Left: Molton Brown is repositioning itself as a fragrance-first brand. Right: Mark Johnson, President Cosmetics Business AEMEA, Kao, and Global President Molton Brown.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Molton Brown’s Artists of Note initiative, which sees three British creatives interpret signature fragrances through their chosen medium, is so much more than a creative campaign.

It signifies a major step-change for the beauty company in its ‘new brand world’ positioning and fragrance-first strategy. In turn, this is evolving how the brand “shows up” in travel retail, according to Mark Johnson, President Cosmetics Business AEMEA, Kao, and Global President Molton Brown.

TRBusiness met with Johnson during the 2024 TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes to discuss the impact.

“Artists of Note is not a campaign. It is, in essence, a brand relaunch – resetting the foundation of consumer perception and the way consumers experience the brand,” he told us.

“Artists of Note is about challenging the real DNA of Molton Brown – who we are, what we are about and what is our point of differentiation – and how is that meaningful and relevant to a different and new consumer,” he explained.

For the initiative, punk poet Dr. John Cooper Clark translated Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel into an evocative poem, written and delivered in his signature rhythmic style.

Award-winning fashion designer Nicholas Daley chose to express Re-Charge Black Pepper via signature designs influenced by his Jamaican-Scottish heritage.

Finally, jewellery designer Gala Colivet Dennison transformed Rose Dunes into a wearable piece of art that reflects her tough, sculptural aesthetic.

Resonating with potential new consumers



A key part of owner Kao Corporation’s aforementioned ‘new brand world’ for Molton Brown, Artists of Note was co-created with acclaimed creative consultancy Portas, with the aim of solidifying the brand’s position as a leader in the fragrance sector and engaging a wider audience across all platforms.

Left: TRBusiness met with with Mark Johnson during the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. Right: Molton Brown’s Artists of Note initiative.

Johnson explained: “I would argue that we have historically spent so much time and effort on our true loyals that it was almost acting as a little bit of a hinderance to us acquiring a new consumer, because the tone of voice and the way that we were communicating with that existing consumer wasn’t resonating with potential new consumers.

“What we were finding was that that potential new consumers would say: ‘I know the brand, I love the brand but it’s not a brand for me’.

“And we really started to look at the DNA of the brand and unearth our truth, working with Portas, to help us really understand and make sure that the trust that we think is there is really there and how do we start to bring that and make it more meaningful and relevant to the new consumer.

“And what we started to understand is that the consumer we are trying to attract is very much one that is about curating moments in their lives – a group of people who are very much into culture, the arts and politics and very much care how they show up.

“But it’s not that traditional sense of, ‘I show up because I am wearing the right label and I want everyone to know’.

“It’s: ‘I want the world to know that I am a very careful, considered individual and I am very conscious of the way I want to show up to my peer group and my professional group’.

“And we found there is a very natural connection between artistry, artists and Molton Brown. Particularly the way we crate our scents and how we work with our perfumers as we don’t do it in the traditional sense.

“We may share that we have an olfactive gap in an area, but we don’t send them a set brief. We say here is the area we have this gap, bring us something through the artistry and the craftsmanship of perfumery – express yourself.”

The move from transactional to experiential

Artists of Note also forms a major part of Kao’s strategic focus on developing its AEMEA luxury portfolio, with its Kao Beauty Brands proposition drawing on Molton Brown and Sensai to power its four main growth-driving beauty categories of fragrance, skincare, makeup and bodycare.

Mark Johnson, President Cosmetics Business AEMEA, Kao and Global President Molton Brown sees travel retail as a ‘connection vehicle’. “A channel in which we can continue that really connected human consumer journey,” he said.

“In line with the ambition for Kao Beauty Brands and Kao’s real ambition to grow – particularly the cosmetics division and even more so outside of Japan and China region in AEMEA – we have really tried to unite the brands under Kao Beauty Brands and present ourselves as a group and leverage the expertise, the skills and the various categories, as a group,” said Johnson.

“We are serious about investing behind this and really combining and driving our portfolio rather than just as individual brands.”

From a consumer brand experience standpoint, the brand experiences will remain separate to keep the individual brand identities intact.

For Molton Brown in global travel retail specifically, it marks a shift away from the transactional much more toward the experiential.

