Apersonalized perfume that's created by me, for my mood. MOI personalized perfume is a fragrance business that was born in Los Angeles, USA and established for the purpose of catering to clients that are both domestic and foreign in nature. Moi begins with the most beautiful, consciously sourced plant materials we can find. All of Moi’s animalistic notes are synthetic compounds that mimic the animal musks, including leathers. Our plant based essential oils are collected with sustainable techniques that avoid any harmful and wasteful harvest to our mother earth. MOI work with the world's most experienced perfumers, and our company use technology to design scents that work for daily life. We offer customer guidance on creating and layering fragrances for any gift, occasion or mood.
Quality
Our highest-quality ingredients are 100 percent clean. We have partnered with International Flavors and Fragrances and their team of extraordinary perfume craftsmen to bring world class quality perfume within the reach of everybody.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Mission Statement
#Mood is the general message MOI want to deliver to our viewers. Become a perfume designer and create your own fragrance. We will take you on a journey to the glamorous world of perfume-designing.
Scents are emotional: they trigger memories, inspire you, transport you. Waft helps you craft your own custom blended fragrances that reflect you and your journey.
Management Team
CEO & Co-Funder Liana Qin
Primary responsibilities include making major corporate decision.
Maintaining awareness of the competitive market landscape, expansion opportunities, industry developments
Managing the overall operations and resources of a company.
responsible for a company's past and present financial situation, and she is an integral part of a company's financial future.
oversees the capital structure of the company, determining the best mix of debt, equity, and internal financing.
Responsible for sourcing for and placing orders with reliable vendors
Ensures that a good relationship is maintained with these vendors for the good of the organization
Responsible for contract negotiation, preparation as well as execution
Possesses updated knowledge on the market trends and uses this to make several analytical decisions
Works with the CEO/CFO to create a budget for the purchasing department
Marketing director
Responsible for major camping and overlook the timeline of the event plans.
Ensures that awareness for the company brand is increased
Places adverts in relevant media so as to increase orders for companies products and services
Develops and implements a marketing budget by working with the CEO/CFO
Customer Service
Works with the CEO/CFO in drafting customer service policy and ensuring that these policies are implemented.
Handles enquiries of customers on behalf of the company.
Receives orders from clients and ensure that the orders are passed to the appropriate channels.
Creates accurate customer database on behalf of the company.
Uses feedback from customers to ensure that services are improved on.
Brand and Marketing Plan Objectives
The main objective is to deliver the highest levels of professionalism and experience, we aim to personalize of the perfume, acquiring quality brands that cater to specific customer needs and offers high standards of services to the industry. There are two potential purchases that they might make. The primary goal is to get them to purchase the $6.99 3 personalized perfume samples and ultimate goal is to have them purchase the full bottle perfumes.
In terms of our marketing objective, our goal is to ensure that Moi products are communicated to meet with the needs of our customers, while creating a buzz across all social media platforms. We specifically target towards the changing customer trends and lifestyles among the young generations who has broken the traditional shopping patterns. Our marketing strategy intends to help serve a tio purpose which is to ensure that our brand
is recognized, the benefits of our products and services is acknowledged, and to encourage purchases made by our existing customers and potential customers.
Situation Analysis
History of The Fragrance Industry
Perfumes and scented oils have been around since the beginning of history of human activities. Its use has been recorded as far back as the ancient periods of Egyptians and China. People back then used scented oils and perfumes for religious ceremonies, which is not so different than our uses today.
Today, fragrances are no longer made in small batches at home. Rather, they are manufactured through major developers like Firmenich and Givaudan with advanced technologies in production and extraction. Fragrances are generally considered as a more luxury sector of the fashion industry (Cosmetics Business, 2019). The fragrance industry is also a growing global industry.
According to Technavio, the fragrance industry is projected to $53.92 billion growth to the year of 2021 (Technavio, 2017). Below is the overall global luxury perfume market trends and key factors from 2017-2021.
