At the origin of the project, Ashley Santiago et Adrien Ollat. The first, a Californian with Mexican roots, is the youngest perfumer in the Givaudan team in Paris, where she trained at the house’s perfumery school under the direction of Calice Becker. The second, French, began his career in finance at Goldman Sachs before turning to entrepreneurship.
Their project? “ Create a house anchored in the tradition of Haute Parfumerie but open to its times; open to a new generation of creators and consumers », Explains Adrien Ollat to Premium Beauty News. Ambition? “ Contribute, with others, to updating the codes of haute perfumery so that it remains a living experience, relevant for the new generation ».
French Cowboy builds a bridge between the excellence of French haute-perfumery — quality of raw materials, demanding formulations and respect for know-how — and a pioneering spirit of American inspirationbolder, freer and resolutely turned towards the future. “ The perfume no longer dares. Too polished, too smooth and way too expensive. We give it some color ”, we can read on the brand’s website!
Embodied co-creation
« We work with young creatives, who come with their unique taste, their own sensitivity. They play a real role of artistic director », underlines the CEO. An approach that allows the brand to enrich its writing with influences drawn well beyond the world of perfumery.
Pour Mezcal ChocolatAshley Santiago worked alongside Mathis Molinié, young chef of the Philippe restaurant in Rouen. Pear Pavlova comes from a creative dialogue with Allie Goodbun, a Canadian dancer who performs in the revues of a famous Parisian cabaret. The two co-creators have nearly 1.4 million followers on Instagram and as many on TikTok.
French Cowboy assumes a break with traditional perfume codes. « The creative process, alongside Ashley, is completely open and transparent on our social networks. Here, no cleverly maintained mystery: the creative process is filmed from start to finish, giving rise to narrative content designed for social networks “. A very embodied communicationwithout filter, which easily accommodates generations Z and Alpha.
Two other projects are underway, including one with the assistance of Mia Fall aka @socharmante. This doctoral student in Big Data and robotics is also a beauty influencer passionate about perfume, followed by a community of 1.2 million followers on TikTok. Another great visibility for the young company!
On the fragrance side, French Cowboy’s promise is kept: projection, sillage, longevity and addictive notes are there in the first two opuses. The concentrations (32% and 35%) are the subject of particular attention: obtaining maximum performance while preserving the balance of the formula. Each creation is constructed with beautiful materials from the Givaudan palette, such as Cocoa Absolute and Rum Extract for Mezcal Chocolat or Bitter Almond Oil, Jasmine Sambac and Ambrette Seed Absolute (a vegan musk) to Pear Pavlova.
Accessible sampling strategy
When it launched at the end of 2025, French Cowboy thought of itself as a digital brand, only distributed online. She inaugurated a strong gesture: making her samples accessible free of charge, with sharing of shipping costs (3 euros per sample remains the responsibility of the applicants). “ This approach partially replaced the traditional mechanics of PR and gifting. We put the product directly into the hands of our future community, on a large scale, without going through intermediaries », Points out the co-founder. This innovative, more involving model promotes both acquisition-conversion and organic communication on social networks.
After a first retail test at Ministry of Scent, where Pear Pavlova immediately became the best-seller of this San Francisco chain for several months, the brand relies on a strategy combining online and physical distribution. « For ‘traditional’ customers of niche perfumery who discover us in specialized boutiques, the audacity of the management, the quality of the formulas and the price of our perfumes make it a very attractive proposition. », analyzes Adrien Ollat. The 100 ml format is sold in France at a public price of 90 euros.
Key partners
The development, orchestrated by Anna Zini Fragrances & Cosmetics Developmentcalled on recognized partners and experts: Coverpla for primary packaging solutions (bottle, cap, pump and custom shade), Inessens for labels, cases and sample cards, JPM Décors for bottle lacquering, Groupe Primordial for packaging, EcoMundo on regulatory matters.
At the start of 2026, French Cowboy joined the Niche Beauty Brands team to boost its development in stores. At the end of April, the brand was already present in around forty points of sale in the United States (Ministry of Scent, Luckyscent, Revolve, etc.), in Europe and soon in Japan. Less than six months after its launch, French Cowboy is already well underway!
