Rich, Tasty, But Never Too Sweet—Savory Gourmands Are About to Be the Next Big Fragrance Trend

Gourmand fragrance (noun): a perfume featuring edible notes that often evokes a bowl of powdered sugar dusted berries, a caramel drizzle over apple crumble, and a vanilla cupcake topped with marshmallow frosting. Indulgent and comforting, gourmands make you smell good enough to eat.

Now, notice that I said edible, not dessert inspired. You see, rich delicacies don't always resort to the likes of honeysuckle, red velvet cake, and clotted cream. Imagine the swirling aroma from a heaping plate of truffle pasta, a crunchy rosemary-olive focaccia, or a simple slice of buttered toast. Mouthwatering? Absolutely. These dishes, however, are anything but sweet. So are their fragrance counterparts, which are meant for the bon vivants craving a complex, head-turning blend to suit their refined palates. Rest assured, savory gourmand scents are just as irresistible and wearable as their spun-sugar cousins, and according to perfumers, they're altering the fragrance landscape as we know it. Scroll below to smell like a snack—in every sense of the word.

What is a savory gourmand fragrance?

"A savory [fragrance] is still edible, or even drinkable, but it doesn't lean on sugar to make its point," explains perfumer Gus Romero, cofounder of Team of Two Perfumers. "It can be completely free of sweetness: steamed rice with white musk, olive and fig wrapped in resin, bread-and-butter amber, spiced tea without a trace of vanilla. It's the gourmand idea stretched wider for people who want the comfort and appetite appeal of food and drink notes without the sugar rush."

It's no secret the gourmand category has skyrocketed in popularity over the past year, as consumers crave the comfort and nostalgia of a sticky-sweet blend. Unlike the saccharine sprays of yesteryear, this wave of grown-up gourmands reads sweet without sacrificing sophistication. Even brands that have steered clear of dessert-inspired scents in the past now want a piece of the pie (pun intended), from Glossier's You Rêve to DedCool's Mochi Milk to Henry Rose's Dave to Victoria Beckham Beauty's 21:50 Rêverie… I could go on. As the category grows, however, brands are getting more and more creative with their confections, swapping run-of-the-mill vanilla for something with a little more standout potential—like an unexpected dash of truffle or toasted rice.

That said, a savory gourmand scent can still maintain sweet elements. Notes like vanilla, caramel, and marshmallow certainly have a seat at the table. The blend will just combine those soft, traditional aromas with a salty or spicy element for a scent that Caroline Ornst, fragrance development director at DSM-Firmenich, describes as "edible with a feeling of comfort and surprise."

"The new wave leans into a 'neo-gourmand' style, where desserts are still on the menu but dressed with savory textures: caramel roasted nuts, buttery rice, a salty croissant with a smear of raspberry jam," adds Romero. "Vanilla is toasted, smoked, or salted, folded into milk or rice instead of smeared on like frosting. Caramel loses its sticky gloss in favor of nutty or mineral undertones. It's gourmand with a grown-up palate—brioche with sea salt instead of birthday cake frosting—driven by a craving for comfort that feels sophisticated [and] nostalgic without tipping into candy-shop territory."

Why are savory gourmands popular right now?

As discussed up top, the gourmand-fragrance boom is still going strong, but it is starting to see subtle shifts. Brands lean on bold, contrasting notes in order to stand out among a sea of candy-like confections, which ultimately gives the category new life. Enter neo-gourmands, fragrances that incorporate unconventional food notes to elevate a perfume to a more refined, artistic level, according to Ornst. Neo-gourmand notes aren't always salty (they can also lean green or woody), but those savory elements do tend to be the most intoxicating, especially as we head into fall. Per Ornst, these scents "fulfill our craving for warmth, comfort, and sophistication," something we often feel during autumn.

They also have a much softer dry-down compared to their syrupy counterparts, which gives them universal appeal, especially among those who may have shied away from traditional gourmand perfumes in the past. "Where classic gourmands can grow heavy after a few hours, savory versions keep evolving, softening, drying out, shifting from kitchen to cashmere sweater," notes Romero. "They feel like a scent journey, not just a sugar rush." Somehow bold and understated at once, savory gourmands are the ultimate crowd-pleasers, and they're practically made for those who adore twists and turns in their daily spritzes.

Notes to Look For

Ornst recommends seeking out traditional gourmand notes (vanilla, caramel, toffee, marshmallow, coffee, etc.) with contrasting players across a range of scent profiles, from smoky (burnt sugar, toasted nuts) to umami (soy sauce, olive) to vegetables (tomato, green pepper) to woods (cashmeran, ambrox). Some fragrances skip the sweeter notes entirely and commit to truffle, olive, and butter, but they'll usually include some sort of creamy element, such as milk and rice.

"It's definitely a challenge for us perfumers; savory doesn't always scream 'wear me' in fine fragrance territory. Simply re-creating a savory note isn't enough. It has to be wearable," Romero shares. This is why most feature a warm, rich base to tie all the food notes together. "A true savory gourmand still sits within the edible spectrum, but the sweetness is incidental, not the star," he adds. "The construction is all about layers: a dry or saline opening; a rounded, appetizing heart; and a base that can swing woody, milky, or musky." The result? Scents that "stir the appetite without tipping into full-on dessert mode." Below, see a tasting menu.

Shop the Best Savory Gourmands