"If it feels like you've been seeing vanilla gelatos, caramel drizzles, and chai lattes everywhere in the fragrance department this year, you're not wrong. Gourmand perfumes are the fastest-growing category of scents, Chanel's head perfumer Olivier Polge previously told Bustle. Not to mention, the research (and recent launches) are backing up this super-sweet takeover. According to Spate, searches for "gourmand scents" have increased 137% year-over-year since 2024. Celebrity launches like Sabrina Carpenter's lemon-pie spritz and Ariana Grande's vanilla-macaron perfume have been flying off the shelves, while Lush's Sticky Dates scent has taken over TikTok. But why now? It might, in part, coincide with the rise in semaglutide use."
""Gourmands have always been big, mostly because humans love reward, and sweet, edible notes directly trigger the brain's 'reward system' through scent," says Iggywoo founder Richard Saint-Ford. "They give you the anticipation of pleasure without eating anything, so your brain lights up instantly. Gourmand will continue to thrive because scent isn't just aesthetic - it's neurological. It hits pleasure first, meaning later." In other words, they give you a sugar spike without the sugar. The more gourmands dominate, the more perfumers are sensing a countermovement. Enter the "post-gourmand" era - think caramel alongside a deeper wood or roasted pistachio paired with spicy notes. "Typical gourmands tend to lean sweet and dessert-like, and have more familiar scent and flavor profiles like vanilla and chocolate," explains Gabar co-founder Phway Su Aye. "Post-gourmands take these familiar profiles, but either add to them or subvert them, especially taking them into more savory realms.""
Gourmand fragrances featuring vanilla, caramel, and dessert-like accords are experiencing rapid growth, with searches up 137% year-over-year since 2024 and high-profile celebrity releases driving demand and social-media buzz. Sweet gourmand notes activate the brain's reward system, offering anticipatory pleasure without consumption. A countertrend labeled post-gourmand pairs sweet elements with deeper woods, roasted nuts, and spices to create more complex, savory-leaning compositions. These post-gourmand scents aim for a mature, less playful character by subverting familiar dessert profiles and expanding gourmand palates into adult, nuanced territory.
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