Andrew Rose: Founder of Montauk Man

Episode 897

How do you take a place, a memory, and a feeling—and turn them into a fragrance brand that stands out in one of the most crowded categories in luxury?
On The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Andrew Rose, Founder of Montauk Man—a new fragrance house inspired by the raw beauty, contrasts, and character of Montauk.
We talk about Andrew’s lifelong fascination with fragrance, why experiencing Montauk in the quiet of winter inspired him to build the brand, and how he worked with renowned perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Antoine Maisondieu to create the debut collection of four distinct fragrances.
We also get into what actually makes a luxury brand, how you sell scent in a digital world, the connection between fragrance and memory, and how Andrew plans to take a brand rooted in one very specific place and make it resonate far beyond it.
If you’re interested in fragrance, luxury, entrepreneurship, brand building, or what it takes to turn a deeply personal idea into a consumer brand, you’ll want to hear this conversation. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up. That I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be. We just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don’t get knocked out. Knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control. Control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go! Let’s go! Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin Show. There are 1000s of fragrances in the world, so how do you create one that actually deserves to exist? So today’s guest is Andrew Rose, founder of Montauk Man. Andrew grew up spending summers out in Montauk, which is in the Hamptons, for those who are not familiar with that town, and started collecting fragrances as a teenager. But it was experiencing Montauk in the middle of winter, raw, quiet, and completely different from the place most people know for summering. That ultimately inspired the brand, so he decided to start a brand around the scent that really kind of sat with him around that, and that’s how Montauk Man was born. So, working with renowned perfumers, Andrew created four distinct fragrances. I’ll let him get into those. I want to talk, or I’m excited, I should say, to talk with him about how do you build a luxury brand from zero, creating desire around something people can’t see or even smell online, and why he believes Montauk Man can stand out in one of the most crowded categories out there, so I’m so thrilled to have you here, Andrew. Thanks so much for joining us.

Andrew Rose 2:06
No, thank you for having me. I’m really excited to be here, and yeah, talk more about Montauk Man.

Kara Goldin 2:12
Super, super excited. So, so for those who are not yet familiar with your amazing, amazing scent, Montauk Manor. I should say, scents the actual brand. What does it stand for, and I guess why does it need to exist?

Andrew Rose 2:30
Yeah, great questions. Montauk Man stands for confidence overall. Cool, collected, easy, back to basics in a way. Confidence. That’s that’s kind of the whole brand ethos to me. The idea came about years ago when I was living out in Montauk during the winter. I had only experienced it in the summer, in the height of the season, when it’s bright, it’s cheerful, it’s crowded. And then when I was living there in the off season, fall, winter, and spring, it became really eerie and dark and romantic, and I love the topography. and It was it was so great that I wanted to capture fragrances that evoke the same kind of beautiful feeling. And I think you know there’s so many fragrances today. I was just reading an article that mentioned last year had I think 6000 new fragrances, so that’s a lot of fragrances. I mean, there’s if you can go to any department store today, there’s hundreds on the floor. So why does Montauk Man need to exist? I think it needs to exist because I believe fragrances really need to have a story, a narrative, a picture that someone can think of. I think fragrances are so tied to memory and emotion, and it’s really hard to capture those emotions. So I love the idea of Montauk Man because Montauk to me has always made me feel happy, alive, connected to nature. It’s extremely rugged and beautiful place. So I really want to create fragrances that match that. I think there’s so many brands that create incredible fragrances, but they lack a narrative. They lack almost a point of view. I mean, every fragrance brand has a point of view, but not so much so imagery, evocative imagery that that conjures up a mood, and that’s what I really wanted to convey. I

Kara Goldin 4:19
love it. So, what were you doing before starting Montauk Man?

Andrew Rose 4:23
Yeah, I was doing real estate actually. That’s how I ended up out in the Hamptons full time. I was doing commercial real estate in New York City up until COVID, and when COVID happened, I had to get out of Manhattan, and I fortunately I I found a job of running a real estate satellite office in Montauk, right on Main Street. So I moved out there. That’s how the whole idea kind of came to be years ago. But my background is real estate. It is not fragrance. I’ve always had a passion for fragrances, for branding, storytelling, if you will. But it’s all real estate.