This being amplified by the fragrance-first vision and, through it, the ability to deliver sensorial, high-value experiences and forge meaningful connections with travelling consumers.

A case in point is its seasonal Summer Scents campaign at UK airports, in partnership with Avolta, which incorporated Beauty Stations and Must Have Tables across eight UK airports.

“I think the real opportunity there is to think a little bit outside the box,” elaborated Johnson.

“The consumer doesn’t necessarily think of separately categories and layouts as we in the industry do. In our heads, we put these constraints and boxes around – consumers don’t.

“They are just hungry for new experiences and meaningful, connective experiences. This is an opportunity for us to look at how do we utilise those secondary spaces, such as pop-ups, across unexpected categories – with liquor and alcohol for instance.”

He points to a recent collaboration with British gin makers as a good example.

Molton Brown held an event at Five Seas Hotel Cannes during the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference. 

On pinpointing cross-category partnerships that resonate he said: “I think it’s really challenging the status quo.”

The company, of course, gleams inspiration from other channels, such as hotels, for which it has collaborated on special occasion dining experiences in properties where it has an amenities programme.

Ultimately, finding synergies that feel natural and not forced, is key.

Engaging a wider audience

All of this plays into the overriding vision to capitalise on the stellar performance of fragrances in travel retail.

Where Molton Brown is anticipating the biggest growth to come from, however, may surprise you.

Mark Johnson at the Molton Brown event in Cannes. 

“I would say that arguably within our more mature markets, it probably represents a larger opportunity than some of our emerging market,” said Johnson.

“Why do I say that? Because in our mature markets Molton Brown is particularly thought of as the bath, body and hand brand, so that’s part of the challenge.

“We have to get our new and existing consumers to get that perception and move on the ‘Why do I covet their bath, body and hand?’ quality.

“If we can get it right in our big, big markets that exist it represents an immediate return on investment versus some of our emerging markets where we are able to establish our brand as a fragrance brand, such as in Malaysia which recently opened.

“The cash growth that is going to come from those emerging markets is obviously going to be bigger but the real opportunity to go to those mature markets and get the perception to shift and get a whole new consumer base to reappraise the brand as ‘relevant to me’.”

A sensorial experience through the sub-categories

Looking ahead, Molton Brown wants to bath and body to comprise around a 40% share of sales globally, with fragrance commanding approximately 20%.

Key to this is helping shoppers curate a sensorial fragrance experience across the sub-categories. Indeed, this is what is meant when Molton Brown describes its plans to reinvent its wholesale experience for customers as part of its geographic expansion.

“Fragrance is so open to individual interpretation – it what it does for you, the feelings, the memories. Noone else can experience that fragrance the way that you experience that fragrance.” – Mark Johnson, President Cosmetics Business AEMEA, Kao and Global President Molton Brown.

“It’s about understanding the wholesale environment, which is a bit like travel retail. How do we work in those unstaffed locations to improve storytelling and navigation while doubling down on our core, iconic fragrance categories?” posited Johnson.

“Instead of presenting  your bath and shower gel wall bay, handwash wall bay, and then fragrances – we are instead showcasing a collection.

“Instead of how many SKUs we can fit into how many linear feet, it’s about the iconics, the signature scents – let’s talk about them as a collection across all of the formats so we can make them more productive, meaningful and impactful.”

In essence, it’s a short-term shift for a long-term gain.

“It’s a very difficult decision especially in the short term – it’s painful from the numbers perspective,” he said.

“For instance, if we have 87 SKUs we are bringing it down to 57 as we are saying narrower not wider.

“The initial conversation is about productivity. The other challenge is around this idea of fragrance first – many partners when they first hear that they say we really are the bath and body brand and that we own the hand category for them.

“And what we are trying to say is that fragrance first doesn’t mean we are fragrance only – it just means that fragrance EDP and EDT first is the message we need to communicate as we know that’s what will be appetising and appealing to the consumer to get them to come into the brand.

“Then, after that, it’s the ecosystem – we want to create an experience for consumers across all of the formats.”

On top of a new luxury fragrance coming in February 2025, Molton Brown is focusing on maintaining excellence in its travel retail executions.

As Johnson summarises: “2025 is about focusing on Europe and the UK and making sure we are showing up the way we want to show up with strong partnerships in place that will enable us to be successful as we expand.”

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