2024.04.18

Creating Encounters with Favorite Scents Utilizing Data: 'Coloria Perfume Subscription'

Products related to 'scent' are ubiquitous in our lives. There are not only products that allow you to enjoy the scent itself, such as perfumes and room fragrances, but also those that add an enjoyment of scent to their original use, such as body care and bath goods. Many people probably choose products based on whether they like the scent or not when purchasing.

With a desire to optimize encounters with scents using technology, High Link, Inc. has launched the perfume subscription service 'Coloria'. On this platform, a variety of scents are available, and according to the plan, you can try a small amount of your favorite scent item every month.

This time, we talked to the company's CEO, Masahiro Nanki, about the background of Coloria's launch and what he wants to achieve through the service.

PROFILE

Masahiro Nanki

High Link, Inc. CEO

Graduated from the School of Creative Science and Engineering at Waseda University in 2019. He took an interest in business while studying at university, and interned at two venture companies. In June 2017, he founded High Link, Inc., and has been operating 'Coloria' since January 2019, based on his primitive experience of enjoying scents. As the business leader of Coloria, he is working towards realizing a mission to color the world with scents.

Utilization of Technology in the Realm of Scents

Could you tell us the background of your company's founding?

Our company was founded in June 2017, when I was a fourth-year university student. I've had a certain admiration for being a company president since I was little, so when I entered university, I started participating in internships at several companies from my first year.

Through participating in these internships, I realized that there were many students making great strides in venture companies.

Also, I had time allotted to have one-on-one conversations with the company executives. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship, and I also researched and relayed the information that the executives wanted.

Through these experiences, I started to think, "I want to take on the challenge right now, not after becoming a working adult." I decided to work seriously, took a leave of absence from university, and founded the company.

Have you been operating Coloria since the founding of the company?

Initially, we were taking on a completely different business, and there was a period of about a year when things were not going well. Until we launched Coloria, we were testing various things that seemed to sell, but that didn't feel like running a business joyfully.

So, I decided to do a business that generates sales in a field in which I am interested. With that in mind, we focused on 'scent' and launched Coloria in September 2018.

'Scent' was one of the fields you were interested in, wasn't it?

That's right. Many of the categories I'm interested in are things associated with cool businessmen, such as cars, watches, suits, and leather shoes. Perfume was one of them, and I liked it and used it often.

From researching these familiar things, I thought perfume would be the easiest to challenge. So, I decided to venture into the business of scents.

Did you initially consider the subscription service in the same way as it is now?

At first, I was trying to create our own brand. However, I thought, "Will people buy it?" because explaining the invisible scent in writing with an unknown brand name might not convey its appeal.

Furthermore, at that time, the utilization of eCommerce and technology was advancing in various fields, but the field of scent had not yet embraced eCommerce, and the purchasing experience was mostly store-based. I felt that there were not many people challenging this.

On the other hand, the market is full of products such as body care, hair care, and deodorant sprays, where the decision to purchase is made by scent. I thought that if we could improve the process of experiencing this invisible scent using technology, it could become a service that many people enjoy.

From such considerations, we started the service as a platform instead of creating our own products.

Offering Scents Tailored to Your Preferences, Season, & Mood

Could you tell us about the mission of Coloria?

At Coloria, we have the mission of 'coloring the world with scents'. We want people to be surrounded by their favorite scents all day, every day, and we aim to provide a place where every customer can choose their preferred scent from a wide range of products depending on their taste.

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