Coty, one of the world’s largest fragrance and beauty suppliers, has announced a major strategic pivot that places fragrances firmly at the center of its global operations. As of late 2025, fragrance now accounts for an impressive 69% of Coty’s sales, marked by renewed investments and a structural merger of its Prestige and Mass Fragrance divisions. This bold realignment,while placing its mass-market beauty segment under review, reflects Coty’s confidence that scent is both the foundation of its heritage and the engine for future growth across every price tier.
Strategic Merger and Business Review
In September 2025, Coty formally announced the closer integration of Prestige Beauty and Consumer Beauty fragrances to establish what it calls a “fragrance and scenting powerhouse with consumer reach from $5 to $500.” The company also launched a wide-ranging strategic review of its Consumer Beauty business—including color cosmetics and its Brazil operations—signaling openness to divestitures, partnerships, or spin-offs. “This next phase of our transformation is about clarity and focus,” said CEO Sue Nabi. By more closely integrating all our fragrance and scenting brands, we unlock the full power of our scale. The fragrance sector continues to surpass the overall beauty industry and already drives the majority of our revenues and profits. “Coty has a proven right to win at all price points of scenting, from $5 to $500, and is already making strong headway in the exciting new $7 billion mist market”.
Growth Metrics and Market Performance
Coty is seeing growth on several fronts. Ultra-premium fragrances rose 9% year over year, Consumer Beauty fragrances posted an 8% gain, and Prestige fragrances grew 2% in fiscal 2025, as the company outperformed the global beauty market in nine of the past 14 quarters. CEO Sue Nabi told investors, “We believe fragrances will remain a structurally advantageous category, supported by beauty category-leading brand loyalty, strong consumer demand, increasing usage, broader price points and formats, and expanding global penetration”.
This focus leverages Coty’s wide-ranging scent portfolio and global manufacturing, integrating R&D, consumer insights, and logistics for faster, more profitable launches. The company is also shifting more fragrance manufacturing to the U.S. to manage supply chain risk and respond to changing tariffs.
Market Rationale and Future Expansion
For Coty, shifting investment away from mass beauty toward fragrance is a bet on resilient consumer behavior and the structural strengths of the scent market. As mass-market color cosmetics face stiffer competition and price pressure, Coty’s realigned platform aims to command share across the full luxury, prestige, “mist,” and entry-level categories. Nabi outlined the ambition in Coty’s fiscal update: “We have a clear right to win as a Top 3 prestige fragrance company globally, and the number one mass fragrance company in developed markets, underpinned by best-in-class R&D, IP, and distribution. Our focus on scenting and fragrances across the price spectrum from $5 to $500, including licensed brands, is unwavering”.
Analysts highlight Coty’s push into mists—a high-margin, fast-growing segment—and strategic partnerships as signals of both innovation and operational discipline. The strategic review could result in the sale of iconic brands like CoverGirl, Max Factor, Rimmel, or consolidation in Brazil, simplifying the portfolio and unlocking new resources to support category leadership.
The Big Picture: A Scent-First Future
As of late 2025, Coty stands out for its commitment to fragrance as a cross-demographic, globally scalable business. From Marc Jacobs and Burberry to Adidas and a growing mist portfolio, Coty’s approach now prioritizes both blockbuster launches and everyday relevance. In Nabi’s words, “We are returning to our cadence of blockbuster launches. … We have unleashed a major attack plan in the affordable, complementary, and strongly profitable fragrance mists category, with mist launches across more than a dozen of our brands rolling out in the coming 12 months”.
With the fragrance market booming and Coty outperforming peers, this strategic shift underscores a central reality of beauty’s next era: winning will go to those who own both the memory and the moment of scent, from the mass shelf to the ultra-luxe vanity—one fragrance at a time.
