A Scent Experience in Reykjavik & a Lesson in Branding
What Icelandic fragrance house, Fischersund, can teach us about branding and a 5-star customer experience.
The Fischersund flagship store located in Reykjavik.
I just got back from an 11-day road trip around Iceland. As excited as I was to experience the natural wonders of this country, I also wanted to experience some of their beauty industry. So, when I learned about an artisan perfumery called Fischersund, I marked it as the first stop in this adventure.
Like much of my trip, this experience surpassed my expectations and left me wanting to go back for more.
As a customer, they captured my heart and enveloped it in interesting and surprising scents. As a marketer, I saw what they did as a masterclass of branding and customer experience. I’m dying to share both with you, partially to immortalize my memory through words but also to break down the biggest lessons we can get from this Icelandic gem.
The build-up
I learned of Fischersund through a travel guide my sister got me for Christmas. As soon as I read “perfume” I looked up their website, followed them on Instagram, and subscribed to their email list (I get easily excited). If we’re meeting for the first time, you should know I love perfume. My first ever job in beauty was as a fragrance demo, and I even dedicated my very first blog post here is dedicated to a Vancouver Perfume Shop.
See, our sense of smell is the one closest associated with memory. So, my plan was to stop at the Fischersund flagship store in Reykjavik on day 1, pick a fragrance and wear it throughout the trip. This way the memories made over the 11 days would be forever captured in this fragrance bottle (I do this for every occasion I want to immortalize).
I closely browsed through their website to familiarize myself with my options, like you do when you read a menu ahead of going to a restaurant. Their website right away piqued my interest. It’s minimal, completely black with white lettering and soft music plays in the background. Normally, I don’t like music on websites—I find it annoying, plus it tends to slow down the website—but, on this occasion, it added to the experience.
A screenshot from their website’s homepage. No copy, only music and art.
Fischersund was created by the rock band Sigur Ros and calls itself an artist-created fragrance house. They present art in multiple forms to create an experience: visually, musically, and of course, olfactory.
As I kept reading I came across their guided scent tours. I whipped out my credit card and booked for two (for my husband, Adam, and I). The plan was about to get even better, not only would I get to pick a fragrance but I would have a guide to walk me through it! How magical?
A quick note about Adam: He is a very practical man. If an object doesn’t serve a purpose, he will generally have no interest in it. So, fragrance is not his thing. He has the Hugo Boss I picked for our wedding day and will wear it on date night, but otherwise, he doesn’t really care.
I booked the tour for the very first day. We arrived in Reykjavik at 5 am on a Monday. That gave us enough time to pick up the rental car, get lost in Keflavik and then get an early check-in and sneak in a couple of hours of sleep. Then, it was perfume time.
The experience
Fischersund is hidden in a very narrow street or alley (I couldn’t tell which it was) in a black house with a chic hanging side with their logo. Like their website, the interior and exterior of the house are completely black, right away I could appreciate the cohesion between online and real life.
As soon as you step in you are welcomed by the soft scent of smokey incense—not the usual mix of dozens of perfumes in the air that is common in fragrance departments—somehow the scent was controlled, and we could only perceive the incense burning. After the scent, you hear soft music playing. It was almost unperceivable but still there, just like their website.
You don’t see fragrances until you’re fully inside the shop, before that you see vials hanging on the wall each containing different notes of fragrance, followed by a sculpture of epoxy that captures what at the time I assumed were scent notes (later I confirmed that that’s what they were).
We continued walking in and finally saw the incense burning responsible for that delicious scent. Then, a few tables displaying the fragrances in all their presentations: spray and solid. I didn’t want to smell anything—I was saving my nose for the tour—so it was only my eyes doing all the marvelling. Finally, we met our scent guide, Jon. Right away I noticed his Margiela Tabis and green bandana tied around his neck—the perfect accessory for his simple all-black outfit. Iconic.