Kara Goldin 4:59
So you. Started collecting fragrances as a teenager, and why do you think that is? I mean, that’s that’s pretty unique, right? I mean, you just were very, very aware of of the scents that were around you, and I love that. Did you always think you would take something around fragrance and scents into the entrepreneur journey and building a brand.

Andrew Rose 5:28
Yes and no. I feel like I deviated with my real estate background. I used to study art and architecture, and then I did real estate. So I always had a creative lens. I think with my passion through fragrance, was able to take that creative lens and use fragrance as that vessel to to explore that part of myself.

Kara Goldin 5:47
So, when you decided finally I’m going to launch this brand, what were the first things that you had to decide on?

Andrew Rose 5:56
Yeah, well, definitely the name. I got the name from sitting in this real estate office in the dead of winter in Montauk. I was like, I want to come up with a name. At first, I thought I wanted to do candles. I was coming up with ideas of stuff I could do literally at home, but then the name Montauk Man came into my head, and I started to create a Pinterest board, a mood board, then a vision board. I ended up creating like a 300 page book of just visuals of just pictures that I loved, that inspired me, that that I felt were strong enough for for a brand, not necessarily fragrance, but my whole goal was to morph it into a fragrance brand, and then I ended up creating a pitch deck of around 50 pages or so that was really taking those exact photos and tying it to fragrances to an olfactory experience, and for me that’s how it really got started. I’m a very visual person. I think any creative idea should start with almost a mood board or a vision board, any kind of visuals.

Kara Goldin 6:59
And you were making decisions around how many SKUs to launch, for example. How did you decide on the? I guess you launched with four.

Speaker 1 7:09
So we launched with four. I a little background. I I brought a pitch deck to Given. Given is an oil house. For those who don’t know, most fragrances are created in partnership with an actual oil house. There’s probably like five or six major players. Give it on is one of them, and I brought this pitch deck to them with three fragrances in mind, three three scent profiles that I’ve always loved, and I thought this would be great to create. And the fourth one came about because I couldn’t give up on the three, but the fourth cent, and I can go more into a background story on this. The fourth cent was really tied to Montauk specifically, and I felt so keen on having it for our launch. I felt the brand needed enough on the shelf for products, something more visible. But we kind of coined this idea of an ola factory square. I really felt for the launch, for us to be successful, we needed to have four different scent profiles that at least one consumer would like, or gravitate towards, or say, “Wow, that’s a great fragrance. That’s for me. Because not everything is for everyone, so I wanted to kind of check off a box, if that makes sense, for for just about anyone,

Kara Goldin 8:21
and can you speak about what the four scents represent? I guess.

Speaker 1 8:27
Yes, I’ll tell. I’ll tell you the name. Yeah, so we we have Twice Light that was designed by Rodrigo Flores Ru. It’s a beautiful, bright citrus neroli. I felt it was extremely important for us to have a citrus scent, a summer scent, something that leans more towards warm weather as we are located out in the Hamptons and inspired by Montauk. So that’s again Neroli iris orange flower. It’s bright. It’s fresh. It’s extremely delicious. I love it. It’s been a top seller so far, probably because it’s summertime. Then we have North Bar, which is our oud, also designed by Rodrigo Flores Rue, and oud is like a a deep wood. So there’s oud, saffron, rose, patchouli, some leather. This is the fragrance I was telling you that was a little bit more masculine leaning. To me, it’s not seasonal, but it would lean more towards a winter, colder weather, more of a nighttime scent. Then we have amber boom, so that is our gourmand. When I say gourmand, I’m talking about edible ingredients in a way. So we have we have dark cherry, we have bitter almonds, vanilla, tonka, almost you know ingredients that you can find in a bake shop. So it’s extremely delicious. I find that to be our most seductive of fragrances. To me, it leans more autumn. Also, like you know, with a nice cardigan on or something while you’re walking around town with a cup of coffee. And then our final scent is Rough Riders. This is the scent that is most inspired by Montauk. This is more everyday from day to night. Be any season. It’s a spicy tobacco, so it’s pineapple, bergamot, tobacco, a little bit vanilla. It’s very addictive. I also think it’s seductive. So out of these four, they all kind of check off different boxes. As I was saying earlier, we have our summer citrus, daytime wear to the pool, wear to the beach, north bar. You could wear with a with a tuxedo, a ball gown, something more formal, nighttime leaning or winter, amber boom. I’m thinking a little bit more fall. It’s sweet. It’s gourmand. Think those edible ingredients, and then Rough Riders, which is that every day, almost like just everyone loves Rough Riders. It kind of checks off everyone’s like preferences. We put ingredients in there that people just love. So out of those four, I think they all kind of they they I don’t say they solve anyone’s problems, but they could they gravitate towards someone. Someone can gravitate towards them, I should say.

