What Abel does

Abel is a privately held fragrance company founded in 2013 in Amsterdam and now headquartered in New Zealand, operating with 1–10 employees. The company develops and sells 100% natural, petrochemical-free perfumes using biotechnology-powered formulations that combine precision fermentation, plant cell cultures, and upcycled ingredients sourced from food industry waste streams — notably tart cherry recovered from fruit industry wastewater. Its product portfolio comprises approximately 11 named Eau de Parfum fragrances organized across Fresh, Floral, Amber, and Woody scent categories, along with perfume minis (6mL), room sprays, gift sets, gift cards, and an interactive Fragrance Finder quiz. Differentiators include a 37% increase in juice concentration versus the prior formulation, refillable bottle systems that reduce glass by 44%, plastic by 67%, and GHG emissions by 65%, plus Vivomer home-compostable caps. Founder and director Dave Shoemack leads the closely held company.

Abel generates revenue through direct-to-consumer e-commerce on a Shopify-based storefront at abelfragrance.com, with multi-currency support spanning USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF, and serves consumers in the US, UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. 50mL bottles retail at approximately €180 (e.g., Coat Check), placing the brand firmly in the premium luxury fragrance tier. During its 2025 relaunch, Abel cut its third-party retail footprint by roughly a third, raised list prices 25%, and reported 50% growth — a deliberate shift toward a digital-first, premium-DTC model. The brand maintains recurring editorial coverage in Vogue, Forbes, Marie Claire, WhoWhatWear, and Cosmopolitan, and runs paid acquisition across Meta and Microsoft advertising, email retention via Klaviyo, and a content blog focused on biotechnology and ingredient transparency. To date the company has raised $1.5 million from Maker Partners (September 2022); no additional institutional capital, enterprise customers, or partnerships beyond the GF Smith sustainable packaging supplier are disclosed.

The company's commercial posture targets two primary personas: sustainability-conscious luxury fragrance consumers seeking petrochemical-free, transparently labeled alternatives, and style-conscious fashion-media followers influenced by editorial placements. A notable regulatory tailwind is the European Green Deal, which may restrict up to 80% of current fragrance ingredients, positioning Abel's naturally-positioned formulations favorably against petrochemical incumbents.

Name

Abel

Legal name

Abel

Website

https://abelodor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Abel is a privately held, New Zealand–headquartered fragrance house selling 100% natural, biotech-powered Eau de Parfums direct-to-consumer globally to sustainability-conscious luxury fragrance consumers, with flagship 50mL bottles priced around €180.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Natural Fragrances

NAICS

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (45612)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Fragrance (Women’s/Men’s/Unisex) (CRABADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Natural & Clean Fragrance (CRABADAG)

Keywords

• Natural perfumes
• Biotech fragrances
• Upcycled ingredients
• Sustainable fragrance
• Eau de parfum

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Fragrance Product Sales: Abel generates revenue through direct-to-consumer sales of 100% natural perfumes, including full-size bottles (50mL), minis (6mL), room sprays, and gift sets. The company increased prices by 25% as part of its premium repositioning strategy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Abel designs, formulates, and sells 100% natural, petrochemical-free Eau de Parfum fragrances for individual consumers, using biotechnology-derived and upcycled natural ingredients in place of conventional synthetic molecules. The company sells full-size bottles (50mL), minis (6mL), home room sprays, discovery sets, gift sets, and gift cards primarily through its own e-commerce site, supplemented by a reduced network of boutique retailers across the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Product overview

