Inside Beauty’s Foodie Era — When Comfort Becomes the New Luxury

The fragrance industry has officially developed a sweet tooth. From chai-spiced lip oils to vanilla-laced serums and fig-infused body lotions, “food-scented beauty” has become one of the strongest sensory trends of the decade.

But behind this playful surface lies a deeper shift — one driven by emotional comfort, nostalgia, and the human need to reconnect with the senses.

From Glow to Comfort: The Emotional Pivot of Beauty

According to Vogue India (Dadhich & Hussain, 2025), the beauty consumer’s desire has shifted from transformation to tenderness. After years of aspirational messaging around “radiance” and “perfection,” consumers now reach for warmth — scents that smell like care, memory, and home. Vanilla, caramel, saffron, and rose milk have become emotional codes for safety and intimacy.

This shift represents more than a fleeting aesthetic. It marks an evolution in sensory branding, where brands no longer sell only performance but also the feeling of comfort. As Dr. Ritu Sharma, professor of marketing, explains: sensory marketing has “leveled up” — but in this case, it’s driven by longing, not logic.

When a moisturizer smells like mango pulp or a cleanser like rice milk, it does more than hydrate. It provides reassurance in a world where gentleness feels scarce. Scent has become the new language of care.

Neo-Gourmands: From Edible Sweetness to Sophisticated Pleasure

Parallel to the emotional shift is an evolution in olfactory design. As Fashionista reports (Pusateri, 2025), the upcoming seasons favor “neo-gourmand” fragrances — modern interpretations of classic dessert notes. Traditional gourmand compositions relied on overt sweetness (think vanilla, caramel, or marshmallow), while the neo-gourmand palette introduces complex textures and layered contrasts.

Caroline Ornst, DSM-Firmenich’s fragrance development director, describes this as “multisensorial pleasure” — gourmand scents reimagined through warmth, nostalgia, and subtle luxury. Examples include Snif’s Crumb Couture (croissant butter and powdery sugar) and Phlur’s Father Figure (earthy fig and creamy woods). These blends balance indulgence with restraint, offering comfort without excess — an olfactory reflection of the modern consumer’s mindset: pleasure, but polished.

Asia Leads the Scent of Comfort

Nowhere is this trend more pronounced than in Asia, where fragrance growth and emotional consumption go hand-in-hand.

According to Mintel’s APAC reports (Explore Fragrance Opportunities in APAC, 2023; Capture Growth Through Scent Expansion in North APAC, 2024), China’s fragrance market is forecasted to grow at 18% CAGR over the next five years, while South Korea is projected to reach $712.6 million by 2027.

The driver? Emotional connection.

60% of Chinese women purchase fragrances to relax or uplift their mood.

40% of consumers seek scents with “additional emotional benefits.

These data points confirm that scent is no longer a finishing touch — it’s a wellness behavior.

Culturally, Asian consumers are gravitating toward comforting olfactory families such as amber, wood, and edible gourmand. South Korean lifestyle brand Longtake Sandalwood combines woody depth with crisp citrus for balance. Meanwhile, Chinese niche brand Documents incorporates native botanicals like star anise, Yunnan magnolia, and cedar into its Season Two: Free collection — rooting international perfumery language in local heritage.

This intersection of global expertise and local storytelling is where fragrance innovation now thrives.

The Psychology of Safe Indulgence

Scent is sensory, but also symbolic. As Dadhich and Hussain (2025) note, food-scented beauty offers a way to experience desire without consequence. For women, indulgence often carries social and emotional cost. But a vanilla body oil or fig candle allows a form of craving that leaves no guilt — sweetness that disappears when the scent fades.

From a behavioral perspective, this is pleasure rehearsal: consumers engage with sensory luxury as a manageable form of comfort. In times of uncertainty, comforting scents such as caramel, amber, and honey deliver emotional regulation through olfactive memory. Mintel data shows caramel fragrance searches rising 78.2% year-over-year, indicating how fragrance has become a coping mechanism as much as a cosmetic.

It’s the olfactory equivalent of emotional grounding — small, temporary, but deeply human.

What This Means for Fragrance Development

The “foodie era” of beauty signals a broader transformation in how brands conceptualize scent. It’s no longer about novelty alone; it’s about emotional function.

Future-forward fragrance design will need to integrate:

Texture-based appeal: translating taste into tactile olfactory sensations (e.g., creamy, milky, syrupy accords).

Cross-sensory storytelling: aligning scent with sound, color, and even digital content to evoke comfort.

Localized gourmand interpretations: using ingredients that resonate culturally — from Vietnamese condensed milk to Japanese yuzu pastry.

Sustainable sourcing of edible raw materials: as consumers associate “natural sweetness” with transparency and safety.

In other words, the next decade belongs to intimate olfaction — scents that connect, ground, and comfort.

Comfort as the New Luxury

In a hyper stimulated digital world, smell might be the last slow sense left. You can’t swipe it, skip it, or fast-forward it. It anchors us in the present — and that’s what makes it powerful.

As Vogue India concludes, “These sweet, scented things don’t fix the ache or quiet the noise, but they remind you that softness is within reach.” For the fragrance industry, this softness has become the new form of luxury — one that blends indulgence with empathy, chemistry with care.

And as long as comfort continues to feel like a rare commodity, the world will keep reaching for the scent of dessert.

Our Perspective / Market Outlook 2026

At GroupG, we believe the “foodie era” marks a pivotal turning point for both perfumery and consumer emotion. Our trend mapping for 2026–2027 anticipates:

• Expansion of Neo-Gourmand Families: Beyond vanilla and caramel, we forecast deeper exploration into cereal, nutty, tea, and milk-inspired accords, appealing to Asia’s rising middle class seeking familiarity with sophistication

• Emotive Perfumery as a Growth Engine: Fragrance will increasingly be positioned as a form of “emotional skincare,” merging the benefits of self-care and sensory pleasure.

• Local Ingredient Renaissance: Demand will surge for locally sourced botanicals — pandan, lotus, yuzu, and osmanthus — to create scents that express regional identity while maintaining global quality standards.

• Technological Integration: AI-powered creation tools and neuro-sensory testing will refine how perfumers translate “comfort” into measurable mood response, ensuring precision in emotional performance.

• Circular Sustainability: As food-based ingredients grow in demand, traceability and upcycling (e.g., vanilla pod by-products, coffee husk extract) will become key differentiators in responsible fragrance development.

• For brands, the challenge — and opportunity — lies in turning sweetness into strategy: crafting fragrances that don’t just smell delicious, but also feel human.

References

Dadhich, Gauri & Hussain, Sara. Inside Beauty's Foodie Era and Why We’re All Eating It Up. Vogue India, October 13, 2025.

Pusateri, Catie. Amber and Fig-Forward Scents Lead Fall's Top Fragrance Trends. Fashionista, September 23, 2025.

Mintel. Explore Fragrance Opportunities in APAC, January 2023.

Mintel. Capture Growth Through Scent Expansion in North APAC, December 2024.

Mintel. Fragrance Trend in BPC – China, 2023.

Mintel. A Year of Innovation in Men’s Grooming, January 2025.