How Vietnam inspired Cochine’s trademark scent: now based in Hong Kong, fragrance entrepreneur Kate Crofton-Atkins juggles work and family with her trusty Cartier Santos on her wrist
- At first her fragrances were for home use as candles or in diffusers to cut through the humidity and air conditioning in Asia, but in 2021 she launched her eau de parfum
- She enjoys that the pivot to online business means she has a more direct connection with her customers through social media and email
A decade ago, Kate Crofton-Atkins could scent a change in the air. Newly married, she’d just moved to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam and was struck by the timeless elegance of the city, where beautiful architecture and greenery sat side by side, pavement cafes were bathed in dappled sunlight, and everywhere, the scent of jasmine and frangipani permeated the air.
“I loved the blend of cultures, and there was something completely captivating and romantic about the city, the people and the culture,” Crofton-Atkins remembers. “It was there, in the first few weeks of arriving, that I decided to create fragrances that captured the feeling of travel, discovery and escape, that transported people to their special place in the sun, wherever that may be.”
Over 10 years, she built up her fragrance business, a departure from her original career in finance. Her company Cochine has gained renown for its sophisticated scents, which first came in the form of candles, bath and body products, as well as reed diffusers.
“In many ways, I’ve built Cochine in reverse – I created our fragrance as eau de parfum, but I didn’t launch them as fine fragrances initially, somehow it seemed too daunting in my twenties!” she says. “I saw [home products] as an opportunity – creating really beautiful diffusers using our eau de parfum, which I found was a great way of allowing people to experience our fragrances. Living in Hong Kong and Asia, there was a greater need for diffusers to cut through the humidity and air conditioning, and provide beautiful ambient scents for the home.”
This year, however, Crofton-Atkins’ decade-long dream came true. The brand just launched its new collection of eau de parfum, and she says the timing couldn’t be better.
“There’s a true longing to connect with that feeling of real, romantic escape after a year of lockdowns, and we are elevating Cochine to be the fragrance house I first envisaged,” she says.
Running the business while also juggling familial responsibilities is no easy feat. Mother of three, Crofton-Atkins gets an early start, when she checks her email and glances at the news before her children wake up. She gets them ready for school and even fits in a 15-minute run before hitting her desk at 8am.
The day is largely devoted to calls with three different time zones – the UK, Hong Kong and Vietnam – as well as external calls with press, buyers and agencies. After school lets out, she puts on her parent’s hat and sorts out supper, bath time, homework and bedtime stories, before the kids go to bed and she carves out the time for her own dinner, a nice bath, a candle and a book or podcast.