Lidl launches its surprising Eau de Croissant perfume

Lidl has launched a surprising croissant perfume. Sound odd? The German discounter sees it as a more strategic product than it might first appear.

When hard discount meets haute couture, the result is Eau de Croissant. On 4 December, Lidl US unveiled on Instagram one of the most unexpected marketing stunts of the festive season: a fragrance inspired by its 49-cent croissant, housed in a pastry-shaped bottle. Behind this deliberately quirky campaign lies a strategy to win over an American market that has so far remained resistant to the German discount giant.

The campaign slogan could hardly be clearer: “Hot Croissant, meet Haute Couture”, reads the company’s promotional material. By playing on the conventions of French luxury, Lidl hopes to make a lasting impression across the Atlantic. To lend credibility to this unlikely creation, the retailer has spared no expense.

To develop the fragrance, Lidl enlisted Sarah McCartney, the respected British perfumer and founder of independent fragrance house 4160 Tuesdays, known as the “godmother of British perfumery”. Her brief was to capture the essence of a croissant fresh from the oven, combining warm, buttery and lightly toasted notes while producing a scent that is “surprisingly wearable”, in the brand’s words.

The bottle is itself a small collector’s item. Created by Plunge Creations, it recreates the curves of a French pastry, in a golden-brown shade reminiscent of the caramelised crust of a perfectly baked croissant. It comes in a miniature 15 ml format.

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Eau de Croissant: more than a marketing stunt

For Lidl, the initiative goes far beyond a communications gimmick. It also highlights the ongoing challenges Lidl faces in gaining a foothold in the United States. Since opening its first US stores in June 2017, the German discounter’s progress has been anything but smooth. Having initially planned to open 100 outlets in a single year, the chain was soon forced to scale back those ambitions in response to the complexity of the American market.

The figures are telling: after almost eight years, Lidl has only around 170 stores in the United States, mainly located on the East Coast. By comparison, fellow German retailer and rival Aldi, which has operated there since 1976, has more than 2,400 supermarkets across the country. Another sign of these difficulties is the continual turnover among senior management. Since 2013, Lidl US has had no fewer than five different chief executives; the latest, Joel Rampoldt, arrived in 2023 with no previous food retail experience.

Lidl’s difficult expansion in the United States

There are several reasons for this slow start. Lidl underestimated both the diversity and the complexity of the US market, initially introducing store formats that did not suit local shopping habits. The retailer also encountered an intense price war, as giants including Walmart and Kroger responded aggressively to the arrival of the new competitor. In recent years, store closures at loss-making locations and cuts to administrative staff have followed.

Lidl has since been trying to reshape its image, and the Eau de Croissant campaign is a perfect example. Within a few years, the brand has shifted perceptions from “cheap” to “cool”, notably through viral marketing moves such as its famous three-colour trainers, which became collectors’ items. Eau de Croissant continues that approach by building a strong connection with consumers, especially younger generations receptive to brands’ offbeat humour.

The 100 bottles produced are not, however, available for sale. To stand a chance of receiving one, croissant fans must enter an Instagram competition by following the retailer’s US account and tagging a friend. It is a classic but effective mechanism.

Whether the campaign will be enough to reverse the trend over the longer term remains to be seen. American consumers are particularly patriotic in their buying habits, even more so during Donald Trump’s terms in office.