Glasshouse Fragrances has transformed from a niche Australian fragrance company into a global powerhouse projected to reach over $53 million in sales this year.
Born and raised in New York, beauty industry veteran Nicole Eckels started the brand in 2005 after relocating to Australia. She sought to craft a glamorous scent wardrobe for both the home and body after identifying a market void for luxurious, high-performance fragrances. She expanded the brand, which offers a diverse range of candles, diffusers, fragrances and personal care items, to the U.S. in 2020. Since then, its international business has surged by more than 15%.
“I wanted to build my dream brand,” says Eckels. “I wanted a destination. I had wished Bath & Body Works was more elevated because they have a huge selection, but the brand and the scents themselves just aren’t me.”
Eckels strategically didn’t push international distribution immediately. At beginning of Glasshouse, she honed in on brand building in Australia and New Zealand, and it turned out to be the right move. “We are a household name there,” says Eckels. “We wanted customers to see us as a lifestyle brand, but with room to grow.”
Once it did break into the U.S., Glasshouse quickly nabbed shelf space at American retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Following the department store retailer placements, the brand entered more than 800 independent retailers in North America. Wholesale represents half of its sales.
Glasshouse’s core demographic is millennials aged 25 to 45 years old in the U.S., but its demographics are broader in Australia. The brand is attuned to differences in fragrance tastes dependent on where its customers live. For instance, the caramel-rich fragrance A Tahaa Affair excels in Australia, and the amber-based Kyoto in Bloom leads in the U.S.
“The nuances in consumer preferences are subtle but important,” says Eckels. “I think, in the U.S., there’s a big preference for citrus and more woody fragrances and that has a lot to do with the weather. Australia is subtropical at least the most densely populated areas, so that’s driven the fragrance development for the region.”
“We are excited to supercharge our growth globally.”
To fuel awareness, Glasshouse concentrates on strategic social media campaigns, collaborations with key opinion leaders and curated retail placements rather than pursuing overt sales tactics. Eckels says the approach allows its product quality to shine and fosters organic interest, trust and loyalty. She emphasizes, “Consumers want to discover, they don’t want to be sold to.”
In 2010, Glasshouse introduced Circa, a second brand targeting customers for home goods. Today, it accounts for 15% of the company’s business and performs exceptionally well in markets like New Zealand and China. Around 80% of Glasshouse’s business is from home fragrance, and it’s triple-scented candles and diffusers are particularly popular.
The brand’s agility enables rapid testing and refinement of its products. Items that don’t resonate are discontinued annually, while limited-edition releases generate buzz and repeat purchases. Its five-limited collections a year account for modest volume compared to its permanent product lineup, but Eckels says they keep “our customers engaged and excited about our brand.”
Glasshouse plans to launch a revamped personal care line in 2025 focusing on clean beauty and high-performance formulations. The company is also exploring opportunities in Europe, though, as a bootstrapped brand, expansions take resources Glasshouse isn’t quite ready to light the flame on.
“We’re privately owned and self-funded. We are excited to supercharge our growth globally as we have so much interest in Europe and China for example, but we just don’t have the bandwidth to take on new markets at the moment,” says Eckels. “We are doing very well with a key retailer in the U.K. as an example, but, to grow faster, we will need some additional resources.”
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