He started with a little history lesson on the building, one of the oldest in the area and one of the few built with wood. See, Iceland has very few trees (which shocked my little Canadian self), so wooden structures are scarce. In this case, the house was built using wood from the boat of the original owner.
Then, Jon served us their homemade schnapps, which tasted like anise and fire, and started the tour.
Fragrance by fragrance we moved along. To experience each, Jon sprayed a blotter and asked us to close our eyes and take a deep breath. As we made sense of the scent and its layers he read a poem that gave a backstory to the fragrance. The poems ranged from memories of the first day of spring in Iceland to eating lemon candy as a child and smelling the salty ocean water. The music, the scent and the poetry made me feel nostalgic for memories that weren’t mine. Magical.
After experiencing all of them, Jon took us to the basement of the house where they had an art exhibit portraying the anatomy of fragrance No23—their hero scent. The top, middle, and base notes were separated so you could perceive each layer on its own. To top it off, you could see all the elements that composed each layer of the scent providing a visual of the complexity, art and science of perfume-making.
Of course, I bought a fragrance. I chose No101, a fresh and earthy scent reminiscent of the Icelandic spring. It came with a bandana (which I noticed was the same Jon was wearing), with a design made by their artists, and two free travel-sized scents of our choice. I chose their signature No23, and Adam picked No33 which is more woody. Jon kindly added a third one that smells like the powerful waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Remember what I mentioned about Adam not being a fragrance guy? Well, he loved this tour. While this was an elevated experience that would be best appreciated by those into fragrance and art, it was still accessible.
From start to finish, the experience was incredible and cohesive from discovery to purchase.
Intentional display and packaging
Every 50ml fragrance comes wrapped in a bandana with a unique design created by the Fischersund art collective. Fragrances in the core collection are available in a solid, classic and candle format.
The lesson
Fischersund is a masterclass in branding experience and a cohesive customer experience.
Here’s what I learned:
You don’t have to be for everyone—that’s a superpower
Fischersund is dark, mysterious, and exclusive. Their fragrances are not for everyone and you would definitely not find them in a Sephora. Their scents and aesthetic are not mass appealing, but that works in their favour. I had no issues dropping 269,000ISK ( CAD280) on a perfume bottle. The luxe experience and sense of exclusivity justified the price point to me. Those who are into niche fragrances, art or interactive experiences will love this.
Create a cohesive experience across all touchpoints
From the website to the physical world, every element felt like a part of the same whole. This raised the trust factor because they looked like professionals, so I was more willing to give them my money.
Don’t have a storefront like Fischersund? Don’t worry. You can still create that experience by ensuring that:
Your website, emails, and social media share the same messaging, look and feel
Your product packaging matches your overall theme and aesthetic
You pay attention to the details, from how you ship your products to how you communicate with your customers
A great product is only one part of the equation
Fischersund’s fragrances are gorgeous. But, I was sold even before I smelled them. Why? I could envision a version a different version of myself after buying this fragrance. A new more mysterious, stylish, and interesting Michelle…
Fischersund’s branding is aspirational and inspirational. Their dark academia aesthetic, poetic storytelling and impactful visual elements make up the brand as much as the product.
Would I have bought my most expensive fragrance yet based solely on the scent? Probably not.
Be intentional with how you communicate your story so you make people feel something. Remember, cosmetics (whether that’s fragrance or lipstick) are an emotional purchase.
Cosmetics go beyond ingredients, the science and a product. It’s easy to get caught in the details and technicalities but taking a step back and thinking of how people will interact with your brand is a great place to start. How do you want to make people feel? What preconceptions do they have? What do you want them to do next? Remembering that everything we do is for our customers can help us be more intentional with how we approach our own marketing.
Don’t forget that copy and messaging are a major part of your customer experience. Consistency in what you’re saying and how you’re saying things builds trust and creates connection.
And, if you ever find yourself in Reykjavik, make sure you pay Fischersund a visit.
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