Kara Goldin 10:58
What surprised you the most in creating a brand, so you are a first-time, I guess, consumer, luxury consumer brand entrepreneur. You’re not new to business, but what has surprised you the most?

Speaker 1 11:15
There’s so many different things that has surprised me. I, I honestly, the creating of the fragrances took so much time and thought and consideration. Every fragrance took multiple. We call them mods for modifications of so many different rounds of of editing and and trying to nail the right exact fragrance or note or balance. So that was really methodical and time consuming. But I would say the biggest challenge, in a way, has been probably with production. I mean, that’s all business. There’s nothing really fluffy about that in terms of having the product arrive, mixing the oils with the alcohol, getting everything ready and shipped off, regulatory requirements, a lot of all the kind of nitty gritty. I would call it. That has been a huge learning curve. It’s all about timelines, reaching deadlines definitely keeps me on my feet. And you know, I I could do the creative process all day long. I could talk creativity forever. And you know, at the end of the day, it’s still a business, so it’s time to you know get more serious. Talk about numbers when things are arriving, ship dates, order dates. You know, all that kind of stuff.

Kara Goldin 12:23
So, when you’re talking to these perfumers teaching you about fragrance as you were beginning to develop these, what changed once you actually started developing fragrance? I think probably you had changes along the way, not just in the manufacturing of it, but then when the consumers started purchasing it, were there things that you know really stood out to you? For example, was there one scent that is far and away the killer scent for you? Did you ever think about that you should have more or less scents too? And just focusing on that, how did you think about the business overall when you were first getting going in manufacturing versus what you’re seeing today?

Speaker 1 13:10
I guess to answer that question, I would say, I mean, there’s so many ways to answer it. There’s so many different, you know, parts to it. I fragrance is so personal at the end of the day, and I think a challenge in that is we want to create fragrances that people love and purchase and want to repurchase and feel connected to the brand as a whole. So in that, I really wanted us to create fragrances that people can relate to and love, that is in their price point, that they can understand the ingredients, the what went behind the fragrance to justify that price point. We are a $350 fragrance. We use really high quality ingredients, very high oil concentration. We’re at 25% so it really performs really well for a long time. And hand polished bottles. Everything was so custom and bespoke. I think for me, what I’m realizing is that I’m so detail oriented, and that’s very important. But at the end of the day, the customer just wants to like the product. They I don’t know if they really care so much about all the little tiny details that I was obsessing over at certain times. I I don’t regret obsessing over any details because I think that’s what makes a successful product. But for me, it’s almost learning about when to I don’t say walk away, but learning when to say, “Wow, this is a finished product. Let’s market it now, put it on the shelves, and see what the customer thinks. You know, I I can get. I think all our fragrances are great, but they’re not for everyone. One of our fragrances, Amber Boom, is extremely again gourmand. It’s sweet. If you don’t like amber, you’re not going to like amber boom. It’s a very amber-heavy fragrance. So, not to take that personally, but I guess it’s it’s navigating also what the consumer wants, and that’s why I think we did a great job with Rough Riders. I do. Think that fragrance kind of nails it on the head of of reaching most people. Again, I think all our fragrances are awesome. I think they’re incredible. I love all of them personally, but fragrance is, I think, more than any other product out there. It’s so personal.

