Consumers have long been comfortable spending on luxury skincare, fragrance, and makeup products and proudly displaying them in curated rows on their bathroom shelves. Typically, these items would sit alongside (or in front of) mass-market toothpaste, shower gel, and body lotion. But, recently, those so-called functional everyday items have been pushing themselves to the front with design makeovers and reformulations.
Today, all corners of the beauty industry are in premiumization mode, as consumers more readily invest in entry-level daily luxuries, and the products people didn’t think twice about five years ago are undergoing an aesthetic and formulaic transformation.
Daniel Bense, a former Aesop and Sunspel executive, saw this as an opportunity. In 2024, he launched personal care and fragrance brand, To My Ships, with an initial focus on natural deodorant. The brand’s mission is to make consumers care about what they roll or spray under their arms, with a responsible, aesthetically pleasing packaging and natural formulations, free of alcohol and aluminum salts.
In the 18 months since coming to market, To My Ships has extended into antiperspirants (a roll-on or spray that uses aluminum to block sweat glands), hand and body wash, and fragrances.
There’s growth potential for brands that get it right. According to Euromonitor, the beauty and personal care category is on track to grow 5.2% to $704 billion by 2027, with fragrances forecast to grow 8.1% to $94 billion and deodorants 6.9% to $31 billion by the same year.
Caroline Weintraub, VP at True Beauty Ventures, says the fragrance market continues to outperform across price points, which is where brands can unlock new potential in refillable formats and elevated body products — the white space that To My Ships is filling with its holistic approach to body scents.
On May 27, To My Ships will introduce its third scent, The Incessant Anxiety Geranium, an extension of the antiperspirant deodorant that was launched in July 2025. “We’re building a fragrance wardrobe that complements your deodorant and bodycare products,” says Bense, adding that deodorants make up 40% of the business, with fragrance and bodywash both accounting for 30%, respectively.
Bense says he built the brand to scale it. Here, he discusses infiltrating a saturated market, the challenges of standing out, and his financial goals for the brand.
Vogue: Stepping into the saturated fragrance market is a bold move. What gap in the market are you filling?
