From Rio to Paris: How Granado Turned Brazilian Heritage Into a Global Fragrance Business

In an industry constantly searching for the next new thing, history can be a remarkable competitive advantage. But only when a brand knows what to do with it.

Granado has spent more than 150 years building that advantage.

Founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1870 by José Antônio Coxito Granado, the company began as a pharmacy working with botanical ingredients. Its reputation eventually reached the Brazilian imperial court.

Today, Granado occupies a very different place in the beauty industry. Its fragrances, soaps and personal care collections have found audiences well beyond Brasil.

The Value of a Recognisable Identity

For heritage brands, longevity alone is rarely enough. Consumers need a reason to care about the past, particularly when they have no personal connection to it.

Granado’s answer has been to turn its history into a recognisable visual and sensory world.

Its vintage-inspired packaging, archival typography and botanical references recall the atmosphere of a traditional pharmacy without making the products feel like museum pieces.

Granado offers something increasingly difficult to manufacture: a heritage that existed long before the current enthusiasm for heritage brands.

From Rio to International Beauty Retail

Granado’s European journey began in 2013, when its products were introduced at Le Bon Marché in Paris.

In 2016, Spanish beauty group Puig acquired a minority stake in the company. Granado subsequently expanded its own retail presence abroad, including boutiques in Paris.

This expansion reflects a broader opportunity for Brazilian beauty businesses. While Brasil has long been an important consumer market for cosmetics and fragrance, Brazilian brands have not always enjoyed the same visibility abroad as their European counterparts.

A Brazilian Point of View on Perfumery

Rather than relying exclusively on the traditional vocabulary of European perfumery, Granado draws on Brazilian landscapes, ingredients, memories and ways of life.

At its most effective, the approach allows scent to become a form of cultural storytelling, introducing international consumers to a different set of associations and sensibilities.

The challenge is to communicate those references without reducing Brasil to a collection of familiar images.

Why Granado Matters

Granado’s evolution offers a compelling case study in how Brazilian brands can approach international growth. Its history is genuinely local, its visual language distinctive and its product categories naturally international.

Sometimes, the strongest opportunity lies in understanding what made a brand distinctive in the first place.

BLACKCARD INTERNATIONAL \| A Curated View of Brasil

BLACKCARD INTERNATIONAL | A Curated View of Brasil