New scent brand, Wakeheart, is setting out to 'put the fun back into fragrance', aiming to attract a Gen Z and young millennial audience through data-driven influencer collaborations. The first of which kicks off with YouTuber duo, the Dolan Twins, who have a collective social media following of more than 40 million.
Wakeheart founder, Kevin Gould, who was also a founding investor of Beautycon Media and cofounder of Insert Name Here, a direct-to-consumer hair brand, with two of Colourpop’s first employees, said the brand aims to shake things up in the fragrance market.
“There are legacy brands in the [fragrance] space that have been around for a while [and] there have been a number of brands over the last couple of years that have started to crack the code on redefining the market for millennials and [those in their] late twenties, early thirties,” said Gould, who is also Kombo Ventures chief executive officer and founder, Wakeheart’s incubator.
“We thought there weren’t many brands who came at Gen Z with a different perspective, so we wanted to create a brand that was into Gen Z and young millennials. We’re going to start with fragrance and then over the course of the next year or two, move into other products that encompass the world of scent and smell.”
The Wakeheart x Dolan Twins fragrance collection consists of two gender-neutral scents, named after the boys. Grayson’s carries notes of cool rain and lychee, while Ethan’s contains notes of coffee blossom, almond and vanilla.
“When we found Wakeheart, we thought it was a perfect partnership because both our missions align,” said Ethan Dolan. “It’s about promoting self-confidence and making memories, and we’re both about that. We felt it was a perfect fit.”
To develop the fragrances, the brand partnered with Givaudan perfumer Guillaume Flavigny, who has created fragrances for Comme des Garçons, Armani Privé and Ex Nihilo.
Wakeheart, which will be available online starting July 12, is launching as direct-to-consumer, but is open to exploring retail partnerships, according to Gould.
