Collines de Provence: Bringing Provence Home

Hi everyone, to those of you who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I'm Amber, the Member Relations and External Affairs Manager for the French Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. Our Chamber is made up of French, Taiwanese and international businesses across all industries. With our diverse member pool, we thought it imperative to showcase the fantastic work, products and services our members have on offer to enhance the visibility across our network and facilitate deeper engagements.

Throughout my interview journey so far, it has been so delightful to learn about the extensive craftsmanship that goes into each brand, their thought processes and care all shine through the products themselves. Truly, nothing is more endearing than when you see someone smiling so much that wrinkles form around the eyes and talking about the product they are so excited to share with the world.

I have a love for all things fragrances, whether it be perfumes or candles, you'll always find me and my home with different scents lingering. I find that scents can evoke different emotions, if you have a designated scent for your home, then every time you smell that scent, it'll be a warm embrace reminding you to shed the weariness of the outside world and leave it all at the door, it can be a decompression ritual for many to practice. Since I was on the hunt for my new home scent, I immediately thought of our member Collines de Provence, a brand I've been enticed with, but never had the opportunity to explore. For our first Deep Dive interview, I wanted to know what differentiates Collines de Provence from other brands on the market, and how they earned their spot on the shelf in the homes of so many across France and Taiwan. I interviewed Rémi, their Asia Manager, to get the scoop on where I should get started with the range and understand how a brand from Provence has branched out all across the world. Collines de Provence is available at Just Herb (香草集) with 32 storefronts across Taiwan, so you can bring a little bit of France with you wherever you go. In the end, I picked up the Sandalwood Flower Reed Diffuser and the Tiger Lily and Lotus Scented candle, but I know I will be back for the Thé Blanc White Tea collection.

大家好，還沒有機會認識的朋友，我是Amber，法國工商會的會員關係暨涉外事務經理。我們的商會匯聚了法國、台灣及各行各業的國際企業會員。正因為會員組成如此多元，我們認為有必要展現會員們精彩的產品與服務，讓大家在商會網絡中看見彼此，進而促成更深入的交流。

在採訪的路上，最讓我開心的，就是看見每個品牌背後細膩的工藝與用心，那份對產品的用心與思考，總會不經意地在成品中流露出來。而最喜歡的畫面，莫過於看到一個人聊起自己引以為傲的產品時，笑到藏不住的魚尾紋。

我對香氛情有獨鍾，無論是香水還是蠟燭，我家裡總是縈繞著不同的香氣。我發現香氣能牽動不同的情緒：如果家裡有一款專屬的香氣，每次聞到它，就像是一個溫暖的擁抱，提醒自己把外面世界的疲憊留在門外，我想對許多人來說，香氛也是一種帶來舒壓的儀式感。最近剛好想給家裡換一款新的居家香氣，第一個想到的就是我們的會員品牌 Collines de Provence。常常看到Rémi桌上擺著漂亮的瓶瓶罐罐，讓我一直很好奇卻始終沒有機會深入認識的品牌，想說剛好趁這次機會，當作我們 Deep Dive 系列的第一篇專訪。我想了解 Collines de Provence 與市場上其他品牌有什麼不同，又是如何在法國與台灣這麼多人的家中，找到屬於自己的一席之地。我採訪了他們的亞洲區經理 Rémi，請教該從哪一款產品開始認識這個品牌，也了解一個源自普羅旺斯的品牌，是如何一步步拓展到世界各地。Collines de Provence 目前在香草集於全台32間門市均有販售，讓你隨時都能把一點法國氣息帶在身邊。去探店時，我把每一個蠟燭都聞了一遍，決定家裡的新香就是溫暖的花檀木法式薰香竹，每天Me Time則要點起虎百合與睡蓮香氛蠟燭。非常期待下次再回到香草集把白茶系列一起帶回家。

Tell me about Collines de Provence and what the brand stands for, for those who might be unfamiliar with it.

