Nishane translates to “mark” or “symbol” in Turkish. In a little over a decade, the niche fragrance house has already left an imprint on the world of perfumery.
The brand’s birthplace of Istanbul, a city at the intersection of Asia and Europe, acts as an intriguing, creative guiding light for Nishane’s journey across cultures and histories through the medium of scent. The voice of that storytelling is one of unapologetic boldness and artistry, told by co-founders Mert Güzel and Murat Katran.
Katran was an export manager in the steel business. While traveling across the Gulf region, he discovered oud (a fragrant resinous wood). “I found it so astonishing. It was like I was in a dream, a completely different world. I had always loved perfumes, but this kind of deep interaction was the first time for me.”
Having been an actor since the age of ten, he was familiar with the process of artistic storytelling. With this fragrant discovery, he was looking to connect that practice with perfumery. He met Güzel, who was the founder of a luxury hotel chain, at a mutual friend’s birthday party in 2010.
“We started to talk about perfumes immediately. I was fascinated hearing his knowledge about perfumes because I'd never seen someone like him. At the end of the night, he said that it was his dream to have the first niche perfume brand in Istanbul. I said, ‘No, it's my dream,’” he said, the duo laughing together at the mention of the memory. A close friendship followed, and with Katran’s creative storytelling meeting Güzel’s luxury knowledge, the idea for Nishane was born. They officially founded the company in 2012, self-funding the enterprise.
“From the beginning, we knew that we had a perfect competitive advantage, which is the fact that we are from Istanbul,” Katran said, describing Istanbul as a physical and cultural bridge, one nation that doesn’t belong to either Eastern or Western culture but instead resides in the middle. With that multicultural lifeblood pumping through its veins, Nishane could be a vehicle of storytelling for people around the world.
A Blossoming Beginning
After a year of crafting scents, the two embarked on a European tour to scope out the niche perfume landscape. Realizing that there was too much similarity between their perfume drafts and what was already on the market, they went back to the drawing board. That second draft took several years to complete, but in 2015, they came to market with 16 scents, divided across the Miniature Art Collection, Signature Collection, and Blossom Collection.
Nishane’s first collection debuted in extrait de parfum concentration, formulated for maximum longevity long before the term “beast mode” became a part of the fragrance community nomenclature. But while there is an undeniable confidence in each creation, there is also poetry in the perfumes. These aren’t fragrances that are boisterous and macho; rather, Nishane is a house that represents creative conviction.
That conviction and heritage is present in all the fine details: hand-painted letters on the packaging of The X Collection; illustrated postcards inside each box; a gold Ottoman sultan on horseback emblazoned on the outer left sleeve; and cartoon characters in traditional Middle Eastern and Asian garments with electric guitars, paint easels, and astronaut suits running across the side the outer right sleeve.
Each fragrance bottle label pays homage to the country that inspired it. Mumbai is the home of Sultan Vetiver, a sumptuous blend of absinthe, amberwood leather, and its namesake material in three iterations: Javanese, Brazilian, and Bourbon. Vetiver is a multifaceted raw material, alternating between woody, grassy, and hay-like facets, and in Nishane’s interpretation, all these facets (and then some) find a home. There is a degree of pensiveness to the creation, like sitting in an attic thumbing through old poetry books.
Reggio di Calabria served as inspiration for Ambra Calabria, which manages to be both soft and warm thanks to sweet amber, musk, and vanilla, yet has enough levitation through a refreshing opening of bergamot and galbanum to wear in Italian summertime. A subtly sensual companion, some might say. Another sparkling creation, Wūlóng Chá, bearing the city name of Shanghai on its bottle label, opens with a burst of bergamot, orange, litsea, and mandarin—a citrus zinger if you will—before making way for a heart of oolong tea and nutmeg, and later a base of musk and fig. The result is a scent that manages to be simultaneously light and invigorating, yet longwearing and creamy.
Nishane even offers its own interpretation of the floral gourmand category with Hundred Silent Ways (a reference to a Rumi quote). Mandarin, peach, and vanilla blend with iris, jasmine, and heliotrope for a luxuriously delectable parfum that manages the challenging split between foodie delight and sophisticated scent.
Indeed, it’s in the space of contrasts where the creative vision of Nishane truly shines: the dark and mysterious blend of animalic notes (ambergris, castoerum, civet, and oud) in Afrika-Olifant sits on the same shelf as the aquatic and aromatic blend of mint, basil, and licorice creation, Ege, which is a tribute to the Aegean Sea.
