Discover the inspiring journey of the independent perfume house UNIQUE’E LUXURY as its founder, SERHAT OKYAY, shares the story behind the brand’s creation. From his Turkish roots to choosing California as the brand’s headquarters, Okyay reveals the inspirations and goals that have shaped Unique’e into a fragrance icon, now present in 35 countries. Dive into this interview to learn how Turkish tradition, Californian innovation, and a passion for quality and performance combine to create scents that have become global best-sellers in niche perfumery.
What were your main inspirations and goals when establishing Unique’e Luxury? Please share with us a bit of your journey into perfumery, including your Turkish origins, and why you selected California as your headquarters.
Unique’e Luxury was born from a combination of our personal heritages and a desire to create something truly special. Here’s how our journey unfolded:
Turkish Inspiration: As the first and only Izmir-based niche fragrance house, we drew inspiration from the rich history and vibrant culture of Türkiye. The unique ingredients and aromatic traditions of the region played a big role in shaping our olfactory vision. Türkiye has a long and storied tradition of using aromatic ingredients, dating back to the Ottoman Empire. We wanted to capture this essence of luxury and cultural significance in our perfumes.
California Headquarters: While our inspiration comes from Türkiye, we chose California for our headquarters for several reasons. First of all, we live in Orange County, California. Additionally, California is a hub for creativity and innovation for many industries and being a Californian is truly inspiring for that means. This West Coast influence, combined with our Turkish heritage, gives Unique’e Luxury a distinct and global perspective.
I always have a passion for fragrances. And I am addicted to quality. Now, I have a chance to combine both. In Unique’e Luxury, we use the very best quality ingredients available and work with the bests to produce the best. In addition, our bottles, lids, stickers, boxes, and all other accessory collateral materials used in our production process are top-quality. So, we provide Unique’e Luxury fragrances to make you feel your best. Each fragrance in our collection has a strong personality. We want to be an icon in the perfumery world with our quality and long-lasting performances. – Serhat Okyay.
Our Goals: Our main goals in establishing Unique’e Luxury were twofold:
Uniqueness: We wanted to create a brand that offered truly distinctive, strong, long-lasting, and memorable fragrances, not just following trends.
Luxury Experience: We envisioned providing an experience that transcended simply wearing perfume. Our focus is on high-quality ingredients, luxurious packaging, and exceptional customer service. We believe this unique blend of Turkish heritage and Californian innovation has allowed us to create a truly special brand in the fragrance world.
Unique’e was founded 7 years ago and has experienced rapid and steady success. What do you think is the main reason behind this success? What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own fragrance brand?
Here’s some possible reasons for Unique’e Luxury’s success:
Unique selling proposition: Unique’e Luxury has a unique selling proposition, a special niche in the fragrance market that they cater to. And, of course, the very best unique friendship model that owners apply during the selling process. Trust and honesty are two important parameters to us. We consider all our partners as our friends or relatives, and take care of everything we could to make the whole process as professional as possible.
High-quality ingredients: Unique’e Luxury uses high-quality ingredients, which is another reason for our success. Customers know and feel the real quality, and are often willing to accept trying our perfumes made with luxurious ingredients.
Strong brand identity: A strong brand identity that resonates with customers is also a factor. This involves a unique brand aesthetic and a focus on storytelling. We have a clear and consistent message (which is we’re strong and long-lasting and unique and luxury) that appeals to our target audience.
Innovative product development: Unique’e Luxury is known for pushing boundaries with unique fragrance combinations or utilizing novel and top-quality ingredients. This could attract customers seeking something different from established brands.
Excellent customer service: Unique’e Luxury is known for providing an exceptional customer experience.
Perfect timing could be a reason for us to become famous, but our unique blends and strong DNA in the niche market are more realistic answer. Additionally, our unique fragrances are all gender-neutral, and this also is an appealing characteristic for many customers.
How do you go about selecting the perfumers you work with, and can you walk us through your creation process? Would you share the concept behind a particular fragrance and how it was executed?
The creation of a perfume is a complex process that can take months or even years. We work with our whole team to decide about a perfume. The essence oil company we work with and our own team work all together and it is very big and important research and development process.
We first decide on the concept for the new fragrance, which will include the target audience, the desired mood or feeling of the fragrance, or any specific ingredients that we should use. Then a number of different fragrance samples or accords are created. These accords are submitted to our house for evaluation. After many evaluation steps, a decision was made and finally our oil partners do the refining process to make the perfume in its perfect condition. Next, we do the consumer test. We all use the perfume and collect the first impressions around us. If everything goes well, the production starts in large scale and we announce the new release. I can say that it is a huge complex process.