Collines de Provence is a French SME focused on home fragrance, founded in 1982 in Mane, a small village where our factory still stands. We were the first in France to develop the reed diffuser, a line we've carried for over 40 years, and have since expanded into a full home fragrance range, all handmade.

Visit the factory and you'd be surprised how much is done entirely by hand, people sit around a table assembling each product themselves. Behind that choice is a desire to keep a real connection between the product and the client, wherever they're buying it, France, Germany, Taiwan. It's not just another product on the market; it's something genuinely made by French hands, carrying a piece of French culture.

We're surrounded by beautiful nature, the village sits atop a small hill amid historical monuments, mountains, flowers and orchards. Our fragrances are developed in Grasse, the capital of perfumery, with "noses," master perfumers who create scents exclusively for us rather than picking them off a shelf.

We're also very ecological, sourcing locally with recyclable, recycled packaging. And we stand out through design too: our glass bottles are exclusive to us, with the brand name molded into the base and a six-sided shape found nowhere else on the market, more distinctive, and more premium.

可以和我們聊聊 Collines de Provence 嗎？對還不熟悉這個品牌的人來說，它代表著什麼？

Collines de Provence 是一間專注於居家香氛的法國中小企業，1982年創立於馬訥（Mane），這個小村莊裡，至今仍留有我們的工廠。我們是法國第一個開發擴香竹的品牌，這個品項我們做了超過40年，後來也逐漸擴展成完整的居家香氛系列，而且全部都是手工製作。

如果你去參觀我們的工廠，一定會很驚訝有這麼多流程完全靠人工完成，大家圍坐在桌邊，一件一件親手組裝。這個堅持背後，是基於我們希望無論顧客身在何處——法國、德國、還是台灣，都能與產品保有一份真實的連結。

這不只是市面上眾多產品中的一件，而是真正由法國人親手做出來，承載著一部分的法國文化的用品。

我們身處美麗的自然環境之中，村莊坐落在小山丘上，四周環繞著歷史古蹟、山巒、花田與果園。我們不是直接從架上挑選現成的香味，而是在香水之都格拉斯（Grasse）由調香師研發，為我們量身打造獨家香氣。

我們也非常重視環保，原料在地取材，包裝也採用可回收、再生的材質。同時我們也希望在設計上與眾不同：我們的玻璃瓶身是獨家設計，瓶底鑄有品牌名稱，並採用市面上絕無僅有的六角形瓶身，讓我們的產品更具辨識度，也更顯質感。

Between Grasse's perfumery heritage and sitting on shelves next to other international brands, how do you make Collines de Provence's French identity legible to a Taiwan audience?

We focus on selling through physical shops rather than mass retail, though we do have some online presence too. The retailer Just Herb stocks Japanese and British brands alongside ours, and at a glance they can look quite similar, so we lean on a few concrete cues: we keep "French" clearly on the packaging, with the origin printed for anyone to read, and we build visual displays directly on the shelf to tell the brand's story and history, so customers can learn about us just by browsing, even without a salesperson nearby.

Beyond the shelf, each shop has a trained sales team who know the story behind every fragrance, the perfumer, the top, middle and base notes, so they can translate that directly to the customer. Online, it's the same idea through pictures, video and text instead of a person, though our online presence isn't very strong yet, that's something I want to develop next year.

格拉斯的調香傳統，加上與其他國際品牌並列陳列，你們如何讓 Collines de Provence 的法式身份，能被台灣消費者理解？

我們主要透過實體門市銷售，而非大型量販通路，不過線上也有一定的曝光。香草集（Just Herb）同時陳列了日本、英國品牌與我們的產品，乍看之下確實有些相似，所以我們靠幾個具體的方式來區隔：我們會在包裝上清楚標示「French」，產地也印在包裝上讓大家可以直接閱讀，同時也會在架上直接設計視覺陳列，訴說品牌的故事與歷史，即使身邊沒有銷售人員，顧客光是逛，就能認識我們的品牌。

除了架上陳列之外，每間門市都有受過訓練的銷售團隊，熟悉每款香氣背後的故事：調香師是誰、前中後調各是什麼，讓他們能直接把這些內容轉譯給顧客。線上的邏輯也一樣，只是說故事的方式從真人變成圖片、影片和文字，不過目前我們的線上經營還不算強，這也是我明年想加強的部分。

Which products or seasonal collections have resonated most with Taiwan customers, and how do you decide what to bring into a new collection each season?

