Frances Shoemack’s Abel a Less-Is-More Scent

When New Zealander Frances Shoemack started fragrance brand Abel, over a decade ago, she was convinced that the world didn’t need more “stuff”, she tells Forbes contributor Esha Chhabra. “We don’t need another brand selling you stuff. There’s too much of that already.”

So she decided to start a perfume company that did things a little differently: using only plant-based ingredients, incorporating bioplastic packaging, having a limited lineup of scents, sourcing as organically as possible, and self-funding it for as long as possible. It wasn’t another “thing:” it was a better approach to an everyday essential, she says.

Shoemack took the transparency route, deciding to write the ingredients on her bottles from the beginning, and on the website.

Wellington-based Shoemack argues for a less-is-more approach: “a perfume shouldn’t overwhelm a room and a brand shouldn’t overwhelm the planet. We create with intention, not excess.”

Original article by Esha Chhabra, Forbes, September 11, 2023.