Launched in 2019, Maison J.U.S (for Unique and Sensory Jewel) is carried by three founders from the luxury perfume industry, with the goal of creating their own brand and offering alternative and sustainable fragrances.
After 20 years in the world of luxury perfume (Yves Saint-Laurent, Trussardi, MaxMara, Galliano, La Perla...) and the successful launch of several brands, Jean-Baptiste Roux (CEO) decided to launch his own brand, with two long-time accomplices.
Brigitte Wormser (olfactory director) is a graduate of Isipca (Institut supérieur international du parfum, de la cosmétique et de l'aromatique alimentaire). After a career in luxury brands (Nina Ricci, Germaine Monteil, Dior, Lacroix), she bought two perfume shops in Paris and founded a consulting company. With her training as a nose, her international career and her experience in retail, she participated in the launch of the J.U.S Parfums brand with the desire to shake up the traditional and conservative perfume industry.
Thierry de Baschmakoff (artistic director) has collaborated with some of the biggest luxury brands in the field of perfumes and cosmetics, as well as leather goods, watches and accessories (Dior, Guerlain, Bulgari, Lalique, Burberry, Cartier, Jimmy Choo). He has also worked for Chinese companies on branding missions.
Maison J.U.S gives carte blanche to several renowned master perfumers to guarantee the originality and quality of its perfumes and carries strong values.
"Our philosophy is to reinforce the freedom of creation by giving carte blanche to our perfumers: Alexandra Carlin, Aurélien Guichard, Fabrice Pellegrin, Aliénor Massenet and Céline Ellena. The principle is simple: we give them total freedom to express their personality and their desires in their creations. This trust is a guarantee of quality and originality of our perfumes.The J.U.S. house says.
No consumer tests or marketing briefs are carried out beforehand to ensure original, personal creations, all very different.
Other strong corporate values include:
- Ethics and eco-responsibility: the bottles are reusable thanks to refills and perfume fountains. The brand reuses old molds to make certain bottles and the furniture in the perfume shops and pop-up stores is second-hand. The packaging is entirely recyclable.
- Transparency: Maison J.U.S makes the formulas of its perfumes public without fear of being copied because, according to the company, it is the quality of the selected raw materials that makes the quality of a perfume.
- Color and pleasure: Maison J.U.S stands out from the current offer in a very traditional, standardized sector where the bottles are all transparent. Maison J.U.S brings color back into the world of perfume, flattering the sight as much as the smell. "We offer an alternative range of creative, unique and singular perfumes, far from the traditional selective perfumery, with colorful bottles and graphic "wallpaper" style gift boxes that reflect the joyful, colorful and creative values of the brand", says the company's founders.
- 100 % French manufacturing: bottles, packaging and production are in France. Only ingredients not produced in France are imported.
Fundraising to finance international development
Maison J.U.S has raised 617,000 euros from French business angels and international investors.
According to WeLikeAngels, one of the business angel networks backing the company, niche perfumery, now estimated at €3 billion (worldwide), is the only growing market segment in perfumery. In 2019, it grew by 14.9 % while the global fragrance market grew by only 5 %. Niche perfumery is increasingly appealing to consumers and is no longer marginal. Consumers who traditionally bought luxury perfumes (Chanel or Dior) are now buying unique fragrances from other brands. In 2015, of the 2,000 fragrance launches, 500 were niche fragrances.
Maison J.U.S is present in 10 countries and in 42 points of sale: in France (Le Printemps Haussmann), in the United Kingdom (Harrods and Liberty London), in Belgium (Senteurs d'Ailleurs), in Russia (Tsvetnoy), in Italy, in Germany, in Lebanon, in Kuwait, in the United Arab Emirates and in Qatar. Every month, new partners join the J.U.S adventure all over the world.
But it is towards Asia that all efforts to conquer the market are concentrated, as the momentum is optimal: a very strong growth in perfume purchases, an appetite for French brands and know-how, and an increasingly demanding clientele that seeks out niche brands.
The funds raised will be used to develop e-commerce sales and to launch the development in China.
Two ranges of fragrances
The brand offers two ranges of perfumes bearing its name: the Unique Jewels collection and the Sensory Jewels collection. "These two collections express the freedom of expression of the perfumers in which the exceptional is the order of the day, the originality understandable, and the pleasure always sincere.
- Unique jewels... : exceptional vintage bottles, reflections of the history of French perfumery... bottles made from old existing molds. Unique formulas, the fruit of free, new, extreme and original ideas, intriguing.
- Sensory jewels... : a sensual, young and colorful rounded bottle, discreetly revealing the juices to better discover them. No-frills formulas inspired by tradition but rooted in contemporary perfumery... odes to sensuality.
"J.U.S is a perfumery with a strong commitment to olfactory and packaging choices. We are proud to offer a 100% French perfumery and to work with French suppliers with their wonderful know-how and their deep commitment. We are proud to claim joyful, impertinent and ethical values and we hope you will share them... and thank you to all the French Noses who worked with us in complete freedom without brief constraints and who gave us the best of themselves... "The company's management emphasizes.