Regulatories in the Fragrance Industry
The fragrance industry is regulated by the FDA and GRAS, as well as being self regulated by internal organizations like the RIFM and IFRA. The FDA stands for Food and
Drug Administration which requires that the ingredients of a product be listed on the label, but in the fragrance industry ingredients are trade secrets so it is not required (FDA.org, 2019). GRAS stands for "generally recognized as safe" and has been in use since the 1850s (since there are still a lot of natural ingredients and essential oils with traditional extraction method used in today's production of perfume). Any modern substances used after 1958 must meet strict guidelines and testing to be sure that they are safe (Fragrance X Library, 2018). The RIFM stands for Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, was formed in 1966, in an effort to provide relevant research on commonly used fragrance materials and ingredients. The organization performs toxicity and safety tests which includes allergy testing and phototoxicity testing (Fragrance X Library, 2018). After a serious of testing, the results will be sent to the International Fragrance Association, for evaluation. The IFRA then determines its safety and approves the use of the material.
Major Players in the Industry
As mentioned earlier, Firmenich, IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances) and Givaudan and three of the biggest fragrance product developers in the world. They develop almost all of your favourite perfume brands from Chanel, Gucci, to Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. They are the ones who perform research on new fragrance ingredients and scent findings. After research and development, they will then present the findings to major companies who might be interested in developing their own signature branded perfume (Sullivan, 2015). Among all players in the fragrance industry, Chanel, Estée Lauder, Guccio Gucci, Hermès, and Ralph Lauren are identified as the top 5 biggest players in the industry (Sullivan, 2015).
SWOT Analysis
| Strenth | Weakness |
| ● Offers real personalization services | ● Lack of in-store experience which could |
| ● Customizable ingredients based on | build a relationship with customers |
| preferences and advisories from top-notch | ● Only sold online as start up |
| perfumes | ● Weak bargaining power with raw material |
| ● Social Responsibility Initiatives (Vegan) | and packaging suppliers |
| ● Competitive price point compares to | ● Lack of brand awareness and loyalty |
| competitors | ● Potential risks of poor customer services |
| ● Intelligent survey system that makes the | due to the lack of physical and real time |
| personalization process quick and easy | communication |
| ● Free samples that allows customers to have | |
| a personal experience | |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| ● Other skincare and beauty products such as | ● Big name perfumes and their brand loyalty |
| lotions and soaps | ● Anti-fragrance campaigns groups |
| ● Subscription program for new scents each | ● Economic failure will directly impact the |
| quarter / season | fragrance industry |
| ● Global expandsion | |
| Digital Market Review |
Characteristics and Behaviors of Target Market
Mostly female who are millennial and gen Z with age ranging from 18 - 37. They are earning an annual income of $35,000 and above who also lived in an urban area. They mostly graduate from an undergraduate degree or are currently in college. Our target market are social media savvy and knows the perfume industry very well and understand what they want and expect from a bottle of perfume (in terms of specific ingredients and scents). Our target market are very socialized and are willing to share the new findings in their daily life with their friends and families.
We are specifically targeting on those who falls into the 20-25 age range. They are intense social media users who spend at least 1 hours on social media (primarily on Instagram) (Lissitsa & Kol, 2016). They like to go to concerts and other social events once in a while because they enjoy the pop culture and follow pop artists, music, and other popular trends. They pursue a very healthy, active, organic and quality lifestyle. It is very likely that our specific focus group are looking for a gift to customize for their significant other. Strategies appealing to market
Firstly ,with the above characteristics of our target market, we believe that all of our marketing strategies must focus on the promotion of brand awareness through social media platform ,with a focus on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. We want to first create a buzz across social media platform and send public relationship packages to major beauty and lifestyle influencers since they are who our target audience follows. The in depth digital marketing strategic planning will be discussed in the later section.
