- We have an amazing history, heritage and culture that need to be remembered and continually connected with.
- From nature’s abundance of plants and flowers we can produce wonderful substances (such as essential oils and natural perfumes) that have long histories of providing humans with improved health and happiness.
- This history, heritage and culture as well as these incredible plants and flowers, the products they produce and the people who work with them are existentially threatened and must be protected and nurtured.
Of course, we have other threats to deal with such as the pandemic, but the much greater and longer term threats are competitive in nature. For Natural Perfumers the threat is large synthetic perfume brands. Natural Aromatherapists are threatened by huge, billion-dollar essential oil retailers.
As formidable as these companies appear, we can successfully compete with these wealthy giants if can utilize the following strategies:
- Develop, grow and certify the high value, sustainable essential oil supply chain
- Improve retail messaging and pricing strategies to better serve artisan retailers and their high value consumers
The first few steps in achieving these strategies are already underway.
In early 2019, The International Committee on Sustainability of Aromatic Plants and Essential Oils was formed. By June of 2020 the Committee had developed Sustainable Essential Oil Standards (SEOS) for growers and producers. These are the most comprehensive standards (including organic) for essential oils. You can find out more here: https://www.essentialoilstandards.com/
Now that we have SEOS, the International Perfume Foundation (IPF) will be able to complete the certification of the entire essential oil supply chain including growers, producers, distributors, schools, Natural Perfumers, Natural Aromatherapists, Natural Olfaction Trainers and Natural Perfumotherapists.
As SEOS Certified products become more available, IPF will share this information with everyone. These new SEOS standards will help the supply chain achieve the authenticity, integrity and transparency necessary to attract many more high value consumers who are willing to pay more for products that have greater value to them.
Once these consumers are satisfied with that value, they become loyal customers who will repurchase again and again. At that point we can begin the process of staking out the huge untapped, high value end of the market as our own.