Our bestsellers in Taiwan are fairly close to our bestsellers in France, Taiwanese customers tend to prefer lighter fragrances, not too woody, deep, sweet or "gourmand." It depends on the year's concept too, this year's Christmas collection was built around "the 13 desserts" of Provence, but we adapt by region: three fragrances alone wouldn't work in Asia, where preferences lean lighter and less sweet, so we balance the creative concept against known bestsellers and regional trends.

To meet local demand, we also offer Cool Nights, a light, fresh fragrance made exclusively for Taiwan. It's performed exceptionally well since launch, still produced in our French factory, and remains a local exclusive not even featured in our main catalog. Its success surprised us enough that we're now expanding it to other Asian markets: Japan will start importing it by the end of this year, with Hong Kong to follow. Taiwan effectively helped us discover what's becoming an "Asia exclusive" line.

As a nearly 45-year-old heritage brand, we also draw on experience, sometimes reviving retired fragrances we know work, and preferences vary widely by market, Russia leans stronger and woodier, Japan and Taiwan lighter. Packaging stays consistent everywhere, though we adapt to local conditions: in Taiwan, humidity can affect natural reeds, so we individually bag each one for protection, extra cost on our end, but pricing stays the same for the client.

哪些產品或季節系列，在台灣特別受歡迎？你們又是如何決定，每一季新系列要帶入什麼樣的故事或氛圍？

我們在台灣的暢銷產品，其實跟法國相差不多，台灣消費者通常偏好比較清淡的香氣，不會太木質調、太濃、太甜，或是太充滿「甜點感」。這也要看當年的主題概念，今年的聖誕系列，就是圍繞普羅旺斯的「十三道甜點」傳統打造，再依此挑選相對應的香氣。不過我們也會依地區做調整：單單三款香氣，在亞洲市場就不見得行得通，因為這裡的消費者偏好比較清淡、不那麼甜的香氣，所以我們會在創意概念、既有暢銷品，以及區域趨勢之間，找到平衡。

我們也推出了舒涼好夢（Cool Nights），一款清爽淡雅的香氣，最初其實是作為一般新品推出，並不是特別為台灣打造的。只是後來它在台灣的表現特別亮眼，我們才決定只為台灣市場持續生產。這款香氣至今仍在法國工廠生產，是台灣獨家的限定商品，甚至沒有列入我們的主要型錄中。它的成功讓我們感到相當意外，因此我們決定將它推廣到其他亞洲市場：日本預計今年底開始進口，香港也在洽談中。可以說，是台灣幫我們發掘了這款正在成為「亞洲限定」系列的產品。

作為一個將近45年歷史的老牌子，我們也會借助過往的經驗，有時候會重新推出一些曾經退場、但我們知道效果很好的香氣，不同市場的偏好差異很大：俄羅斯偏好比較濃烈、木質調的香氣，日本與台灣則偏好清淡的香氣。包裝在各地都維持一致，但我們會針對當地環境做調整：在台灣，濕氣容易影響天然薰香藤竹的品質，所以我們會把每一束藤竹個別包裝保護，這雖然增加了我們的成本，但顧客端的定價依然保持一致。

What made Collines de Provence's Taiwan team decide to join the French Chamber, and how has that relationship been useful?

Two answers here. Personally, I've been in Taiwan five and a half years, this is my third company here, and the French Chamber has always felt like family. We'd often have lunch together with colleagues, even take small trips with other members. People have come and gone over the years, but staying involved always felt natural.

