Bath and Body Works Turns to Creators to Revive Its $1.5B Flagship Scent
Bath and Body Works marked the 20th anniversary of Japanese Cherry Blossom, its top-selling scent, by launching a new flanker, Forever Cherry Blossom, and re-releasing the 2005 original. The Japanese Cherry Blossom pillar has generated more than $1.5 billion in lifetime sales, with 11 million units sold in 2025 alone. The campaign is part of CEO Daniel Heaf Consumer First Formula turnaround plan, announced after a 2% decline in net sales to $2.7 billion in Q4 2025. Content creators are central to the relaunch strategy, with the brand using influencer relationships to reach new consumers alongside loyalists. The brand expanded to Amazon in February and plans to bring the anniversary scent there later this summer.
THE BREAKDOWN
Bath and Body Works is in growth-spend mode on influencer marketing as part of a formal turnaround, which typically means campaign budgets are up and the brand is more open to testing new creator formats. The anniversary campaign structure, built around a hero scent plus a new flanker plus a reissue, gives creators a multi-product narrative rather than a single post moment. With Amazon distribution now active, affiliate deals tied to Amazon placement are viable for this brand for the first time. Body and fragrance creators in the 18-35 demographic are the most likely outreach targets, and the brand explicit focus on acquiring new consumers signals they want reach-first creative over community-only formats.
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