When I first met Neela Vermeire several years ago I was immediately struck by her intensity. I felt she could see straight into my soul which would have been frightening had it not been for her warmth and charisma. As we caught up on a warm summer day, sharing stories of being expats in France, I convinced her to share her life in fragrance with Essencional.

Brand Origins & Vision

Q: Tell me how you got started and what prompted your interest in fragrance.
I’ve loved perfumes since my teens, but it began in my Indian childhood – flowers, temple rituals, spices, tea leaves. Scent was part of daily life. Later, collecting perfumes became a passion, and eventually I found the courage to bring my own ideas to life with the help of a master perfumer. For me, it was never just about pleasant smells, but about telling olfactory stories.

Many founders in niche perfumery come from inside the perfume world, but outsiders like me bring influences from art, literature, psychology, and music. That diversity enriches the field. My fragrance Trayee, for example, draws on ritual smoke and spice, while Mohur reflects a Mughal rose in silk and powder.

Q: What personal or professional experiences shaped your vision?
Growing up between cultures – India, the US, the UK, Belgium, and finally France – gave me both rootedness and restlessness. I studied law, worked in art advisory, but was always attuned to emotion, atmosphere, and sensory detail. That mosaic of experience shaped my desire to express memory and place through perfume.

Niche perfumery increasingly treats fragrance as cultural or personal narrative—from ancestry to mapping a city. That has always been my intention: to create perfumes as vessels of deeper expression, not just luxury.

Q: What are the guiding values and philosophy of your brand?
I treat perfumery as fine art. Our values are craftsmanship, emotion, and depth. My brand exists to express history, identity, and emotion through scent. Every scent should tell a story, evoke a memory, and have lasting value. That means the best ingredients and no rushing—we release only when a composition is complete after testing across seasons.

Q: What are the strengths and weaknesses of running a perfume brand with your own name?
The strength is integrity – I’m accountable for every detail. The downside is you live and breathe it, there’s no separation. But I think customers appreciate that. They know it’s personal, and that emotional proximity is part of the appeal.

Q: What role does sustainability play in your brand DNA?

Sustainability for me is also about longevity: making fragrances that endure in people’s lives, not disposable trends, we prefer timeless concentrations, keep packaging restrained, and produce in small, quality-controlled batches.

Creative Direction & Collaboration

Q: Tell me about your collection and creative process.
We have eleven perfumes, each inspired by history, memory, or art. From spiritual India in Trayee to imperial elegance in Mohur or modern joy in Bombay Bling, each scent is a sensory journey. I don’t create by season or trend, but by story.

I see fragrance as narrative art – about mood, metaphor, and texture. I build detailed briefs with references and images, then we construct the scent in dialogue at the organ

Q: Tell me about your collaboration with Bertrand Duchaufour.
What’s important in niche today is trust between the creative director and perfumer. Bertrand and I have been working together since the start. He understands that we’re not making a product – we’re making an olfactory artwork.

Our process is deeply collaborative: I come with a fully formed vision – often emotional, cultural, poetic – and he brings all the technical brilliance to realise it. We refine and smell together over many modifications until the idea wears and breathes as intended.

Q: How do you find the balance between wearability and originality?
I think they can coexist!

Today’s independent brands are redefining “wearable.” It’s not just clean or soft; it’s about emotional resonance that fits real life. Ashoka’s fig-iris calm sits close to the skin—office-friendly yet reflective. Bombay Bling projects with bright joy—perfect for weekends, galleries, sunlight.

Originality doesn’t have to mean challenging. A scent can be complex but comforting, like Ashoka, or bold but joyful, like Bombay Bling. It’s about harmony.

Q: What are the biggest creative challenges in launching a new scent?
Time, and knowing when a fragrance is truly ready. Also sourcing rare naturals. As an independent brand, we don’t have vast labs or budgets—we work hand-scaled with tight quality control; naturals vary by harvest, so we batch-test and adjust to maintain character. That intimacy is what makes niche perfumes feel alive.