More practically, the Chamber offers a strong business network at good value, especially for French companies, plus a marketing angle through sponsorships and visibility at major events.

是什麼原因，讓 Collines de Provence 台灣團隊決定加入法國工商會？這段關係對你們來說又帶來了什麼幫助？

這個問題有兩個層面的答案。從個人角度來說，我在台灣已經待了五年半，這是我在台灣的第三間公司，而法國工商會對我來說，一直有種像家人的感覺。我們常常跟同仁一起吃午餐，甚至和其他會員一起出遊過。這些年下來人來人往，但持續參與商會，對我來說始終是很自然的事。

更實際一點來說，商會提供了一個具份量、又划算的商業網絡，特別對法國企業來說很有幫助；此外，透過贊助與在重要活動中的曝光，也帶來了一定程度的行銷效益。

Any new collections, collaborations, or store activities coming up that our members should know about?

We're very active on this front. We're a relatively small company, about 30 people including production, but our marketing team alone is five, a notably large share. They build new collections every year around two key moments: summer and Christmas.

The summer collection is already out: customers love the hair mist, which refreshes and nourishes hair (and works on skin too), alongside a light, naturally finished fresh water spray, both in beautiful packaging.

For Christmas, we redesign the concept from scratch each year, starting from a blank page. This year's theme is a French Christmas village in Provence: what you'd see, hear and smell spending Christmas in a small southern village. It's not individual products but a full set, candles, fragrances, gift sets and dedicated shelf displays, all tied to one concept. When the marketing team first presented it to me, I was blown away.

We also keep refreshing fragrances to stay on trend. One of our latest is a pistachio and musk fragrance, its vibrant green and pink echoing the pistachio craze sparked by Dubai chocolate, the same way other industries like food and beverage respond to trends.

接下來有沒有什麼新系列、聯名合作，或門市活動，是我們會員應該知道的？

這方面我們一直非常積極。雖然我們算是一間規模不大的公司，連生產團隊算進去大概30個人，但光是行銷團隊就有5個人，佔比相當高。他們每年都會圍繞夏季與聖誕節這兩個重要節點，打造全新系列。

夏季系列已經上市：顧客很喜歡我們的髮香噴霧，能同時滋潤、清新秀髮（也可以用在肌膚上），另外還有一款質地清爽、自然收尾的沁涼噴霧水，兩者的包裝都相當精美。

至於聖誕節系列，我們每年都會從零開始重新發想概念。今年的主題是普羅旺斯的法式聖誕村莊：想像你在南法一個小村莊裡度過聖誕節，會看見什麼、聽見什麼、聞到什麼。這不只是單一產品，而是一整套完整的系列——蠟燭、香氛、禮盒，還有專屬的陳列設計，全部圍繞著同一個概念展開。當行銷團隊第一次向我呈報這個系列時，我真的驚艷不已。

我們也持續更新香氣，緊跟潮流。最新推出的其中一款，是開心果與麝香調的香氛，鮮明的綠色與粉色，正好呼應了因杜拜巧克力而掀起的開心果熱潮，就像餐飲產業一樣，我們也會關注並回應當下的流行趨勢。

How do Taiwanese customers use and gift home fragrance differently than customers do in France?

Usage habits differ. Our pillow mist, for instance, has been very popular in Taiwan, where pillow mists are common from both French and local brands. In France, usage splits roughly between candles and diffusers, while in Taiwan candles are less common than diffusers. Fragrance preference follows the same pattern: Taiwanese customers lean toward lighter, fruitier or floral scents, broadly true across Asia, where "gourmand," dessert-like scents tend not to land. One example: I once tried a sweet, Korea-exclusive fragrance at a market there, and learned it was popular mainly with foreign tourists, not locals, who generally prefer lighter, woodier, fruitier scents, closer to what Japanese and Taiwanese customers like.

Gifting shapes things too. We work both globally and locally: globally, we design gift sets for occasions like Christmas, plus special packaging for dates like Mother's Day or Teacher's Day. Locally, we encourage distributors to adapt this to context, since wording and key dates differ by market, so local gift sets or bundled combos are often developed, sometimes curated directly by the retailer, to reflect what local customers actually want.

