What does Sonder mean?
Sonder is a Swedish word which is a literal feeling - A profound feeling of realisation that everyone, including strangers on the street, has a life as complex as one’s own.
To us, perfumes evokes the same feeling in a literal sense - whenever anyone smells a perfume, they describe it basis how it makes them feel - forget about industry speak on notes, olfactory connections and the whole array of marketing or technical chatter - just the scent to every nose will evoke some feeling which is connected to how their own experiences. Case in point, people who had memorable childhood holidays by the seaside will feel joy of childhood when they smell an aquatic scent. For someone whose first girlfriend loved your zesty citric perfume, you’ll always have a soft spot for the adoloscent crush no matter what perfume you wear today. And everyone has these stories, hence Sonder.
Why Fragrances as a sector?
You could dress like a million bucks and it’d be a waste if you don’t smell amazing! People think if you dress sharp, people will remember you but if you smell amazing …phew!! - scientific fact - 60% higher chance of someone remembering you by scent even after 2 years vs. by sense of sight (dress, place, occasion etc.)
Also, using perfumes or alcohol free roll on’s or some form of smelling great is a “need” these days, not a want! And both the co-founders share a common penchant for fragrances, hence Sonder!
Why did we start Sonder?
To simplify what is otherwise a daunting retail experience or an online experience tailored with the pitfalls of heavy marketing.
If you walk into a multi fragrance retail store, you can’t try more than 5-6 perfumes before the scents start getting mixed up. Add to it, pushy sales people, plus the pressure of what’s trending, what smells expensive, this designer or that, price points etc.
We spoke to over 700 shoppers in different cities from different walks of life, age groups, ethnicities etc. and realised what the common “needs” were - a great smell, should last long, intensity should be strong but not overpowering or overbearing and shouldn’t have to spend crazy amounts for it.
97% of the perfume shoppers didn’t understand notes - those who did, only got a the general note family right, not the actual notes!
So, a simple purchase decision process wherein people would get their “needs” from the perfume and as added bonus if someone could simply say AM/PM or both, Workwear/ Casual/ Semi Formal/ Formal and how they should feel when they wear it
They said - Add to our “game”(in millennial speak), make people remember us, get compliments! We used all this and simplified the process - Your top designer labels with their popular scents, we broke those down at the same quality and scent profile but without their overheads cost, marketing cost, cost of manufacturing in France or Switzerland or Italy and brought it to you. We source ingredients from all over the world but manufacture with a top perfume house in India. We don’t do basic marketing and let our product get us the repeat purchase.
So if the aim was a 20 K perfume which you would use sparingly, we’re bringing you an alternative of similar scent & quality but at under 1000 bucks for 50 ml perfume spray or under Rs. 600 for alcohol free roll on’s (which btw have the long stay power of being on you till your next shower).
Our commitment:
We’re clean - no synthetic dyes, no phthalates, sulphates etc (nothing toxic), allergen free - it’s good juice in a classy bottle and a luxe box - Use it or Gift it - TRY IT!
Our go-to lines:
Break hearts not the bank &
Trust your own nose not marketing chatter - Sniff, Spritz, Slay. Start Over.