The House of Creed: History, Quality, and Process

The House of Creed has been "handcrafting uncommon perfumes for royal houses and discerning patrons for over 250 years." A fragrance from The House of Creed makes the perfect Valentine's gift due to its special history, quality, and process.  

Below, we share an article from Forbes.com contributor Joseph DeAcetis who tells us more about the brand and also interviews Emmanuel Saujet, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of International Cosmetics & Perfumes, to discuss the how The House of Creed is different, innovative, special.

The House Of Creed: The Future Of A Fragrance Dynasty

Real innovation can happen anywhere, and at present it seems to be happening everywhere, not simply in Silicon Valley and the tech establishments but rather in this case, a brand that is over 250 years old and happens to smell real nice!

Founded in London in 1760, The House of Creed is the only family-owned luxury fragrance dynasty that has served royal houses as well as the public for over 250 years.  Creed started its journey by supplying the English court with custom tailored clothing, scented leather gloves, and commissioned fragrances.  In 1781, James Creed created the first ever Creed fragrance, Royal English Leather, for King George III and his court. He did so for the King to rest his chin on his gloved hand and inhale the glove’s fine aroma. From then on we fast forward to 1970 when Oliver Creed made the fragrance available to the public for the first time.

Today, Creed is the only fragrance house to rely on a 4,000-year old infusion technique to capture the highest concentration of natural essential oils. This labor-intensive process, passed from father to son spanning seven generations, preserves the originality of each scent's ingredients without the use of preservatives.

In August 2017, The House of Creed introduced Viking, a fiery men’s fragrance with the intention of bottling the spirit of boundless exploration for the modern man who goes against the grain. Viking is the brand’s first major men’s scent since the introduction of the cult best-selling Aventus in 2010.

Emmanuel Saujet, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of International Cosmetics & Perfumes, alongside his brother Thomas, built ICP into a leading luxury boutique firm that has revolutionized the now thriving niche fragrance category rivaling against giants in the beauty industry. Emmanuel spearheads business development and strategic partnerships in the Americas for the company’s prestigious portfolio of brands, including The House of Creed. Through an innovative and a unique business model, he has strategically taken each brand to further expansion through ICP’s retail partners. Emmanuel’s management philosophy is clear – it’s not about how successful the company becomes, but how many people become successful within the company.

Joseph DeAcetis: Tell us about the origins of Creed. What set it apart initially?

Emmanuel Saujet: I don’t even know where to start. It is so amazingly real. The story started in 1716 in London, and through out the next 200 years taking us to the 1970s, every fragrance from the House of Creed was custom made for the particular individual. Then after, we started to make fragrances for the common person and everyone else and that is what you can find today at Neiman [Marcus], Bergdorf Goodman and Saks who are our best retailers, but up until the 1970s it was all custom made.

JD: What is the allure of Creed?

ES: Once you enter the world of Creed, it is a unique world, a unique proposition. It is a unique experience. The quality is unmatched by any other fragrance houses. The experience you get by wearing the scent is that you are a part of history. You can buy a fragrance that was made (for example) in 1781 for King George III. If you are a lady, you could buy Queen Victoria’s fragrance at one point. This is extraordinary; you are a part of history and yet it is very modern, design driven and very hard to find, which makes it so unique. 

JD: What would you say are Creed’s accomplishments?

ES: We are proud to say that we have 250-plus year old heritage. That means the way we find the scents, which is often at the very highest quality, the way the fragrance is macerated and mixed (and filtered and packaged) is through a four-thousand year old infusion technique. We are the only company you see that uses this technique. It is quite unique. It is very expensive. 

JD: What is ICP’s relationship with Creed?

ES: We are the North American distribution arm for the House of Creed. It puts us in a very proud position. We have been handling this fragrance for over thirty years. ICP (International Cosmetics & Perfumes) is probably the best place to work in Manhattan, I would say. We are very employee centric. We pride our selves on being very innovative. We do everything with [substantial] strategic thinking. Our customer service is at the forefront of everything that we do, both internally and within our retail operations. We want you to have the best customer service experience ever by a luxury house if you come to experience our offerings.

JD: Has e-commerce stifled Creed’s spread, from a market standpoint?

ES: It hasn’t because we are all about heritage and our older techniques about creation. We are not thriving to be innovative in the manufacturing end, but the effective composition of the fragrances are very innovative. When you are a six-generation massive perfumer it is all about finding new innovative scents or combinations of scents that make a fragrance innovative.

Join us for a special truffle rolling and spice pairing with The House of Creed and Vosges Haut-Chocolat on Tuesday, February 12 from 6pm-8pm. Learn more and RSVP HERE.