KVD NYC, a boutique PR firm specializing in North American distribution for niche luxe fragrance brands, is enjoying consumer gravitation towards luxe home and fine fragrances.

The firm, co-founded by Anthony Roberts and Kim-Van Dang, boasts more than a dozen clients. Kim-Van, a former beauty director for In Style, also created the award-wining skin care company, Clark’s Botanicals, which was acquired by Glansaol in December 2016.

“We’re starting to see and get into eco-chic brands that are environmentally sound and green,” Kim-Van said. “Basically we travel the world together and discover cool things that are not already in America, which we feel are the right fit for our markets and retail partners.”

KVD NYC works with Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, as well as high-end boutiques, including Gumps in San Francisco, Maxfield in Los Angeles and Forty Five Ten in Dallas.

“I was at In Style for seven years, and spent my last year absorbing what was going on, and observing and planning. I started to see the writing on the wall for print publication. With the internet coming, I knew it was time do something different,” she said.

The clients at her firm include: Abhati Suisse, an organic personal care collection formulated in Switzerland which donates a percentage of profits to educategirls.ngo; La Belle Mèche, contemporary scented candles with a sense of bon vivant; Coqui Coqui, a husband and wife fragrance brand made from tropical scents inspired by lush jungles and ancient Mayan culture; Olfactive Studio, an award-winning niche perfume collection inspired by modern art photography; and Nishane, Turkey’s only luxury perfume house.

Their goals as distributors are to shepherd projects from inception to production, and then help those projects grow. Their first client was Maison Francis Kurkdjian, who was acquired by LVMH earlier this year.

“We know our market, which is the US and Canada, very well. And we know what retailers are looking for at any given point,” Kim-Van added. “Right now, brands have to have a story. And the scent has to be phenomenal with a strong point of view. It has to be high-quality, and the packaging has to follow. And you need fantastic creatives who put their heart and soul into a product. That resonates with the American luxury consumer.”

Kim-Van mentioned that novelty is also important and highlighted a new client called Mad et Len. The company hand-makes natural, organic candles; their in-house blacksmith spent years researching ancient methods for blackening iron.

“One of their candles, Spiritual, is a favorite of Bergdorf Goodman executive Linda Fargo,” Kim-Van said. “She just started a shop-and-shop within Bergdorf Goodman, and she ordered tons of them. At $110, they can’t keep them in stock.”

The company also offers amber resin and lava rocks, which are impregnated with scents.

“This is a genius idea. You don’t see this from any other brand. This is what retailers are looking for, a point of difference,” she added. From a scent standpoint, it seems as though the American consumer is finally ready to leave commercial fragrances.

“Niche fragrances are growing at a much faster rate than commercial ones. That’s because we’re in an age where people are self-styling,” Kim-Van explained. “It’s not about wearing a designer from head to toe. It’s about creating your own lifestyle and your own fragrance and discovering something on your own, and not being dictated to by multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns. That’s not where the world is right now. There’s a lot of freedom, and people are expressing it through scents.”