Second ,shortly after the promotion of Moi across social media platform, we would continue to reach out and concentrate our procedures on our specific target groups -our 80/20 target market. We like to take the young successful private beauty company, Glossier, as a benchmark to initiative our physical visualizing campaign. One of the key successes
Glossier had was the establishment of conceptual billboards among major urban cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It created a buzz among the young generation and made them very curious about the brand without knowing too much about Glossier. They then went on to their cell phone device and researched their company and found all social media connections there. As a company that have very similar target market base, we would like to perform very similar billboard campaigns with Glossier.
Thirdly ,in order to gain the highest return on our 80/20 target market, we would like to introduce a temporary showroom in where we believe where our most engaging target audience will be --- Los Angeles (Lissitsa & Kol, 2016). Since the company was also born in Los Angeles, we will have a showroom established for the LA area because it is a city with the most social media conscious users. It is where we will invite 20 social media influencers who falls under the beauty and lifestyle category to our opening ceremony. Consumers will then be able to have an actual in-store experience which allows our representatives to build a real connection and relationships with consumers face to face.
Digital Competitive Review
4P’s Marketing Mix
| Name | Product | Place | Price | Promotion | ||
|
Moi |
Personalize | Online / Pop Up | 30ml $46 | Bill Board, | ||
| Perfume | store | 50ml $68 | Instagram, | |||
| Facebook, | ||||||
| Youtube. | ||||||
|
KKW |
Perfume | Online | 100ml $60 | Magazines, all | ||
| social media | ||||||
| platforms | ||||||
| WAFT | Personalize | Online | 15ml $39 | All social media | ||
| Perfume | 50ml $95 | platforms. | ||||
| 100ml $145 | ||||||
Competitive Advantage
Moi Personalized perfume using the best raw materials for all the steps of the production guarantees a high-quality product with a cheaper price. Personalized perfume helps create memorable experiences and association in people’s minds which could offer customer own mood, thus being very effective in boosting sales.
Competitors Strengths
Provide a customized luxury experience and service for Moi customer users.
Moi personalized perfume insures consumers that we are made from ingredients that are tested, assumed safe, pure and free from harmful petrochemicals, solvents, dyes, alcohol, and pesticides.
Moi offer every signature scent, just like every client, is unique. Fragrances can be made to reflect many diverse moods and are customized to suit any target audience, brand or product line.
Competitively priced according to industry Standard pricing.
Competitors Weakness
Our brand do not have an established brand in perfume market.
●
Financial Analysis
Starting Capital
| Startup Expenses | |
| Legal | $1700 |
| Logo | $100 |
| Promotional Materials | $200 |
| Contractors | $1000 |
| Insurance | $200 |
| Computer | $500 |
| Other | $150 |
| Total Startup Expenses | $3,850 |
| Startup Assets | |
| Cash Required | $35,000 |
| Startup Inventory | $17,000 |
| Other Current Assets | $8,000 |
| Long-term Assets | $62,500 |
| Total Assets | $122,500 |
| Total Requirements | $126,350 |
| Startup Funding | |
| Liabilities | |
| Accounts payable (Outstanding Bills) | $20,500 |
| Notes payable | $2,000 |
| Other Current | $11,000 |
| Long-term Liabilities | $80,000 |
| Total Liabilities | $113,500 |
| Capital | |
| Owner | $12,850 |
| Investors | $0 |
| Total Capital | $12,850 |
| Total Startup Funding | $126,350 |
Purchases Budget
| Units to be produced | 57,200 |
| Direct Materials per Unit | *1 |
| Production Needs | 57,200 |
| Desired Ending Inventory | 5,400 |
| Total Needs | 62,600 |
| Less: Beginning Inventory | (0) |
| Direct Materials to be purchased | 62,600 |
| Cost of Raw materials | *$3 |
| Total Purchases Cost for Raw Materials | $187,800 |
Projected Cashflow
| Beginning Cash balance | |
| Cash Receipts | |
| Gross Sales | 3,780 |
| Change in A/R | (3,780 |
| Total Receipts | |
| Disbursements | |
| Gross Expenses | (45,000) |
| Change in A/P | 14,850 |
| Change in Inventory value | (4,000) |
| Total Disbursements | $(34,150) |
| Net Cash flow from Operations | (34,150) |
| Equity Financing | $200,000 |
| Ending Cash Balance | $165,850 |
Break-Even Analysis
| Total | Per Unit | |
| Sales (32,508 Units) | $1,300,000 | $39.99 |
