A look into Boy Smells

Boy Smells was created in LA by two fashion veterans, Matthew Herman and David Kien, who are both strong advocates of gender fluidity. They challenged their company's gender norms and coined the term “genderful” to promote inclusion and design avenues for self-expression. Their products reflect this, with names that disrupt traditional notions of fragrance, and they market their products as genderless. Boy Smells is successful in attracting younger buyers because their mission so aligns with Gen Z’s key values of activism and toying away from societal norms. They have since leveraged their success with consumers aged 16-30 through colorful branding that changes to reflect current social media trends; 56.14% of their customers are under 34, and 65% are under 45. 

With 1,331 posts and 176,000 followers, their Instagram has been growing rapidly due to their relatable, on-trend content. Posting on average eight times a month, their content shifts to match major trends, such as “brat summer,” “coquette style,” and “farmers market spring.” Reels and photo posts follow micro trends as well, with photoshoots of different nighttime tables decorated with their products that appeal to Gen Z users, who use candles to create Instagram-worthy spaces. They also pair different scents with new songs, influencers, movies, or events that people are following at the time, endorsing both large-scale celebrities and microinfluencers. Their TikTok is more active than that of Diptyque and Le Labo because they recognize that their younger audience is more active there, as opposed to Facebook. Additionally, not all of their posts feature products; instead, they create videos of their team behind the scenes, creating an image for themselves as a team with personality, rather than just as a faceless company. This approach makes them much more likable and amiable by being relatable to their consumers in this way.