PARIS — How best to breathe new life into a 250-year-old French niche fragrance brand? Owners of Houbigant Paris have a strategy.

The brand never ceased operations since its founding by Jean-François Houbigant in Paris in 1775. “It has been the perfumer of many royal houses,” said Gian Luca Perris, deputy chief executive officer of Houbigant.

It created bespoke fragrances for Marie Antoinette, French King Louis XIV, Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Elizabeth II — among other dignitaries.

“Lady Di was wearing a Houbigant fragrance at her wedding,” Perris said. Queen Marie of Romania not only sported Houbigant fragrance, but her testimonial featured in its advertising.

Yet the brand has not only made waves due to its celebrity following. “Modern perfumery would not be like it is today without Houbigant,” claimed Perris, who explained the brand invented the first modern perfume, Fougère Royale. That paved the way for fougère to be among the main fragrance families of today.

“It takes the name from this product,” said Perris, adding “fougère” means fern, which has no odor. But a Houbigant perfumer, Paul Parquet, created one in 1882 for the brand. “Since then, the house has been continuing innovating in perfume creation,” Perris said.

Quelques Fleurs was the first multifloral scent, dating from 1912, he added. Subsequently, Houbigant went international, but after that, niche fragrances generally were eclipsed by fashion brands’ perfumes for decades. However, niche has risen again.

“The brand is living a second youth,” Perris said. “It’s expanding again worldwide.”

Houbigant’s big birthday this year is being marked with French flagships, after more than 70 years of having no standalone stores. As of June, Houbigant runs a new shop, measuring 915 square feet, in Paris, at 62 Rue François 1er. “That’s again the epicenter of the brand,” Perris said.

In May, Houbigant debuted a 1,560-square-foot boutique on Cannes’ Croisette. Each location includes a private space for VIP clients.

Houbigant’s store opened on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and remained there for 180 years. Its sign was made of a hanging basket of flowers.

“Today, we are hanging clouds of flowers in both shops,” Perris said.

Florence-born architect Filippo Burresi created the spaces with white marble flooring echoing the design of Haussmann parquet. Furniture nods to that of ancient perfumeries. “Inside, we give a lot of attention to the light, so that it makes the products shine in the shops,” Perris said.

His family owns Houbigant, as well as another perfume brand, called Perris Monte Carlo, which it began 15 years ago and also is sold in the freestanding boutiques.

Houbigant is carried in about 400 doors worldwide, including Bergdorf Goodman, Fortnum & Mason (its largest retailer), Liberty and Printemps, plus perfumeries in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. 

“It’s also quite present in the Middle East and in a few Asian countries, including Japan and China,” Perris said.

The executive would not discuss figures, but industry sources believe the new boutiques will together generate about 20 percent of Houbigant’s business. Those sources estimate that the brand currently makes about 20 million euros at in retail sales annually.

Houbigant counts 20 fragrances in its collection, including historical products, such as Mon Boudoir. Quelques Fleurs remains the brand’s bestseller. The more recent scents Vanille Impériale and Ambre Rubis are popular in Europe, according to Perris.

Prices range from 185 euros to 190 euros for a 100-ml. eau de parfum.

Different perfumers have created Houbigant fragrances, including Jean-Claude Ellena. Essence Rare was the first perfume he developed.

The U.S., where Houbigant is sold at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and in independent retailers, is the brand’s largest geographic market. “France is becoming again very important,” Perris said.

Today, the U.K. ranks second for Houbigant.