相較於法國，台灣消費者在居家香氛的使用方式和送禮習慣上，有什麼不一樣的地方？

使用習慣其實不太一樣。舉例來說，我們的枕頭噴霧在台灣就非常受歡迎，不管是法國品牌還是台灣本土品牌，枕頭噴霧在這裡都相當常見。在法國，蠟燭和擴香器的使用比例大致各半；但在台灣，比起擴香器，蠟燭的使用相對少一些。香氣偏好也呈現類似的模式：台灣消費者傾向比較清淡、偏果香或花香的味道，這個趨勢在整個亞洲市場都算普遍，帶有「甜點感」的香氣，通常比較不容易被接受。有個有趣的例子：我曾在韓國的一個品牌，試了一款當地限定、非常香甜的香氣，後來才知道，這款香氣其實主要受外國觀光客歡迎，當地人反而不太買單，韓國消費者普遍比較偏好清淡、木質調、帶點果香的香氣，其實跟日本、台灣消費者的喜好更接近。

送禮習慣也是一個關鍵。我們同時在全球與在地兩個層面上經營：從全球的角度來說，我們會為聖誕節等重要節日設計禮盒，也會針對母親節、教師節等特定日子推出特別包裝。而在在地層面，我們則鼓勵各地經銷商依照當地情境做調整，畢竟文案用語與重要節日在不同市場都不盡相同，所以在地的禮盒或組合優惠，通常會由當地團隊開發，有時甚至直接由零售商親自規劃，確保能真正貼近當地顧客的需求。

Is there a particular ingredient, region, or production detail from Collines de Provence's French roots that you make a point of explaining to customers here — something that might otherwise get lost in translation?

Yes, the origin of the fragrances themselves. Hand someone the product and ask what's behind it, unless you're a major house like Chanel, there's no way to know. So we make a point of explaining where it comes from, how it's made, and who's behind it: real fragrances developed by real perfumers, not mass-market scents picked off a shelf. The inspiration, the top and base notes, all of it needs to be actively communicated locally, whether by a salesperson in-store or through our website.

有沒有哪個成分、產地，或是製程細節，是你特別會在台灣向顧客說明的？也就是那種如果不特別解釋，很可能會在翻譯過程中被忽略掉的部分？

有的，就是香氣本身的來源。如果你把產品交到一個人手上，問他這背後是什麼故事，除非你是像香奈兒（Chanel）這樣的大品牌，不然沒有人猜得出來。所以我們會特別說明香氣從哪裡來、是怎麼做出來的、又是誰在背後打造的：這些是由真正的調香師研發的真實香氣，而不是從架上隨便挑來的量產香味。從靈感來源，到前調、後調，不論是透過店內的銷售人員，還是我們的官方網站，這些內容都需要在當地被主動傳達出去。

What's your own favourite product?

The Rose and Hibiscus diffuser, one of our bestsellers. I know exactly why: it reminds me of a sweet I used to eat as a teenager, back home, after bringing it back from a trip to France. That memory comes back every time I smell it, light, gentle, relaxing, instantly transporting.

As for format, I prefer the diffuser itself: an elegant, timeless design. Whether it were 1980 or today, it would look the same, beautiful, pure, heritage in feel.

你自己最喜歡的產品是什麼？

玫瑰芙蓉擴香，是我們的暢銷商品之一。我很清楚自己為什麼喜歡它：它讓我想起青少年時期，從法國帶回家鄉的一款甜點的味道。每次聞到這款香氣，那份記憶就會浮現，輕盈、溫柔、放鬆，一瞬間就把我帶回那個時刻。

至於產品形式，我個人偏好擴香器這個品項本身：它的設計優雅、歷久彌新。不論是1980年代還是現在，它看起來都會是同一個樣子，美麗、純粹，帶著一種傳承的質感。