Do you remember the Lidl coat to celebrate the Oasis reunion? The item of clothing literally sold like hotcakes and the well-known supermarket chain achieved yet another success with an already iconic product. But she didn’t stop there, because she announced another one on social media, which however cannot be purchased (at least for now).
A few days ago, with a post published on social channels, Lidl revealed an item that many had dreamed of, namely a croissant-flavoured cologne. Yes, you understood correctly: the famous brand has managed to enclose the essence of its very popular (and extremely cheap) croissants in a perfume bottle.
A tribute to 49 cent croissants
The protagonist of this operation is the 49-cent croissant sold in the bakery departments of Lidl supermarkets on American soil. A bit like the Esselunga focaccine in Italy, the German chain’s signature croissant has also become a viral treat among customers, appreciated for its low price and the typically European flavor it evokes.
The idea behind it is as simple as it is ingenious: if croissants are so popular to eat, why not make them wearable? Thus was born Eau de Croissant, a perfume designed for the Christmas holidays that promises to capture the warm and buttery aroma of freshly baked croissants.
A signature fragrance and a collector’s bottle
Those who have just returned from a trip to France, the United States (and in the future, perhaps, also to Europe) may remember that irresistible scent of freshly baked croissants – have you read, however, about the stamp that smells of croissants? It was only recently launched. The fragrance was created in collaboration with Sarah McCartney, a leading figure in British perfumery. Besides the warm and delicious scent, the real collector’s item is the bottle.
The container, in fact, is in the shape of a croissant, designed by Plunge Creations, the same ones who designed many costumes for the format The Masked Singer (The masked singer, in Italy). Each bottle contains 15 milliliters of perfume and, according to Lidl, should last for an entire season.
How to get (or buy) perfume
As we already mentioned at the beginning, however, Eau de Croissant cannot currently be purchased. Yes, because for the moment it is only made available to some lucky customers, who will participate in a competition to win one of the first 100 bottles, expiring on December 18th.
To participate in the competition you need to follow the @LidlUs account on Instagram, tag a friend in the comments of the dedicated post and cross your fingers. A real little letter to Santa Claus, with the hope of being among the one hundred lucky ones who will receive this object destined to become a collectible fetish for free.
Obviously the comments were widespread and a few hours later the supermarket chain announced the official launch date on the market. The date to be marked in red on the calendar is 12 April 2025, so we will still have to wait before we can get our hands on this product which, as happened in the past with the famous Lidl sneakers (on eBay they were resold for over 2,500 euros) is destined to be very popular.
The Lidl formula
Eau de Croissant fits perfectly into the marketing strategy of the German chain, now a master in the art of transforming anything into a cult object. With three primary colours, a social communication that is never harsh but always effective and the strategic creation of scarcity, Lidl has managed over the years to make practically everything desirable: from the ugliest sneakers ever seen on the face of the earth, to Christmas sweaters that seem like the classic gift given as a joke, up to the rain jacket inspired by Oasis with the play on words Lidl by Lidl (which recalls the hit Little by little by the Manchester band).
All objects, it must be remembered, that normally would not exist in a discount store. And that the average consumer would normally look elsewhere is assumed in specialized shops. Yet Lidl has understood the mechanism: a good social campaign, organic word of mouth and the lightning-fast sellout of a deliberately limited production are enough to create supermarket fetishes that otherwise would never have been.
This time, however, there is an even more refined variant: the fetish already exists – it is the viral croissant sold in shops – and to make it even more desirable, another function has been found for it. If you like eating so much, why not make it wearable? And so a perfume is born that is priceless, not only in the sense of its symbolic value, but precisely because initially it won’t even have a tag.
The hypnotized consumer nods and immediately tunes in to grab the new must-have gadget. While waiting to finally be able to spray the Eau de Croissant, he continues to stock up on croissants in the bakery departments. The circle closes perfectly, and Lidl achieves yet another success. He could sell us anything, and we fall for it every time.
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