Which fragrance in Unique’e Luxury’s portfolio do you consider to be the most polarizing and why? What are the best-sellers, and why do you think that is? Has any release surpassed all your expectations in terms of sales?
This question has no single answer, as we have so many top sellers worldwide. I think it is not a typical answer for a 7 years old brand, but in our case, there are a couple globally loved, and critically elected masterpieces, which are: Crush On Me, Kutay, Beverly Hills Exclusive, Akdeniz, and SoScentific. Other than these, Chocolate Makes Me Happy, and Istanbul are among the best sellers. Mashumaro, Mangonifiscent and Zen’gi are the newest members that also has joined to the best-sellers club.
The reason for this is each one has its own strong personality. Each has different vibes, and people can find a best selection for themselves. Most of the time, customers tend to get more than one fragrance when they experience the Unique’e Luxury’s DNA. But among all, Crush On Me is our the very best seller, and it became a must-have fragrance in a fragrance collection. It’s a unique blend, and it is the most complimented fragrance worldwide.
Most of your creations feature edible notes like caramel, chocolate, toffee, and marshmallow (the latter well exemplified by the recent Mashumaro マシュマロ). Does that reflect your personal taste? Would it be fair to say that Unique’e has a gourmand DNA?
Our fragrances are for everyone. We have a wide variety of everything, such as marine, citrus, gourmand, freshie, classic, tobacco, and so anyone can find something for themselves. But I can honestly say that all our fragrances (even the fresh types) are quite strong and have a distinctive longevity compared to many. Gourmand is one of my favourite type, yes. However, when we try to create something new, we follow our brand’s DNA and try to make something unique and super high quality to have another seductive member in our fragrance family.
How would you describe your consumer base? Do you have a specific target audience? Could you share any memorable feedback or stories from customers who have used any of your fragrances?
In our case, we do not target any specific people or country. We only focus on being unique and good, really good. We aim to use the very best materials and ingredients, so people see it and feel it. We get so many amazing compliments about how strong we are, how unique smells we have, or why do not we sell in their city as they would like to get to know us better. Most of the time we become friends with our customers, as we really care about people, not the sales statistics. Right now, we are selling in more than 35 countries, and it will increase eventually as everyday more people is becoming aware of Unique’e Luxury and feel our unique taste.
How do you assess the current state of the perfume industry? In a market crowded with new brands and fragrances each year, how does Unique’e distinguish itself? How do you maintain your uniqueness?
We always work with the bests in our network. Focusing on being unique and continue to be the star of the market in our strong DNA and super long-lasting vibe.
Unique’e’s fragrances are now available in over 30 countries. What strategies and channels have you used to achieve such a broad international presence? Is there any territory yet to be explored?
Right now, we are in the niche market in more than 35 countries. When people explore our house, they eventually want to have our fragrances in their collection. So, our products are our key to open the world. Having a variety of fragrances, a good strong taste for anyone, and the artistic way of describing our stories on our perfume covers for each fragrance are the top 3 appealing factors, I guess. Every day we get messages from all around the world if there is a store selling our products as people want to go there and explore our products, which is amazing, because that means we are on the right track and a lot of people is curious about us.
Where do you see Unique’e Luxury in the next five to ten years? Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you are particularly excited about?
We have some new projects in progress, and a couple new fragrances on the way. But we need a little more time to make them finalized. I cannot tell more now. Good things are coming 🙂
What mark would Unique’e like to leave in history?
“Unique’e Luxury is the best fragrance brand that has so many top seller fragrances; not 1, 2 or 3. They have like a nuclear bomb affect; very strong, room filling, very long lasting and I can recommend to all my friends to get a couple of them. As 1 is not enough. When you feel their vibe, you want to get more.” This is something like we hear from so many customers, and this should continue forever.
In 2 or 3 words, how would you define perfume?
Perfume is an art and a way of expressing how you feel at that moment. You put so many feelings and emotions in a bottle, and it is a way of definition of yourself.
Thank you for your time and for sharing valuable insights with us. Would you like to add something before we wrap up?
Thank you very much for sharing our story.
Serhat Okyay at ScentXplore (2022)
Follow Unique’e on Instagram: @uniquee_luxury
Check out Unique’e: https://uniqueeluxury.com
(images cortesy of Unique’e Luxury)