| Less: Variable Costs | $(900,000) | $(45) |
| Contribution Margin | $400,000 | 15 |
| Less: Fixed Costs | $(340,000) | |
| Net Income | $60,000 | |
| Contribution Margin Ratio | 69.2% | |
| Variable Expense Ratio | 29.8% | |
| Break-Even Point | 25,380 |
Profit & Loss Statement
| Gross Revenues | $1,300,000 |
| Cost of Goods Sold | $700,000 |
| Gross Profit | $600,000 |
| Selling, General & Administrative Expenses | |
| Advertisement and Marketing | $39,700 |
| Auto Expenses | 65,300 |
| Bad debts | $200 |
| Bank Charges | $5,800 |
| Contract Services | $10,600 |
| Consulting Fees | $38,100 |
| Contributions | $8,500 |
| Internet | $2,000 |
| Web hosting | $32,500 |
| Research | $35,200 |
| Total Expenses | $237,900 |
| Net Income | $362,100 |
Overall Financial Concerns/Implications
Monthly Expenses
We tend to think that we have underestimated our monthly outgoings which will cause problems in our operations. To combat these, we will need to be straightforward with our suppliers and vendors and will need to be asking for all sorts of discounts they will be needing to offer. We will seek advice from people who are in the perfume business who will not have been considered as direct competitors to our business. This will enable us identify the hidden monthly spending, start-up costs and expenses.
Funding
The organization could not get hands on as much funding as possible. There is no enough money which can act as financial cushion for the organization if things don’t go as planned. Thus, if the business will be struggling to stretch money for expenses some months, we will take a look at fixed term installment loans to see us through or get a private investor.
Mispricing
We have priced our products by adding up the costs and then we added on the margin that the organization would like to make. The value we have gotten is different from the real value of the perfume within the market. To combat this, we have done our research on the competitor’s services and prices so as not to miss on potential customers
Challenges/ Contingency Plan
Moi is an online personalizing and customizing perfume company. Like many online businesses, or any business building customer loyalty is a constant topic in creating strategic planings for the company’s management. In building a strong loyalty program, customer services is key. According to Forbes, “79% of customers would take their business to a competitor within a week of experiencing poor customer service, while the estimated cost of customers switching their choice of businesses due to poor service is $1.6 trillion.” (Leinbach, 2016) With such statistics in mind, performing outstanding customer service is always a challenge with online businesses who present themselves on digital and social media platforms. Since the company does not have the ability to physically communicate with the consumer and therefore build a more trusting relationship, internal risks that customers might simply turn away from the business due to inefficient communication and poor service is high. While Moi is still building its brand image and awearess, competitors like KKW fragrance who already have a strong brand recognition in the digital and social media world is an external risks because the creator herself --- Kim Kardashian West is the biggest social media influencer out there.
In order to prevent this risk from happening, performing extraordinary customer services is crucial for Moi. First ,we have to make sure that the brand is transparent. We will display address, phone numbers, and contact information on our website. Making sure it’s easy for customers to find. We will also incorporate 24/7 live chat box at the side of the website so that customer’s concerns will be answered as soon as possible. Second ,we will update our blog and social media posts regularly. It gives a human angle to our business, and help sets us apart from your competitors. We will also make sure that a Moi community is created on all of our social media platform. Our social media coordinators will be answering and responding comments being made on the posts and constantly interact with them. Third , we will send emails from time to time to remind them of our special offerings and any new collaborations we have. Many customers prefer email as their preferred choice of business communication (Smith, 2018). With optin tools such as exit-intent, we can easily capture emails and connect with our customers. We will also incorporate the name of our customers in all of our emails and popups to make them feel welcomed and cared for.
