Have a dog that’s a bit dank? Is Fido a bit too fragrant? Willing to spend $100 to fix that? If so, Dolce & Gabbana would like a word.
The high-end retailer has debuted Fefé, a new perfume for pooches.
The $99 fragrance is alcohol-free and reportedly contains notes of ylang-ylang, musk, and sandalwood. (No, we didn’t know what ylang-ylang was at first either…it’s an essential oil used in perfume that is said to have a fragrance that includes rubber and custard, among other scents.)
The perfume was inspired, the retailer says, by “Domenico Dolce's unconditional love for his loyal dog Fefé… It’s a tender and embracing fragrance crafted for a playful beauty routine.”
The push by Dolce & Gabbana is more than a love letter to a pet. It’s a chance to break into the explosive pet-care industry, which is expected to grow to a $500 billion market by 2030, up from $320 billion in 2023.
“We’re distributing Fefé right away throughout Europe, in the U.S., and then, little by little, we’ll expand; it’s already available online,” cofounder Stefano Gabbana told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “The market has reacted well; everyone went crazy at the announcement.”
While humans might like the smell of Fefé, your dog might not be quite as enamored. The ASPCA says some essential oils can be harmful to dogs or irritate breathing conditions. Dogs also depend on their sense of smell to explore the world around them, and perfumes could interfere with that.
Pet care has been getting increasingly upscale in recent years, though. Retailers have introduced everything from reversible puffer jackets and dry shampoos to freshly made (and delivered) meals and balaclavas for dogs.
“The pet industry has often been a darling of Wall Street [and] venture capitalists, with a generally deserved reputation for being recession-resistant,” David Sprinkle, analyst at Packaged Facts, told Fortune in 2022.
