Introduction: Molton Brown’s brand concept has undergone a significant reset as part of parent company Kao Cosmetic’s wider business growth strategy. Kao Cosmetics President of Business AEMEA and Molton Brown Global President Mark Johnson discusses the thinking behind the New Brand World revamp, Molton Brown’s storytelling ‘Artists of Note’ campaign and how that will come to life in travel retail.
Revealed during the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes (29 September-3 October), Kao Cosmetics’ New Brand World concept features a revamped brand ecosystem and creative direction for Molton Brown, developed in collaboration with creative consultancy Portas.
The goal is to reinforce the fragrance house’s position in the category and enhance its presence across all platforms.
The concept aligns with Kao’s wider brand strategy and is a key step in integrating the company’s expertise in luxury fragrance and premium skincare segments under the Kao Beauty Brands platform.
Kao President Cosmetics Business AEMEA and Molton Brown Global President Mark Johnson says: “As we drive the growth of Kao’s Cosmetics Business in the AEMEA region, Molton Brown will play a pivotal role with its blend of heritage and innovation.
“The brand’s focus on luxury fragrance aligns perfectly with the projected growth in this segment. By investing in Molton Brown’s positioning in this category, we are setting the brand – and Kao – up for significant long-term growth and success.”
Talking about the thinking behind the brand refresh, Johnson says: “In 2019, we launched our Molton Brown Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette collections with quite a lot of success. This is particularly true within our own estate, where we’ve quickly seen our fragrance mix rise to around 20% or more. In fact, we are moving up the target to 30%.
“But through that process, we realised that we were doing an incredible job engaging with our loyal existing consumer base by engaging with the history and heritage of Molton Brown as a British fragrance house. Frankly, we were falling into a trap where we were very focused on conversion and not brand building.
“Looking at that brand-building mix versus the conversion mix, it was probably around 85/15, which is not a healthy conversion versus branding mix. We discovered that our keen focus on our existing loyal customers was acting as a barrier to recruiting new ones.
“We want authentic, meaningful and deep relationships with our customers. It’s not just about reaching out to as many people as we can, but about understanding and identifying with communities that share our values in an authentic way.
“So, we engaged with a brand agency called Portas and started collaborating to unearth the truths about the brand. We asked ourselves, what makes it so special? What makes it unique?
“From the very beginning, we have always fostered this sense of individuality, creativity, craftsmanship and quality. What we failed to do is showcase that in a more contemporary way and sharing that with new audiences.”
Molton Brown’s New Brand World revamp is centred on the Artists of Note campaign. The campaign has tapped three British artists to recreate one of the brand’s signature fragrances.
These are self-proclaimed punk poet Dr John Cooper Clark, award-winning fashion designer Nicholas Daley and jewellery designer Gala Colivet Dennison. This concept underscores Molton Brown’s commitment to creativity and diversity, key aspects of the brand since it was founded in 1971.
“Molton Brown has always fostered this sense of creativity and artistry and individuality, which is how we created a connection with artisans and how the Artists of Note campaign was born,” Johnson explains.
“We asked these artisans to choose a fragrance that resonated with them and asked them to reinterpret the fragrances using their own mediums.”
Artists of Note brings a modern cultural element to Molton Brown’s approach to fragrance, highlighting its core values and the distinctive sensory qualities of its signature scents. The initiative centres on the brand’s three best-selling expressions – Re-Charge Black Pepper, Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel, and Rose Dunes.
Daley’s Re-Charge Black Pepper designs are inspired by his Jamaican-Scottish heritage, while Dennison reimagined Rose Dunes as a piece of wearable art reflecting her bold, sculptural style. Cooper-Clark crafted a rhythmic poem to capture the essence of Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel.
Part of the Molton Brown revamp is also a reset of its entire wholesale network, including travel retail. Johnson explains: “One of the things that we’re working on is a project that we call Wholesale Reset. Our wholesale partners have been challenged with space and location as they’ve tried to bring in niche brand after niche brand.
“So, what happens is that everyone’s space has got smaller, which has left us in a position where the big brands still have enough leverage that they can still mandate that space.
“However, medium-sized brands such as Molton Brown go from A spaces to B spaces and therefore go from A results to B results. That’s a vicious cycle, especially when you are having to deliver commercial viability and productivity levels.”
He adds: “The Wholesale Reset project explores how we can better invest in this channel to show up and express Molton Brown in the way it needs to be expressed. We are investing in renovating our shop fits, to create a storytelling-driven look and the feel and immersive experience in those locations.
“We are investing in personalisation elements such as bespoke gifting opportunities and engraving machines. Even simple things such as multi-coloured ribbons that can be used to personalise gifts can make a difference at the point-of-sale.
“All this works together to ensure that we’re telling the Molton Brown story and building a brand universe and not just moving product on the shelf.”
Giving a preview on what lies ahead for Molton Brown, Johnson says: “Of course we have new product innovation coming. However, the focus is to continue to build Artists of Note because this is more than just a campaign, but the essence and spirit of Molton Brown itself.
“Our strategy is not just about being focused on new product development but also finding the right balance between innovation and valorising Molton Brown heroes. All these dynamics will come to life in travel retail because we don’t differentiate between travel retail and wholesale.
“For me travel retail is another touchpoint where customers can engage with the brand. And if I can build a meaningful, impactful human connection with customers in travel retail, that’s the sort of relationship I want no matter what the channel.”
Looking ahead, Johnson says: “My goal for the next 12 months, particularly with our existing more mature markets and partners, is to have successfully shifted the perception of Molton Brown away from a bath and body brand to a fragrance-first brand. We want to be known as artisans of fragrance across categories.” ✈