Q: How do you stay fresh and relevant?
I stay inspired by art, music, culture, and my own evolution. I travel, read, and listen. Living in Paris, I draw joy from music, art, and culinary delights.

I also watch what people long for. Today, people want to feel deeply. That’s where niche perfumery can lead – offering scent as emotional depth, not just olfactory pleasure. Cross-disciplinary collaborations – with poetry, architecture, sound, or dance – are especially exciting.

Market Presence & International Outlook

Q: Where is your brand present and where do you want to grow?
We’re in Europe, North America, Australia, Mexico, parts of Asia and the Middle East—through selective niche retailers and online. I’d love a stronger presence in India and to explore East Asia and Latin America.

Thanks to digital access and niche-savvy retailers, unique brands can be global without flagship stores. It’s about authentic presence, good partners, and the right audience.

Q: What role do digital platforms and retailers play?
Digital gives us voice; retailers give us reach. I run our Instagram personally to keep the tone human and responsive. Retail partners contextualise our story locally through trained staff, sampling, and events.

This hybrid model—small and soulful, yet global—feels right. We stay intimate in scale while touching people worldwide. It’s about depth, not volume.

Brand Experience: Challenges & Opportunities

Q: How have you grown your brand in a saturated market?
By staying true to our values and building real relationships – not just campaigns. In the true niche sector, I think we’re seeing a growing appetite for unique brands – people want to know who’s behind the scent, what their story is, how it was made. We release slowly, invest in sampling and education, and choose long-term partners. A slow-burn is more sustainable than a flash.

Q: What are the current marketing challenges and opportunities?
It’s tough to be heard above the noise, especially when some “niche” brands are backed by huge groups. But the opportunity is in being honestly different. The digital space lets us speak directly to our customers – not only through ads, but through stories, dialogue, and tangible experiences like discovery sets and in-store sessions.

Niche perfumery is shifting from brand-centred to community-centred. If you have something sincere to say—and people who believe in you—the rest follows.

Q: Can you share a particularly meaningful recognition or memory?
Many come to mind – letters from customers saying our scents helped them through very tough times, or became part of their weddings or grief rituals. One I’ll never forget is someone writing, “This perfume helped me feel like myself again.” That’s the impact I hope to make.

In our niche world, emotional recognition is more meaningful than awards. When a customer calls your scent a friend or a companion, that’s everything.

Q: What’s next – where do you see transformation?
Creatively, I’m exploring new stories, alongside India as a continuing wellspring.

I’d love to collaborate across disciplines – scent with sound, scent with art – to create immersive, multi-sensory experiences. That’s where unique niche can lead: into new emotional territories.

There’s also a shift toward ingredient transparency, ethical sourcing, and shorter, more accountable supply chains with close maker partnerships and community-led experiences. As creators, together with our perfumers, we’re thinking not just “what smells good” but “what feels right to make and share.” That’s the future I want to be part of.

Q. What advice would you give to our readers who want to launch their own brand?

Ground your brand in personal values and narratives that resonate deeply with you; they will resonate with your audience. Trust your vision.

Ensure coherence and personal meaning in every touchpoint, from design to storytelling. Keep the voice consistent.

Focus on doing fewer things exceptionally well rather than many at a superficial level. Prioritise quality over quantity.

Make mistakes. Fall and get up. Be ready to face rejection.

Finally, learn from these experiences!

Q: What do you wish more people understood about niche perfumery?
That it’s about soul, not just scent. It’s not luxury as status; it’s luxury as attention, intention, and care—time, materials, and meticulous craft. Niche perfume is for those who want to wear art, memory, or emotion on their skin. It’s personal, not perfunctory.

I believe niche perfumery is returning to its essence—slow beauty. In a time of algorithm-driven trends, we are slowing down, valuing intimacy, and creating with sincerity. That’s what I strive for at Neela Vermeire Creations a mindful pace, soulful results.

Spoken straight from the heart. Thank you Neela!