Abel is a fragrance brand that creates 100% natural, petrochemical-free perfumes using biotechnology and master perfumery. The company offers a portfolio of Eau de Parfum fragrances organized into scent categories: Fresh, Floral, Amber, and Woody. Their core products include named fragrances such as Cyan Nori, Laundry Day, Green Cedar, Double Scoop, Miami Split, Coat Check, Cobalt Amber, The Apartment, Nurture, Pause, and Pink Iris. The range extends to Perfume Minis for travel, Room Sprays for home fragrance, Gift Sets, and Gift Cards. The brand differentiates through radical transparency—using 100% natural ingredients, upcycled materials from food industry waste, and biotech-derived molecules—while maintaining luxury positioning with premium pricing. A standout offering is the Discovery Set, which allows customers to sample three minis with credit toward a full bottle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Double Scoop Eau de Parfum A toasted, milky vanilla Eau de Parfum fragrance crafted from 100% natural, biotech-powered ingredients; previously sold under the name Black Anise and rebranded as Double Scoop at the 2025 relaunch. Aimed at individual consumers seeking premium clean fragrances.
• Miami Split Eau de Parfum An edgy white oud Eau de Parfum fragrance positioned as a contemporary, distinctive scent for individual fragrance consumers.
• Cyan Nori Eau de Parfum A salty sweet aquatic Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers; recognized by WhoWhatWear as an It-Girl Fragrance and listed as an Abel bestseller.
• Laundry Day Eau de Parfum A crisp sun-filled citrus Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers; recognized by Cosmopolitan as one of the best office-appropriate perfumes.
• Green Cedar Eau de Parfum A vibrant aromatic wood Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers.
• Coat Check Eau de Parfum A dark smoky amber Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers, available in 6mL mini and 50mL full sizes; example premium price €180 per 50mL.
• Cobalt Amber Eau de Parfum A sweet sultry amber Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers; recognized by WhoWhatWear as an It-Girl Fragrance.
• The Apartment Eau de Parfum A dark floral gourmand Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers.
• Nurture Eau de Parfum A soft floral musk Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers.
• Pause Eau de Parfum A woody textured floral Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers.
• Pink Iris Eau de Parfum A fresh classic floral Eau de Parfum fragrance for individual consumers.
• Discovery Set (3x6mL Eau de Parfum) An Eau de Parfum sample set of three 6mL minis with credit toward a full-size bottle, designed to drive trial and conversion for individual consumers.
• Perfume Minis Miniature-sized (6mL) Eau de Parfum fragrances for trial and travel use by individual consumers.
• Room Sprays Home fragrance sprays formulated with 100% natural ingredients for individual consumers' living spaces.
• Gift Sets Curated fragrance gift sets featuring Abel's natural perfumes for individual consumers and gift purchasers.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards redeemable against Abel's fragrance collection on abelfragrance.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% reduction in box packaging carbon footprint
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GF SmithminorOthersGF Smith supplies Abel with post-consumer recycled materials for packaging, supporting the brand's achievement of a 97% reduction in box packaging carbon footprint through the use of sustainable, recycled materials.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Byredo: Byredo is a premium niche fragrance house founded in Sweden that built a globally recognized luxury brand on creative, non-traditional scents sold direct-to-consumer and through selective retail. Abel competes for the same premium-conscious consumer with a similar boutique-and-DTC model but differentiates through natural/biotech ingredients.
• Henry Rose: Henry Rose is a clean fragrance brand co-founded by actress Michelle Pfeiffer that sells 100% transparent, EWG-verified perfumes through DTC channels. It is a direct competitor to Abel on the "clean, transparent, premium" axis but with a more celebrity-led marketing approach.
• Le Labo: Le Labo is a cult-favorite premium fragrance brand (now owned by Estée Lauder) known for hand-blended, niche-positioned perfumes sold DTC and in select boutiques. Abel is a smaller, founder-led brand targeting the same premium niche customer with a more explicit natural/biotech formulation thesis.
• Floral Street: Floral Street is a British sustainable fragrance brand offering vegan, cruelty-free perfumes with botanical-led scents priced in the premium range. It competes with Abel in the natural, premium, omnichannel fragrance segment with a similar London/European origin story.
• Diptyque: Diptyque is a French luxury fragrance and home scent house with editable perfumes, room sprays, and gift sets sold through its own boutiques and global DTC. Abel competes in the same premium fragrance + home scent + gift set verticals with comparable positioning and DTC-first distribution.
• Aesop: Aesop is a premium natural-ingredient beauty brand with eaux de parfum and home fragrances sold DTC and in upscale boutiques. Aesop shares Abel's natural-ingredient luxury positioning and editorial credibility, and was acquired by L'Oréal for $2.5B, illustrating the strategic value of the category.
• Phlur: Phlur is a digitally native clean fragrance brand built around transparency, natural ingredients, and DTC distribution. It mirrors Abel's clean-beauty-meets-luxury positioning but with a U.S. operational base and a broader synthetic-vs-natural hybrid formulation approach.

Emerging players

• Commodity Fragrances: Commodity is a digitally native fragrance brand offering unisex, clean, and affordable perfumes directly to consumers. It overlaps with Abel on the DTC-channel and modern minimal-brand axis but sits at a lower price point and a broader formulation stance.
• Skylar: Skylar is a DTC clean fragrance brand offering hypoallergenic, naturally derived perfumes for sensitive-skin consumers. Abel competes with Skylar in the clean-beauty fragrance category but at a higher price point and with a more editorial/luxury positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Maison Margiela Replica: Maison Margiela's Replica line is a fashion-house-led premium fragrance range sold globally through department stores and DTC. It competes with Abel for the same premium consumer but as one of many categories within a luxury fashion house, lacking Abel's pure-play natural/biotech positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/abelodor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Abel