Part 2: He is not sharing his secret with anyone. And I am happy about it

For part 1: click here

Probably agarwood oil is one of the most expensive ingredients in perfume making. Yet a few hundred perfumers buy it every year. Why?

Apart from the unique scent, oud oil could create exclusive feelings for their clients.

The challenge: supply quality and stability.

In the past, Ken got oud oils from a different supplier. He spent hours and hours to craft his perfume oils and oud was one of the ingredients. After many hundreds of hours in trials, he developed the final version of the fragrance. He made a small batch and sent some samples out to his loyal fans. 

He wanted to make sure that the new oud fragrance satisfied his customer.

His fans loved his fragrance

After several weeks of collecting positive feedback, Ken was confident that the fragrance was good enough. It was a small success. In just 5 days, the first batch sold out.  His fans wanted more. The oud oil he was using had a very woody aroma. In short, it was great and blended well in his perfume.

So he was going to make more perfume.

It also meant he needed to get more oud oil. 

And

He picked up the phone

The agarwood supplier told him that they no longer produced the same oud oil. 

What did it mean to him? You see

He spent countless hours and thousands of dollars to

• Research on ingredients
• Formulate the new fragrance
• Produce a small batch
• Test the market
• Print label and packaging
• To market the products

Finally, everything was ready and the supplier told him they did not have the same ingredients any more

So the question here was not about the quality of the oil, it was the stability that caused the issue.

And this was not a small issue.

Let me elaborate

If one main ingredient in a perfume changed, it would change the way the smell of the perfume.

If the smell changed, it would change the perception of customers.

In short, it meant Ken had to re-develop his fragrance again.

Through some search engines, he contacted us and several others.

So he tested the oud first and after learning we could produce several litres of Oud a week. He started his development again.

After a month, he was happy with his new creation.

I congratulated him and asked if he would be happy to provide some testimonials

Unfortunately, he declined my request

But at least I am happy about it because, with our oud, he was able to provide to his raving fans: the oud fragrance.

He told me I should take it as a compliment because these oils were his true secret. Why sharing these with the competitors?

Well, that made sense.

But

Although Ken wanted to keep things confidential, he agreed to let me share what oud he used with you.

The good thing was what he chose was sustainable and environmental-friendly.  It means " the ability to supply steadily without harming the environment. On top of that our supply was stable.  So he could work around this oil. One thing was certain when his perfume was selling sell, he did not have to worry about the supply.

Evergreen, Warming Sun and Smooth Oud Thai

These 3 ouds are in his perfumes (in case you are interested, you can click on the above name for more information)

If you love oud, you would like to try these three.