What’s in store for this summer’s fragrances?
We’re deeply proud to be celebrating 50 years of Molton Brown, which has inspired us to revisit our roots, and spotlight one of our iconic fragrances in 2021. Heavenly Gingerlily, Orange & Bergamot and Re-charge Black Pepper. All three being one of our earliest and most beloved collections, created in the most individual way; we’ve always believed in championing our perfumers’ unique expressions and nurturing their creativity. Heavenly Gingerlily and Re-charge Black Pepper have both started as a personal project of Master Perfumer Jacques Chabert, the perfumer we’ve had the longest standing friendship with over the years and who we still work with and count as a friend today. Orange & Bergamot formerly known as Orange Grove, has been with us
since our early days. Featuring what was widely regarded as one of Britain’s first luxury hand washes, it was chosen by the prestigious Grosvenor House in London Mayfair to grace their guest bathrooms. This radiant citrus and white-f loral scent is still a bestselling and award-winning icon, and perfectly captures what we continue to stand for today, in everything we do – the finest ingredients, our Made in England commitment, and our passion for positive luxury.
Let’s talk MB Heritage. Can you give us a little back ground to the brand amazing journey?
Born on South Molton Street, London in 1971, Molton Brown is an icon of uniquely British style. Our Eaux de Parfum and Toilette, and Bath, Body, Hair and Home collections have been Made in England since day one – and we’re committed to this for our future. Sourcing only the best ingredients in exceptional fragrance concentrations, our quality has awarded us with a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As part of our ever-evolving sustainable journey, we never have and never will test on animals, we run our own manufacturing facility in Elsenham and we champion beauty that’s kinder to the environment. Inspired by our progressive home, London, we work side-by-side with our eclectic set of perfumers to empower you with long-lasting, distinctive fragrances you’ll love.
It’s a very special Birthday this years! Molton Brown is 50 Years Old?
We’re incredibly excited to be celebrating 50 years of Molton Brown. Our story began in 1971 with the pioneering duo, Caroline Burstein and Michael Collis, as a hair salon on South Molton Street, Mayfair, London. During this freethinking decade, these beauty innovators were ahead of their time, creating natural products in an environment filled with the scent of freshly-cut herbs and flowers. Today, their progressive thinking remains close to our hearts – you’ll find this in our passion for quality, ‘individual-first’ ethos and ongoing journey of sustainability.
Indeed, our founders expressed a conscious care for the world around them, as early champions of positive luxury. Sourcing only the finest, botanical ingredients, they hand-mixed their collections in the basement of their salon, and never tested on animals – a groundbreaking concept at the time. We’ve stayed loyal to their legacy, now 50 years Made in England and cruelty free. We’re currently a vegetarian brand and will be a 100% vegan* manufacturer by 2022; 97% of our products are already vegan*. What’s more, all our products are free from parabens and phthalates.
Over the years, we’ve been inspired by London’s diverse and open-minded attitude, placing individuals at the core of our thinking. This is brought to life in the way we work with our eclectic set of perfumers; from Master Perfumer Jacques Chabert – who has created our most iconic fragrances such as Re-charge Black Pepper – and his daughter Senior Perfumer Carla Chabert to New Gen rising stars like Jérôme Di Marino. We join forces to create distinctive fragrances that feel right for you. More than anything, it’s a tradition we’ve grown, tended and handed down - and that’s what we’ll keep doing time after time.
*No ingredients of animal origin.
“When you look at any brand that has sustained 50 years, they have always stayed true to themselves, true to their core values. And I would love to see, and can foresee, Molton Brown being here in another 50 years and beyond. And to be honest, it’s what we wanted. You’re making me very proud of it.” – Caroline Burstein, Co-founder
‘‘We’re humbled to be celebrating our 50th year; a meaningful milestone that’s inspired us to reflect on our rich heritage and identity. Our pride in high-quality standards and love for the environment are woven into our past, present and future, and we’re honoured to share this with generations of Molton Brown fans to come.’’ – Mark Johnson, CEO
What can we look forward to for this Autumn? We know you always have wonderful ideas for Christmas.
This autumn we will introduce two new ambery fragrance collections with their own distinctive personalities, they both celebrate and subvert traditionally rich, sensuous scents. As we proudly stride into our 50th year, we’re thrilled to keep rediscovering perfumery in dynamic new ways, always Made in England and cruelty free.
For this year’s festive season, we are revisiting our roots and focus on our hometown London, where it all began. The result is an exciting new limited edition that will take you on a nostalgic journey with a modern twist.
Any new fragrances, or new initiatives for the brand for 2022?
In 2022 we will continue our sustainability journey and will surprise our customers with new and exciting fragrance collections staying true to our ethos to work side-by-side with our eclectic set of perfumers to create long-lasting, distinctive fragrances to fall in love with.
I know we are all committed to producing Sustainable Solutions. Can you share some of Molton Browns ideas?
Throughout our 50 years, we’ve always had a conscious care for the world around us. Since the very beginning, our founders were early pioneers in positive luxury – an ethos we still deeply care about. We want to be responsible for the path our products take to come into your hands, and we’re devoted to doing good while making you feel good. Discover our ongoing commitments to the planet and join our sustainability journey:
REDUCING OUR PLASTIC FOOTPRINT We’re dedicated to reducing single-use plastic and virgin materials, which is why we’ve already started to make plastic bottles with 50% recycled PET - this reduces our use of virgin plastic by the equivalent of approximately 4.8 million Molton Brown 300ml bottles per year. This is a significant amount more than the EU target to reach 25% recycled plastic bottle content by 2025.
We recently launched our refillable programme, which includes Hand Wash Refill Pouches and glass bottles, and we’re working on more. In selected stores, we have a Fragrance Refill Service, so you can keep using your beautiful perfume bottle even after the last spritz. We’re currently piloting our ‘Return. Recycle. Reward.’ programme, where you can fully recycle your plastic Molton Brown bottles and receive 10% off your next purchase. We transform your returned bottles into plastic resin, which can then be used for moulding new bottles, crafting shoes or building roads.
MADE IN ENGLAND SINCE 1971 Our founders were committed to making their products in England, sourcing only the finest natural ingredients and rejecting typical chemical formulas of the ’70s. Today, we’re celebrating 50 years of being Made in England. We aim for our Elsenham facility to be net carbon neutral by 2021, while offsetting our carbon footprint. We’ve also used 100% renewable electricity there since 2016 and recycled nearly 98% of our waste in 2020.
CRUELTY FREE We’ve never tested on animals since 1971 and we never will, plus we’ve been Leaping Bunny-approved since 2012. 100% VEGAN BY 2022 We’re currently a vegetarian brand and will be a 100% vegan* manufacturer by 2022; 97% of our products are already vegan*.
*No ingredients of animal origin.