Each scent takes a minimum of one year to develop, extending to two-and-a-half years for a scent like Nef (a floral gourmand with honey, saffron, rose, and oud) in its Prestige Collection. The process is a narrative-driven approach. Once the duo has decided on the story, they approach the perfumer they see bringing this story to life. That roster of esteemed noses includes Cécile Zarokian, Dominique Ropion, Alberto Morillas, Anne Flipo, Carlos Benaïm, and Julien Rasquinet.
Many of the brand’s creations sit under themes, like the Time Capsule Collection, a range of four fragrances to convey the experiences of humanity around action, time, place, and belief. The fragrance names—Papilefiko, Tempfluo, Tero, Kredo—are in Esperanto, a language designed to be a universal second language.
The brand’s latest release, set for launch in September, will be a standalone scent, joining the ranks of Favonius (a Harrods exclusive, spicy floral scent named after the Roman wind god and inspired by his love affair with the flower goddess, Flora) and Nanshe (a powdery floral crafted in the name of the Sumerian goddess of fertility, water, and social justice).
Gaining International Recognition
This ever-flowing creative outlet immediately struck a chord with the fragrance community. After launching their debut collection at Esxence with no prior industry connections, they were approached by traders with offers for millions of dollars and five-to-ten-thousand-unit orders of each fragrance. Faced with a tempting offer of a heavy cash influx, but going beyond their production capacity, the two turned down the offer. “If we had agreed with them, there would not be a brand [today]. That's why we said no; we have to calm down and work with the right people only.”
Instead, the two buckled down on the brand’s creative output. While Nishane’s earliest collections were concentrated more around ingredient-led inspirations, later releases lean more towards more abstract themes. “Immediately after the success of our introductory collection, we received international recognition by the industry. It was time for us to be more specific in our stories,” Katran said. What followed were the Rumi collection with Fan Your Flames and Hundred Silent Ways, referencing two quotes by the famous 13th century poet in 2016, and the Shadow Play trilogy inspired by the puppetry characters Hacivat, Karagöz, and Zenne in 2017.
“We didn't expect that we could do it so fast. Within one year, we created all the stories we had planned to make over the next three or four years. Once the brand was known, we quickly succeeded,” Katran said. The international niche fragrance community created a big buzz around Nishane both online and offline. A milestone in the brand’s trajectory was the launch of Hacivat. The pineapple notes in the fragrance drew comparisons to a very well-known fragrance in the industry, sparking a significant discussion among perfume aficionados. “They said it was another clone, which is never the case for Nishane. That is why it took us five years to start our international journey. It was a very risky and controversial time, but the community accepted that it was a completely different perfume.”
That controversy also won the fragrance house an even bigger audience—one they built without a distributor or retailer in the beginning. Katran noted that 99% of the brand’s marketing has been organic to date. “It was like guerrilla marketing. Customers were coming inside the stores and asking if they had Nishane, and these stores were contacting their local distributors or importers, or us directly.”
Eyeing the US Market
With the increasing momentum of international demand, it was time for Nishane to take flight. Nishane has become a household name worldwide in over 140 countries. Nishane has the same top five scents in the same order across all regions: Hacivat, Ani (a spicy vanilla scent with blue ginger and cardamom), One Hundred Silent Ways,Wūlóng Chá, and Fan Your Flames (with Tuberoza a close contender for the fifth spot). Only in the Far East, especially Japan, does Wūlóng Chá rank at the top instead of fourth.
Europe is the brand’s biggest market with a 24% share, followed by the Middle East and the Far East. Stockists include large-scale retailers like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Harrods, Liberty, and Selfridges, plus boutiques and ecommerce platforms like Nose Paris, Niche Beauty, Skins, Lane Crawford, and Luckyscent. Surprisingly, their home country proved to be challenging territory. “It was so difficult to convince the Turkish audience that it’s worth paying a lot of money for a Turkish brand. Only after proving ourselves abroad have we been appreciated. I'm sure it's going to be the same for the US market as well.” The US market currently accounts for about 3% of the brand’s sales, but Katran is confident it can become the largest region within two years' time.
Part of the delay in entering the US market was due to contractual issues with previous distributors. Thankfully, new partnerships, specifically with The PCA Companies, came into play in the last year, which are looking to expand the brand’s growth even further. “We are blessed, and this journey will be another milestone for Nishane.” Its founders are being approached by leading investors in the fragrance space, and while they are not ready to sell shares in the company, it has been a valuable education in the financial aspects of the fragrance business and the importance of the US market in building an international presence.
