My Valentine, saying it with a perfume is so fine!

The origin of Valentine’s Day takes us back to the Roman Empire in the Third Century and to the persecution of Christianity. The 14th of February is a Christian celebration of the martyr ‘Saint Valentine’ who, according to the story, while in prison before his execution, performed weddings of Christian soldiers. Legend says that he also wrote a letter to his beloved signed ‘Your Valentine’. It is in the 8th century that the day of February 14 became a Roman Catholic religious celebration, the Feast of Saint Valentine. Over the centuries, the connection with religion was removed and the date became the day for the declaration of love. The cultural tradition triggered the creation of beautiful ‘Valentine poetry’ even by William Shakespeare in his Hamlet in 1600. It is in the UK that chocolates, flowers, and greeting cards known as ‘valentines’ were first offered. From there it spread to the rest of the world with expressions of one’s love adapted to local cultural traditions.

If we cross the ocean over to the US, Valentine is ‘big in America’. In 2019, there were 190 million* Valentine's Day cards sent. Valentine's Day makes up a major piece of the annual income for many business activities, with $136 spent per person totalling $18.2 billion in 2017. There is a slight decline in the numbers since 2019 but give the sizeable volume, the market remains substantial. It is in the US where roses and particularly red roses became the emblem of Valentine’s Day. According to the Society of American Florists, 250 million roses are produced in the US for Valentine’s Day with red roses representing 65% of the total. However, this number is way too small for the demand, so the country imports a staggering number of roses from Columbia estimated at 1 billion stems.

Now that we travelled South to Columbia, let’s talk about Valentine’s Day in Latin America and check out the local traditions. Here, the concept embraces friends, even a ‘Secret friend’ (like Secret Santa) and in general all the people one cares for, not only lovers. So, the day is not only referred to as ‘El Día de los Enamorados’ (the day of the lovers) but also as ‘El Día del Amor y la Amistad’* (love and friendship), or even ‘El Día del Cariño’ (affection) as in Guatemala. Interestingly, Brazil does not have Valentine on February 14 which is close to Carnaval, but on June 12, one day before Saint Anthony’s day: the Saint who blesses young couples for their happy marriages. Placing Saint Valentine and Saint Anthony together creates a strong focus on love in the calendar, be it romance, marriage proposal, love declaration or eternal love. In Colombia, Valentine’s Day is also celebrated on another day : the Third Saturday in September, a decision that dates back to 1969 when it was moved from the traditional February 14th. The idea was to fill a month that had no celebrations and, above all, to boost sales when people have plenty of money to spend before Christmas and back to school expenses. It’s all about Business !

Business, in the Equation of Valentine's Celebration.

Moving on to another area of the world, to the East, let us find out if Valentine has a strong hold there or not. In Asia, Valentine’s Day is a popular celebration and in Singapore it is particularly important; this is where people spend the most and where there is the highest level of participation amongst the population.

The White Day’s Tradition, Japan’s Invention.

The usual tradition in Asia is for women to offer gifts to men on Valentine’s Day. Back in 1978, Japan invented the concept of ‘White Day’, a second Valentine’s Day taking place on March 14, one month after the first one. White Day is the turn for men to reciprocate and offer candies and confectionaries, which were originally white. This White Day tradition has now spread to Taiwan, South Korea and China. In Taiwan however, the order is vice versa, or the same as in the Western world, men offer first in February and women after in March. In South Korea, there is also a third celebration on April 14 reserved for single people; on this ‘Black Day’ singles go out and eat black noodles to console themselves of their single life. Koreans have a Valentine’s Day full of humour and one that does not leave any ‘single’ soul out.

‘Valentine Is Mine'. Singles Have One ‘Double’.

In China too, Valentine’s Day is quite an interesting concept, rather complex and a sweeping business event. There are in fact two Valentine's days. The first one in the calendar happens on May 20 and is referred to as ‘Internet Valentine Day’. May 20 can be written 5/20 or ‘520’ which sounds like ‘I love you’ 我爱你. This is the reason for picking that day as the most romantic one in the year. The younger generation is keen on this celebration and contributes to the overall online purchases amounting to $4 billion.

The second Valentine is called ‘Double 11’ as it takes place on November 11, 11/11, or 1111; it is a counterpart to Valentine’s Day: Singles' Day as it marks the celebration of being single where people buy presents for themselves. The sheer size of purchases during 1111 is so immense that it represents the world’s biggest shopping event. In fact, huge online discounts last more than one day, typically a whole week and trigger $150 billion in sales. With its powerful social media and digital platforms, China is the number one country celebrating Valentine’s days.

Perfumes, an addition to the Valentine celebration.

Given that cards, chocolates, and flowers have been the traditional gifts on Valentine’s Day, the question is how perfumes have become a popular option. The answer is rather simple: until the sixties, perfumes were a luxury, reserved to a happy few and for very special occasions. When economies flourished - including the perfume business – consumers had more budget available to spend on ‘frivolous’ expenses, so perfumes gradually became a staple purchase, and extremely popular at Christmas and other festive times such as Valentine’s Day. For the occasion, every fragrance house includes in the marketing plan special gift sets, or miniatures, limited edition packaging, unique designs and offers; all made to peak the appetite of consumers on that special gifting day and maximize sales. Fragrances have entered our world of gifting in an imperial way. Like an empire in full expansion, the power of perfumes is growing and possibly will reach domination.

Romance and Fragrance. What an Evidence!

A fragrance allows a person to show a vision of the loved one and display one’s knowledge or imagination of the recipient’s preferences when it comes to scents. There are many solutions to mitigate risks (like buying a similar fragrance to the one used or simply by asking) but in earnest, even if imperfect, a perfume is a symbol of how intimate a relationship is and that is all that matters. Fragrance is an expression of affection and thereby triggers strong emotions.

For Gen Z, Fragrance has the Highest Relevance.

What has amplified the purchases of fragrances in the recent years is the fact that the younger generation has gotten in the game with full speed and force. Gen Z has entered the front door of the world of perfumes walking on the red carpet, like a star parading his trophy of Valentine’s gifts, with a stunning gala outfit in red (of course). For Gen Z, fragrance has the utmost level of relevance and importance; beyond romance, fragrance is self-indulgent. As we have seen, single people very much treat themselves with perfumes. The Gen Z generation, while on the hunt for its own identity, is especially keen on trying new scents as tools of self-expression, contributing to the definition of one’s style and translation of one’s mood. Naturally, older groups of the population, while with a more defined personality, also enjoy wearing different perfumes as an accessory matching their style and the occasion, such as Valentine’s Day.

A Romantic Story and for Business, Plenty.

The increased appeal of fragrances around the world materializes into a substantial growth of sales. In the UK, The Perfume Shop* released compelling data: in the first two weeks of February 2025, 240,000 bottles were sold, overall retail sales increased by 34%, with a 50% rise in gift set sales compared to 2024. In China, Jing Daily reported that in 2023, perfumes & cosmetics were the second category of gifts for Valentine’s Day on May 20 (estimated between $420 and $560 million) after jewellery & watches (estimated between $700 million and $1 billion). This is the compelling story of perfumes for Valentine Day.

*The Perfume Shop is the UK's largest specialist fragrance retailer with 215 stores across the UK & Ireland.

Perfume Diffusely. Love Actually. Universally.

Valentine’s Day is a universal declaration of love, of one’s lover, of a friend, or a family member, even of oneself. Valentine’s Day is for couples as well as for singles. As the day has different dates in the year depending on the countries, why not travel all around the world to accumulate multiple Valentines and diverse perfume inspirations?

What an experience it could be: All year long, gifting perfumes along!