https://www.gcimagazine.com/home/news/22969888/behind-axes-strategic-return-to-fine-fragrance-with-a-fifa-world-cup-2026-partnershipGlobal Cosmetic Industryen2026-07-02T17:10:02.000ZBehind AXE’s Strategic Return to Fine Fragrance with a FIFA World Cup 2026 Partnershiphttps://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/img-3251-lyrt06cc-20260612081706.mnNQZfkwEI.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-0140-rwwpoilu-20260614021603.kV5WyatgwV.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/img-3251-lyrt06cc-20260612081706.OllNmkoOqA.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/img-3337-ntszjphq-20260612081437.UKNIPiPpiV.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9339-6000x4000-e159a59.oujT4pbnft.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70Author Emmanuel Henderson sampling Axe's latest scents.https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9147-2y1mqmay-20260613061549.V8hBesODEV.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70"We know football just couldn't be more relevant for young guys," says Caroline Gregory, Global Brand Director of AXE/Lynx (at right). "So how do we use this moment, the World Cup, to drive relevance to the brand, but into our fine fragrance variants ... Marshmallow Smoke is completely re-dressed through the lens of the World Cup, because we know that young guys will look at that pack and go
 'oh my god, I want it.'"https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9662-6000x4000-e159a59.JwrLLH7AtO.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70Timed with the FIFA World Cup 2026, <a href="https://www.gcimagazine.com/brands-products/bath-body/news/22967558/unilever-axe-brings-fine-fragrance-to-the-worlds-biggest-cultural-moment">AXE </a>(Lynx in the United Kingdom) launched a collection that’s best described as a return to fine fragrance, featuring three new products and a slogan, “Smell your best when you look your worst," that places the brand in the stands with fans, challenging the chaotic essence of sports-watching at a sensory level.https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-0153-dixzregt-20260614021559.Yl8cxEqPRN.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70"If you think of some of our biggest fragrances today in the market, they'd be far more classically masculine in the past, very in the fougère space," says Gregory. "What you see with young people is that they're far more playful, experimental and they're less traditionally masculine."https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-8845-4evaqgd9-20260612083348.R7APUu0ImG.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70We had the opportunity to speak with Caroline Gregory, Global Brand Director of AXE/Lynx, on partnering with FIFA, the launch and the return to fine fragrance at Casa Fresh in Mexico City after the opening match.https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-0199-thfuhubm-20260614022421.MIy0FvIX9V.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70"For us to appeal to that audience and elevate ourselves to fine fragrance quality, we needed to evolve the way we were doing fragrance," says Gregory. "Therefore, it's become far less gendered."https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-8518-oz7t8hxu-20260612083513.bD81y27CUI.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9887-6000x4000-e159a59.iII1N69907.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9179-6000x4000-e159a59.F9erOcCIoc.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70https://img.gcimagazine.com/mindful/allured/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/ad1-9547-6000x4000-e159a59.QLxEbyx3Sc.jpg?auto=format%252Ccompress&q=70"Consumers move on so quickly," says Gregory, "and it hasn't left a distinct memory with them. So I think we're a bit less concerned about jumping into every trend rather than only doing that when AXE is relevant."