Recommended Digital Strategy
As mentioned in the Digital Market Review section, the center and the first step of our strategic marketing planning is digital marketing. We want to make sure that we have intensify our publicity so as to be known in Los Angeles and thrive there, before venturing out to other states in the United States. We intend to strongly communicate our brand through publicity. The various strategies that will be adopted to effectively communicate and advertise Moi are:
Vigorously promote our official website to showcase our products and services through Google Ads and search engine marketing.
Leverage on our social media platforms with a focus on Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook – to increase the awareness for our products and services
In collaboration with Givaudan (our main material supplier), 20 beauty and lifestyle social media influencers will be invited to our public relationship event in Givaudan France SAS in Paris, the home of luxury perfume. We will showcase how top notch perfumers make their signature perfumes that best describe their personality and mood. The influencers will then take the personalized survey and create their own perfumes.
Ensure that our employees have been well educated about Moi and therefore will style themselves to create a conceptual atmosphere and mood across all social media platform with the iconic nude color theme of the company and simplistic authenticity of brand image.
After looking at the industry structure and where Moi stands in the fragrance industry, we have identified that personalized fragrance is an existing product in an existing industry. Therefore, it lies in the market penetration segment of the Ansoff Matrix. Market penetration involves selling more established products into existing markets. To do that, Moi will offer exclusive promotions to potential customers. We will offer a 20% discount for them to purchase their first Moi personalized perfume (for 30ml and 50ml bottles only). They will receive the coupon through email once they completed their first $6.99 sample kit purchase. After 7 months of marketing and advertising and gaining some profits, we will then provide our existing customers with seasonal discounts to re-engage and attract more potential customers. One of the seasonal promotions we offer is the “Galentine’s Day Treat” where customers can buy one full size fragrance and get another one for 50% of the price.
Once we are seeing growth on market penetration, we will then move on to product development segment of the Ansoff Matrix which involves developing new products or services and placing them into existing fragrance industry. To continue to grow our business, we will introduce a fragrance subscription where customers can trust our picks based on their personality survey. Because we understand that the new generation are always experiencing new products and love to stay on trend (Ordun, 2015), we offer a 30ml perfume every season so that customer can have a new bottle of perfume that satisfied their preference but with a surprising ingredient based on current fragrance trends. The price we offer is $39.99 that charges every 3 months (which is a discounted price compared to our original price point of $46). That way, customers can express their individuality according to the season and current trends. This new service gives our business constant income and more product and service diversity.
Refrences
Cosmetics Business reveals the 5 biggest fragrance trends in new report. (2019, June 21). Retrieved from https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Cosmetics_Business_reveals_t he_5_biggest_fragrance_trends_in_new_report/155392#prestige
Fragrance Industry. (2018, June). Retrieved from https://www.fragrancex.com/fragrance-information/fragrance-industry.html
Global Luxury Perfume Market Market. Technavio ,May 2017 Leinbach-Reyhle, N. (2016, April 29). Customer Loyalty In Today's Modern Retail
World. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2016/04/20/customer-loyalty-in-tod
ays-modern-retail-world/#33dffef513c8
Lissitsa, S., & Kol, O. (2016, April 21). Generation X vs. Generation Y – A decade of online shopping. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301832135_Generation_X_vs_Generation_Y
_-_A_decade_of_online_shopping
Ordun, G. (2015, April 26). Millennial (Gen Y) Consumer Behavior Their Shopping Preferences and Perceptual Maps Associated With Brand Loyalty. Retrieved from http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/css/article/view/6697
Smith, A. (2018, August 1). How To Build Lasting Customer Relationships. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonysmith/2018/08/01/how-to-build-lasting-customer-relationships/#61940368447a
Sullivan, P. (2015, March 13). A Bespoke Perfume Doesn't Come Cheap. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/your-money/designing-personal-perfumes.html
Using The Ansoff Matrix to Develop Marketing Strategy. (2018, June 24). Retrieved from https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2016/08/01/using-ansoff-matrix-develop-m arketing-strategy/
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What We Do. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/what-we-do
