LVMH Luxury Ventures, the venture arm of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, has bought a minority stake in BDK Parfums, betting that the niche fragrance category’s momentum will persist and the budding house can become a lasting star.
Terms of the deal weren’t released, but it marks Paris-based BDK Parfums’ first external investment and LLV’s third investment in a beauty brand after Officine Universelle Buly 1803 in 2017 and Versed in 2021. BDK Parfums could be eyeing a path similar to another Paris-based brand, Officine Universelle Buly 1803, which was LLV’s inaugural investment when the fragrance and personal care brand had just two stores. LVMH went on to acquire it in 2021 once it reached nearly 30 stores.
Gilles Kortzagadarian, principal at consultancy Prism 1986 and former GM for the United States at LVMH-owned Guerlain and Make Up For Ever, speculates BDK Parfums could become a “new classic, maybe the next Byredo or Le Labo.” Referring to LVMH, he says, “They don’t like to overpay or buy into hype. There is this fine balance that BDK has managed to strike. You have a brand that is definitely on trend, but not too trendy and highly respected with niche perfume enthusiasts that has still managed to grow to somewhat of a scale.”
In a fragmented fragrance landscape, beauty conglomerates are testing the waters with minority stakes to limit their risk exposure, but possibly gain on the upside with larger stakes in the future. Estée Lauder and L Catterton, the investment firm created in partnership with LVMH and Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, have backed Vyrao. Lauder has invested in Xinu, too. L’Oréal’s VC fund BOLD has invested in Borntostandout, and Kering has secured a minority share in Matière Première.
“For the beauty giants, these deals are both financial and strategic,” says Pierre Vouard, founder of PJV Advisory and adjunct professor at FIT. “They allow them to get in early on brands that could meaningfully appreciate, while giving them a way to support growth and stay close if the brand ultimately reaches the right scale to join their larger portfolio.”
He continues, “For BDK, the timing feels right. The brand has a strong creative identity, good momentum with younger luxury consumers, a clear hero scent and real international potential. With LVMH [Luxury] Ventures’ support, they can accelerate retail expansion, hire talent and strengthen operations without losing what makes them special. And, for LVMH, it’s a smart way to stay close to a rising player without forcing anything too soon.”
Daniel Giles, founder of the fragrance brand Perfumehead, sees the BDK Parfums deal as signaling the niche fragrance category isn’t cooling. “Customers today want brands with an authentic point of view, storytelling and craft. And, clearly, the big players are paying attention. Some days I feel like Perfumehead is one of the last independent houses standing. Everyone seems to be getting gobbled up,” he says. “LVMH understands patient capital. They understand how to build and scale brands. They aren’t looking for a return in the infancy of the brand. They are playing the long game.”
The investment from LLV will go toward extending BDK Parfums’ physical and digital footprints. The brand informed Women’s Wear Daily that it will open its second store in Dubai next year and bolster its direct-to-consumer distribution, currently accounting for 10% of sales. Industry sources contacted by Beauty Independent estimated the brand generates roughly $25 million in wholesale sales. WWD reports its 2025 business is up 45% over 2024. Palix Unlimited advised BDK Parfums on the LLV deal.
“This investment occurs at a key moment in our history. It will allow us to grow while remaining true to our founding spirit, and to keep promoting our vision of exceptional perfumery,” says BDK Parfums founder David Benedek in a statement, adding that LLV “will support the brand without interfering in its creative strategy or operational development, which remain entirely independent. This investment will help us expand our business while preserving the quality of our production in France. We also plan an international retail expansion in our key strategic markets.”
In the same statement, Julie Bercovy, CEO of LVMH Luxury Ventures Advisors, a financial advisory firm identifying minority investment opportunities for LLV, says, “We are delighted to support BDK Parfums—whose high-quality compositions we hold in high regard—in its new phase of development, particularly internationally. We are confident that the brand, led by David, will continue to maintain its unique know-how and expertise, and continue to create distinctive new fragrances, that stir powerful emotions.”
Launched in 2016, BDK Parfums is linked to Benedek’s family’s long history in the fragrance world. In 1959, his grandparents, who’d been exiled from Transylvania, started the fragrance store Benlux on the corner of Rue Royale and Rue Saint-Honoré to sell scents from brands like Worth and Christian Dior. Today, the store remains operational in the heart of Paris across from the Louvre on Rue Rivoli, under three miles from the flagship BDK Parfums opened in January last year on Rue Saint-Honoré.