“We are already a global brand, but we are lacking a strong footprint in the US market, which is so important. This is the arena where the show and the competition are taking place, and we are ready for any fight because we fully trust in our products. For any brand to be successful, they mustn't forget about the core of the business, which is the product.”
With Nishane now competing with prestige and designer brands, it's looking to change its marketing strategies, emphasizing authentic influencer partnerships with those who are already fans of the brand. Its hospitality partnerships include the two-Michelin-star-restaurant Turk in Istanbul and the Peninsula Hotel in Karaköy, for both of which the brand created custom scents.
“We are not even at our 1% capacity. There is 99% of the crowd that we want to reach. If we can make anybody smell Hacivat once, they will not be able to turn back.” As designer brand product pricing increases and approaches Nishane’s (a 50 ml bottle of their extrait de parfum starts at $220; scents in their Prestige Collection retail for $630), Katran is confident that consumers will prioritize the performance and longevity of its product, as well as the silent luxury of more niche brand names. Nishane is also receiving interest from a new younger generation of customers across Europe, the US, and the Far East. “I believe we are expecting a new stage for all niche perfumes. They will be even stronger.”
Keeping the Brand Soul Intact
Aside from having approximately 2,000 retail touchpoints, the brand has 12 standalone boutiques across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The design approach was made to reflect the aesthetic of the brand’s scents, “a timeless look that will not be affected by temporary trends,” “harmonizing modern and elegant touches.” Its most recent (and first international) opening was on Paris’s prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré. Two boutiques are underway in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. “We had a perfect presence in important department stores and the most loved niche perfume stores all around the world. But because we have a whole world in front of us that we can please with our creations, we believe that opening stores in important streets like Rue Saint-Honoré was an important status marker, and we see the benefits.”
Ninety-four percent of their business is conducted through distributors, including their standalone stores, except for the Istanbul and Paris locations. “We just want to work with the A+ distributor in a controlled manner, not to see our brand in the wrong places. We try to be as selective as possible.” The founders also aim to keep their in-house team as lean as possible, allowing them to remain closely involved in daily business operations. Keeping a small in-house team is also part of “controlling the soul of a brand.” “We still want to keep and preserve this niche quality that people are really appreciating. I believe this is the only way that we will maintain this.”
Katran praises the talent of his staff and describes the working atmosphere “like a family.” There is a humility and deep gratitude that radiates from Katran and Güzel, who have a brotherly candor with one another.
The Challenges of Remaining Independent
Nishane’s rise to international recognition had swift momentum, but it hasn’t come without its hurdles. Dealing with counterfeits and dupes is an ongoing challenge. Almost every week, the brand is notified by customs protection in Europe about counterfeits arriving in the country. It is in instances like this that Katran acknowledges the benefits of having additional support to fight for Nishane’s cause.
“We are financially very strong, but still we see that most of our competitors are backed up by some big groups. This is a big advantage for them, for example, when it comes to fighting counterfeits or opening stores in certain locations. Being independent is a challenge for us in that field.”
Nonetheless, Nishane’s business is continuing to grow. Following repeated requests from their existing audience, the brand expanded to hair mists and home fragrance in Q4 2022 with The Doors collection (a project a decade in the making). The name of the collection is a reference to each scentway being a door to a different culture: Greek, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, British, French, Tunisian, and Turkish. For the brand’s 10th anniversary, they released The X Collection, with new interpretations of its earliest scents, like muting the sharp edges of Wūlóng Chá with the addition of magnolia, or creating a more vegetal version of Tuberóza with Indian tuberose and violet.
Fragrance excellence has been the guiding light of all of Nishane’s endeavors, but the last decade in the industry has also taught them additional rigor in the business side of things. A launch activation for its new scent at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2025 is planned, while a new collection for 2026 is in the final stages of preparation.
Whether today or in the years to come, Güzel and Katran continue to share the same passion for fragrance creativity that they had from the very beginning. “We try to pour from our own soul into whatever we do. We believe in what we do 100%. We believe the Istanbul way is going to be successful everywhere,” Katran says. He pinpoints the genuine quality of that story and executing it to the highest standard as the key to the brand’s success. With a new market set to embrace Nishane’s exceptional extraits and more, that soulful storytelling will continue to delight noses across the globe.
