Why Jo Malone London’s Veggies Collection Actually Works
Beauty · 20 June 2026
From beetroot to carrot blossom, Céline Roux reveals the story behind Jo Malone's British Summer: Veggies collection and its unconventional scent profiles.
- Words
- Alisha Azuddin
Summer Harvest
The arrival of summer usually brings with it an abundance of citrus groves, blooming florals and sun-ripened fruits in the world of fragrance. Vegetables, however, rarely enter the conversation. Yet trust Jo Malone London to take something as humble as beetroot or butternut squash and transform it into a collection that feels undeniably still like summer.
From beetroot to carrot blossom, Céline Roux reveals the story behind Jo Malone London’s Veggies collection and its unconventional scent profiles.
To better understand the inspiration behind this peculiar yet captivating collection, we spoke to Céline Roux, Global Head of Fragrance at Jo Malone London, who shared, “enough of the fruits, let’s have fun with vegetables.”. Drawn to ingredients that felt “raw, coming straight from the soil”, the idea gained momentum during lockdown, when vegetable patches and home gardens flourished across Britain. Rather than viewing vegetables as merely functional, Roux saw character, authenticity and a new source of inspiration for fragrance.
That philosophy led Roux and perfumer Mathilde Bijaoui to the famed gardens of Sissinghurst, where they immersed themselves in the scents of soil, foliage and growing produce. “Fragrances are so often born from a lab, but with us they’re born from the outside,” Roux explains. “It’s so British, so authentic and so unexpected.”
Working with vegetables, however, demanded careful restraint. Earthiness could not come at the expense of elegance, a balance Roux describes as “non-negotiable”. Patchouli became the thread connecting the collection, lending a subtle nod to the soil while allowing each composition to retain brightness and refinement.
With that, the duo produced a trio of fragrances for this collection. Scarlet Beetroot captures an energetic burst of blackcurrant before revealing a soft, earthy sweetness, while Carrot Blossom layers delicate florals with fennel and white musk for a luminous freshness. Velvety Butternut takes a warmer path, pairing creamy butternut with ginger, tonka bean and patchouli for a scent that feels comforting yet undeniably polished.
Although the ingredients may appear unconventional, Roux sees them as entirely consistent with the Jo Malone London identity. “British elegance with a twist” is how she describes the brand, a philosophy that encourages exploration while remaining unmistakably recognisable.
The collection also challenges the traditional notion of freshness. For Roux, freshness is not limited to sparkling citrus or airy florals but lies in the sensation of something freshly harvested. It is almost more texture-like as much as scent, carrying traces of green leaves and damp soil that still remember where they came from. That perspective gives the fragrances an emotional quality, grounding them in memory as much as nature.
This growing connection between fragrance and feeling reflects a wider shift within the industry. Roux believes consumers are increasingly seeking scents that offer something beyond status, choosing fragrances for how they make them feel and the memories they evoke. Nature, she says, has always been Jo Malone London’s greatest storyteller, making the Veggies collection a natural extension of the brand’s true identity.