“The brand has a strong creative identity, good momentum with younger luxury consumers, a clear hero scent and real international potential.”
BDK Parfums has 23 fragrances priced largely from $55 for travel sprays to $260 for extraits. The fragrances are separated into five collections: Parisienne, Matières, Azul, Exclusive and Découverte. Described by BDK Parfums as inspired by Parisian urban sensuality, the amber spicy fragrance Gris Charnel is the brand’s hero scent.
In July this year, BDK Parfums introduced the limited-edition, Harrods-exclusive fragrance Nectar Oud Extract in advance of heightening its profile in the Middle East. BDK Parfums has stretched beyond extraits and eau de parfums to candles, body care and laundry. The brand has worked with the perfumers Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo, Jordi Fernandez, Alexandra Carlin and Mathilde Bijaoui.
Sebastian Jara, a content creator known as The Perfume Guy and founder of scent discovery platform ScentClub, suggests LVMH could learn from BDK Parfums’ products and how consumers respond to them, and apply those learnings to its other properties. He mentions that, after LVMH invested in Officine Universelle Buly 1803, which sells alcohol-free perfumes, alcohol-free perfumes showed up at Miss Dior and Sauvage.
According to WWD, BDK Parfums is available in about 45 countries, and France is its biggest market, with the U.S. and Germany trailing it. The brand singles out the United Kingdom as a growing market, and it recently arrived in the Asian countries Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The brand is sold in more than 200 retail stores, including Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. In the U.S., it’s primarily found at smaller perfumeries such as Twisted Lily, Luckyscent, The Scent Room and Fumerie Parfumerie, but entered Bluemercury last year.
With Sephora in LVMH’s portfolio, an open question around BDK Parfums is whether it will join the beauty specialty retailer’s assortment. Rachel Green, a fragrance consultant and founder of the brand L’Epoque Parfums, doesn’t think so. While Sephora has brought in brands like Phlur and Lore with mid-tier pricing, she explains it hasn’t focused on luxury niche fragrance brands with complex scents and loftier prices.
“I don’t know if the Sephora consumer doesn’t want it or doesn’t want to pay for it from a price perspective as well as a scent profile perspective,” she says. “If you go and smell the fragrances there, they are all very commercial.”
Designer perfumes still reign supreme in the fragrance market, but niche fragrances are making inroads as gen Z fragrance obsessives assemble fragrance wardrobes. In February, citing market research firm Circana, Puck noted that Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl, Valentino’s Donna, Dior’s Miss Dior and Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle were among the top five fragrances in the U.S. In 2023, Circana figured artisanal fragrances constituted 12% of the U.S. prestige fragrance segment. Fragrance has been beauty’s fastest-growing prestige category since 2024, albeit with slower growth lately.
Speaking to BW Confidential back then, Larissa Jensen, SVP and global industry advisor at Circana, said, “Artisanal brands are never going to become bigger than designer fragrances, but they are here to stay, and I can see their share growing.”
Corentin Hamon, co-founder of candle and fragrance brand Maison Nomad Noé, believes BDK Parfums resonates with contemporary fragrance consumers interested in founder-led brands. Of course, there’s reputational danger in a brand that’s overly associated with an individual. On TikTok, critics of Israel have called out Benedek for being pro-Israel.
“David is a huge part of the brand,” says Hamon. “People can tell when it’s genuine and the founders are really involved in their brand from A to Z, which isn’t the case with brands that have been around for 50 to 60 years where the founders aren’t involved anymore.”
In the first nine months of 2025, LVMH’s Perfumes & Cosmetics division, which represents 9% of total sales and houses Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy Parfums, Kenzo Parfums, Acqua di Parma and Maison Francis Kurkdjian held flat organically versus the prior year at around $6.5 billion in sales. In the third quarter, it posted 2% organic growth. Although luxury fashion represents the bulk of LVMH’s business, beauty has been less volatile and diversifies the company into price points accessible to a broader base of consumers.
As it steps into the LVMH universe, BDK Parfums can consider Maison Francis Kurkdjian an instructive example. Acquired by LVMH in 2017, Maison Francis Kurkdjian became one of the company’s breakout successes as Baccarat Rouge 540 evolved into an international bestseller. Jara asserts BDK Parfums is nowhere close to Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s stage yet, but many view it as having elements that could position it on an analogous upward trajectory if it doesn’t water down its products, personality and distribution.
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