How Acqua di Parma’s CEO Is Navigating the Future of Fragrance

“Luxury clients these days are a bit more reluctant to hype and are demanding on quality. In the world of niche fragrance, clients are understanding that loud performance doesn’t always mean superactive quality. There is a new generation of clients understanding that quality lies in the ingredients and its extractions,” says Bergamaschi, placing emphasis on the brand’s olfactory techniques through in-store experiences and customer service, as well as collaborations with the likes of Italian luxury car manufacturer Maserati, French restaurant Le Petit Maison and British designer Samuel Ross.

In 1916, Acqua di Parma’s founder Baron Carlo Magnani created Colonia, a light fragrance doused with notes of lemon, lavender, rose, rosemary and patchouli, as a contrast to the powdery and floral French perfumes on the market at the time. That same scent remains a bestseller today, and has extended into a standalone collection of different variations, from musky and woody to fresh citrus.

Another top performer is the Blu Mediterraneo collection, inspired by the charm of the Italian Mediterranean and named after Amalfi, Capri, Sicily and Panarea. “What we’re seeing from our clients, especially from younger demographics, is that they are playing around with the idea of layering their fragrances,” says Bergamaschi.

In the last six years, the brand has acquired new audiences by way of Asia, the Middle East and North America, as consumers experimented across brands and fragrances during Covid. Sales are driven regularly by a younger clientele, and there’s a balanced mix of genders interacting with the fragrances, which are two missions that Acqua di Parma has been steadily working toward by positioning itself as a gender-neutral fragrance brand in newer markets. In Europe, the brand is widely associated with masculinity, but Bergamaschi clarifies that its total demographic divide is 50-50.

The big operation at hand is to bring Italy to other regions without becoming gimmicky. Bergamaschi has turned to hospitality, a universal language for Italians that can be easily translated anywhere. In 2022, Acqua di Parma opened its café pop-up in Milan, followed by its Yellow Café in Seoul in June 2025, and another temporary opening from September to November 2025 inside Bloomingdale’s at Dubai Mall, which was a café experience with Italian coffee in yellow and white ceramic cups, while each table was decorated with the brand’s candles and diffusers.