estimated to be worth $3.6 billion by 2021, of which $2.1 billion will be attributed to Saudi alone.
So perhaps it is little surprise, then, that one of the most innovative ways of buying perfume is being introduced by a Saudi entrepreneur, although he himself admits that the industry wasn’t the first one he thought of back when initially setting up in 2014.
“[I always wondered] why we are an exporting country; why we don’t we take our products aboard. Why is it that innovations and tech come from abroad, but [never the other way around]?” Abdullah Bahabri explains. “I thought to myself, if I wanted to do something that [would go] global, then it would need to have a differentiator.”
Enter NOTA NOTA.
Described as “the gate to beauty and wonders that connect creators and designers from all around the world”, NOTA NOTA is a tech-driven device that allows users to mix and custom create their own perfumes through an app.
“NOTA NOTA is a new concept of mixing perfumes, a concept that would be part of your daily routine side by side with your coffee machine,” reads the description on the website for the SAR 2699 ($720) device. “So, you prepare your perfume before you go out and wear unique perfume for every day, night, mood and event.”
“I was initially interested in 3D printing,” says Bahabri, who recently showcased his product at the 2019 edition of TIE Dubai Summit. It was after he met a perfumer in Riyadh that the concept of NOTA NOTA began to take shape.
“I thought, why not come up with a 3D printer for perfume? I imagined a device where you can ask a machine to print out a perfume,” he says.
Bahabri, who is founder and CEO, began work on the concept of NOTA NOTA, and then was finally ready to launch four years later, in 2018. And the response has been incredibly positive, with the machine being sold in outlets including Selfridges in the United Kingdom. It even won the iF Design Award for 2018.
While it is currently mostly available in its e-store, there are plans to distribute the machine to bigger markets, including Brazil, the biggest consumer of perfumes. The entrepreneur has apparently secured a deal that would see the machine sold in over 4,000 outlets in South America’s largest country.
So how does it work? The machine accommodates a number of cartridges, TOLAs, each containing a note such as saffron, moss, sandalwood and bergamot, for example. Once the machine is fitted with the cartridges, you can go ahead and create your own custom mini bottle of perfume using the app.
“The machine accommodates the cartridges with the scent oils. The app creates the perfume,” says Bahabri.
The custom scent is then created in just a few minutes.
DEMOCRATISING PERFUME
It’s safe to say that Bahabri has plans to revolutionise the way we shop for perfume.
“I wasn’t set on perfumery, but I was interested in the third-industry revolution,” he says. “When I got into it, I figured that people in the industry are missing data – they produce millions of products [of perfumes], and ship it, but then have no idea what’s happening from the distributors’ side.
“Data is missing from an industry point of view.”
He says that he hopes a concept like NOTA NOTA would be able to change that, as well as being able to provide opportunity for others to contribute to the industry. For example, the NOTA NOTA app integrates a social network, allowing users to custom-create their own scent, name it, and share it with others.
“[We’re] solving a couple of issues and bringing new ideas. Personalisation is a very trendy thing in consumer products, [and so we are] bringing perfumery into the digital [landscape] and democratising it,” he says. “We aim to be the YouTube of perfumery.”
And investors are taking note.
“At the beginning, I was bootstrapping for the first couple of years,” concludes Bahabri. “Later on, we closed $1 million from angel investors in 2017, and half a million last year [2018]. [Looking ahead], we’ll see what strategy will suit us in the future.”