CAPE TOWN – A 29-year-old psychology graduate from Mitchel’s Plain is using her side business to challenge the exclusivity of the global perfume industry whilst making fragrances more accessible to everyday people.
Aneeqa Abrahams, who holds a master’s degree in gender studies and is pursuing a PhD in psychology, founded Eraya – a fragrance brand that combines psychological profiling with perfumery to create personalised scents.
The name Eraya, which means “fortune’s favourite” in Sanskrit, reflects the brand’s mission to democratise an industry that Abrahams describes as “extremely exclusive” and “extremely European”.
“What I came to understand is that this industry that we all glamorise is extremely exclusive, extremely European, and doesn’t take into consideration people of colour when it is manufacturing,” said Abrahams, who lives in Westridge and runs the business from her home.
Disappointment with big brands
Abrahams’ journey into perfumery began during her master’s studies when she and friends purchased an expensive fragrance that ultimately disappointed them.
Abrahams said that the smell of perfumes change as they interact with people’s natural scents at different times of the month because of hormonal changes, illness and other factors and that’s why, after two weeks of having paid thousands for an exclusive brand, her friend stopped liking the scent.
Likewise, despite the hefty price Abrahams paid for her perfume, the spray mechanism broke and she was unable to get it repaired or refunded, rendering the scent inaccessible.
“As a consumer, that is a horrible experience to be in, because you’re definitely not gonna go back to that brand,” she said.
Psychology meets perfumery
Using her psychology background, Abrahams noticed that people struggle to define themselves beyond their careers. This observation led her to create a space where individuals could express their identity through personalised fragrances.
“One of the toughest questions that my clients have to answer is, who are they? How do they know themselves?” she explained. “I thought it would be really interesting to give people space where they are able to openly and freely speak about themselves away from this idea that who they are has to be tied to what they do.”
Challenging industry norms
Eraya’s approach involves detailed consultations to understand clients’ psychological profiles, lived experiences, and potential scent associations before creating custom fragrances.
“There may be a certain smell of somebody that hurt you in the past, and the moment you smell that scent, it reminds you of that particular experience,” Abrahams said. “We’re always mindful when we are selecting scent profiles.”
The brand aims to educate consumers about fragrance composition and help them make informed purchases, even from other retailers.
“A lot of the knowledge is exclusive and it is niche. If you don’t understand the linguistics around it, you won’t understand the composition of a fragrance,” she said.
Team effort
Whilst Abrahams serves as founder and CEO, Eraya operates as a collaborative effort involving her millennial peer group. Her husband develops the technology component, two attorney friends handle legal matters, and other friends manage internal systems.
“We still have bills to pay, so it is part of our everyday life,” Abrahams acknowledged about running the business as a side venture whilst maintaining other employment.
This year the fledgling brand also aims to highlight the contributions of people of colour communities to the perfume industry, particularly traditional perfume-making methods in India and other regions often overlooked by European-dominated narratives or exploited as cheap labour.
“A lot of their know-how and understanding comes from people of colour communities,” Abrahams said. “We want to pay homage to people of colour communities and cultures that have been using scent for centuries.”
Eraya operates primarily from Abrahams’ home in Westridge, with retail space rented in Lansdowne. The brand represents a growing trend of young entrepreneurs using their academic backgrounds and side businesses to challenge established industries and create more inclusive alternatives.
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