Each week in Indie Perfume Brand Spotlight, we question different brands to find out more about their brand and the people behind it. This time we question Giovanni Sammarco from Sammarco.
Tell us who you are?
My name is Giovanni Sammarco, i am Italian and I have decided 10 years ago to move to Switzerland and start making perfumes. Before coming to Switzerland I got a Ph.D in Civil Law in Italy. I am an avid book collector, between the bibliophile and the bibliomaniac and I am, in a certain sense, a very traditional person, very skeptical concerning technology and the constant need for the new.
How did you get into the perfume industry?
Totally by chance, during my PhD years. I would have never imagined to end up making perfumes. I don’t have any story of myself smelling perfumes in childhood or remembering being fascinated by perfumes of my grandmother.
What was the first perfume you ever purchased?
I received as a gift from an uncle, when I was still at school, the Guerlain Vetiver, but I need to say I never wear perfumes.
What is your favourite meal?
Filet with porcini.
Where is your favourite place?
In Switzerland: Appenzell. Outside Switzerland: Liechtenstein
Do you have an interesting party trick or any hidden talents?
I can cook and bake quite well and i have some secret recipes.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Christian De Sica
Describe your brand in one sentence.
Artisanal swiss made perfumes with strange names.
Where does the name of your brand come from?
It is my surname
Who are your perfumes for?
They are for everyone who likes good perfumes, traditional and modern at the same time and enjoys to try something different and very carefully handcrafted.
Tell us about your latest perfume.
I will tell about my next perfume. It is ready since almost two years but not yet launched. I still don’t know when it will be ready to launch. I have built it around iris, an ingredient I have always loved. It is a very powdery iris, with creamy aspects and woody notes combined with a bit of fruitiness. The name will probably come from Norse Mythology. For me finding a name is always the most challenging part of the creation.
If someone wanted to try your fragrances, which one would you recommend they try first and why?
Naias, it has some unique spirit, and it includes all the aspects of my brand philosophy. It has many special ingredients, sometimes in traces, and an internal symbology giving it a special harmony. I have used in Naias an ingredient called Montaverdi in very small traces. And these extremely small traces change all the fragrance. I find it very fascinating.
What challenges do you want to overcome for your brand?
I would like to find more retailers in more countries. I believe it is very important to have the brand in stores where people can go and experience the perfumes and I think the partnership with the right shops is extremely important for an independent brand like Sammarco.
It is also important to expand the presence in more countries, as it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to ship perfume bottles directly to private customers in many countries and in some it is almost impossible due to customs regulations and dangerous goods restrictions.
Unfortunately sometimes, not working with distributors, is quite complicated to find new retailers.
What is unique about your brand?
Myself.
You can learn more about Sammarco at the website here.
About You
Tell us who you are?
My name is Giovanni Sammarco, i am Italian and I have decided 10 years ago to move to Switzerland and start making perfumes. Before coming to Switzerland I got a Ph.D in Civil Law in Italy. I am an avid book collector, between the bibliophile and the bibliomaniac and I am, in a certain sense, a very traditional person, very skeptical concerning technology and the constant need for the new.
How did you get into the perfume industry?
Totally by chance, during my PhD years. I would have never imagined to end up making perfumes. I don’t have any story of myself smelling perfumes in childhood or remembering being fascinated by perfumes of my grandmother.
What was the first perfume you ever purchased?
I received as a gift from an uncle, when I was still at school, the Guerlain Vetiver, but I need to say I never wear perfumes.
What is your favourite meal?
Filet with porcini.
Where is your favourite place?
In Switzerland: Appenzell. Outside Switzerland: Liechtenstein
Do you have an interesting party trick or any hidden talents?
I can cook and bake quite well and i have some secret recipes.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Christian De Sica
About your Brand
Describe your brand in one sentence.
Artisanal swiss made perfumes with strange names.
Where does the name of your brand come from?
It is my surname
Who are your perfumes for?
They are for everyone who likes good perfumes, traditional and modern at the same time and enjoys to try something different and very carefully handcrafted.
Tell us about your latest perfume.
I will tell about my next perfume. It is ready since almost two years but not yet launched. I still don’t know when it will be ready to launch. I have built it around iris, an ingredient I have always loved. It is a very powdery iris, with creamy aspects and woody notes combined with a bit of fruitiness. The name will probably come from Norse Mythology. For me finding a name is always the most challenging part of the creation.
If someone wanted to try your fragrances, which one would you recommend they try first and why?Naias, it has some unique spirit, and it includes all the aspects of my brand philosophy. It has many special ingredients, sometimes in traces, and an internal symbology giving it a special harmony. I have used in Naias an ingredient called Montaverdi in very small traces. And these extremely small traces change all the fragrance. I find it very fascinating.
What challenges do you want to overcome for your brand?
I would like to find more retailers in more countries. I believe it is very important to have the brand in stores where people can go and experience the perfumes and I think the partnership with the right shops is extremely important for an independent brand like Sammarco.
It is also important to expand the presence in more countries, as it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to ship perfume bottles directly to private customers in many countries and in some it is almost impossible due to customs regulations and dangerous goods restrictions.
Unfortunately sometimes, not working with distributors, is quite complicated to find new retailers.
What is unique about your brand?
Myself.
You can learn more about Sammarco at the website here.
