Fashion | Scent trends for 2025 points the nose to Matcha, Rice Milk & Sesame.

2025 will see the rise of the ‘Neo-gourmand’ as the new frontier in the world of fragrances. As a report prepared by CPL Aromas puts it, “Fragrance is entering a golden age where sustainability, technology, and personalisation will define the next chapter.”

Apart from TikTok growing to be a powerful sales engine and continued innovation in personalisation, perhaps what I’m most looking forward to is savoring a fresh perspective in these Neo-gourmand scents - defined by unconventional edible notes tailored to emotions, activities, and personal style. Sweeping aside the classic gourmands (like sweet vanilla), fashion-forward Gen Z are looking to unusual. nuanced ingredients like matcha, rice milk, and sesame.

Matcha’s earthy bitterness introduces a green sophistication, tapping into Gen Z’s wellness-conscious ethos. Rice milk offers creamy comfort, embodying nostalgia and global culinary influences. Meanwhile, sesame's nutty undertones lend depth and complexity, satisfying an appetite for the unexpected.

Balancing the experimental with the traditional, floral scents with rose and violet, along with the more fruit-based notes of green banana and cherry, are also expected to be on the rise for 2025.

These ingredients make perfect scents (apologies) when one considers how well they align with the values of a generation driven by self-expression and sustainability. Social platforms like TikTok amplify their appeal, making once-niche fragrances now instant must-haves for a digitally connected world. Perfumers and fashion Maisons in turn, ought to respond with compositions that balance the familiar with the avant-garde, and add the proverbial 'top note' of cultural storytelling into their 2025 advertising campaigns.

For the Gen Z tastemaker, fragrance is more than a scent—it’s a narrative. Neo-gourmand encapsulates this sentiment, delivering sophistication with an all-at-once personal, global touch. As the industry evolves, one note is clear -the future of fragrance is deliciously daring.