Kara Goldin 15:14
Yeah, definitely. How big is or how important, I should say, is packaging for you in a brand,

Speaker 1 15:21
I think packaging is everything. I mean, presentation to me is is is everything. Before someone smells the product, they see the product. So whether that be on our website, Instagram, or on the shelf, they’re still visually looking at our product before they’re picking it up and and spraying themselves or spraying the fragrance to to test it. So I wanted to create a product that was extremely classic but unique and very sophisticated. So our packaging is all really minimalist. It’s black and white. Our cap is bespoke. It’s very heavy. I think we have one of the heaviest caps in the game. I could, I wouldn’t want to drop it on your foot. It’s a really heavy cap, but it’s it’s beautiful. We have our secondary logo on top. I spent so much time on the logos and the font, and picking out even the right material for the the label, because I think packaging is really the first. It’s almost the first thing the consumer will experience before they experience the the scent. And if you can’t convince them with the packaging, I think not. I don’t want to say you lost the plot, but it’ll be hard to convert them into being interested in the fragrance.

Kara Goldin 16:25
So Montauk Man has the four cents. Do consumers typically just buy one scent, or do you see that consumers want a choice every day? Once they find one scent, do they just stick with that, or what do you see in the fragrance industry overall for your product?

Speaker 1 16:46
I’m seeing trends that people, you know, maybe many years ago, everyone had a signature scent, quote unquote, where they had their one fragrance, maybe a second fragrance, and that was, you know, their fragrance. Now people have what people call now a scent wardrobe, so that’s why I think a lot of people almost like smaller sized fragrances to have many options for their mood, for which occasion they’re going to again seasons or weather or whatever have you. I’ve noticed in our sales, so many people, as we are a new brand, don’t want to fully commit to just the full size bottle right away. So that’s why we have our discovery set, which is two mL vials, and that displays all four of our SKUs, and and that has been doing really well, at least with our online sales. I think most people really want to smell the product and and test it for themselves, see how it develops on their skin. You know, you could read the notes online and the reviews, but the end of the day, you you have to experience it for yourself. So I’m noticing that people are buying a lot of discoveries and the travel sets, so they get the full collection. That’s a part of our offering versus the single bottles, and then they’re converting, and then or unless they smelled it in store before you know just diving into a full size bottle because that’s a big commitment. Again, it’s 90 mLs. It’s a lot of liquid. It’ll last you a while. You want to enjoy what you’re buying.

Kara Goldin 18:05
Does fragrance, or I should say, Montauk Man, does it go bad at some point? Is there a shelf life? I mean, what is what is a typical shelf life for for your fragrances or in general?

Speaker 1 18:19
That’s a great question. Honestly, fragrances don’t really have a shelf life. I think from a regulatory sale selling point, it’s like maybe two to three years, but they don’t really go bad. I mean, it’s at least if it’s a fragrance and alcohol base, they might lose a little bit of their potency. Our fragrances are designed again to last a long time at that 25% oil. I think it depends per fragrance and the percentage of oil that is used. I think that’s more of almost like a regulatory question, like what can you introduce to the market. I don’t actually know that answer, whether it’s like two years or three years, but it will it will last. It’ll last a long time, and they’re designed to perform. We did the whole stability testing. They they’ll last you a long time.

Kara Goldin 19:01
So, Montauk Mann, you and I were chatting a little bit before we hit record. Is really unisex. I mean, it’s not just for men. That’s what you’re finding, and I find that many fragrances are really focused on unisex as well. So, when you look at at the brand name, obviously Montauk and the Hamptons, it’s very romantic and in that respect. When you look at kind of going beyond your initial launch of direct to consumer into stores, do you see Montauk Man expanding into Tokyo and London and Los Angeles. I mean, just other areas.

Speaker 1 19:48
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, I really want to convey the world of Montauk and the idealism of it, the romanticism, as you kind of put it, into these fragrances. Continue to to grow fragrances, and I would love to be you know national, international. Right now, we’re really just in New York. We’re the few select retailers here in New York, and our online platform. But we’re growing slowly but surely. Right now, we’re actually in development of three new fragrances just to have in our library for next year. It’s always good to start rolling things out, you know. It’s it’s all exciting and creative, creative. I want to say,

Kara Goldin 20:26
I love it. So success. So what is success for you and Montauk Man? I mean, how do you how do you measure that? Right. I feel like so many entrepreneurs, you just kind of get stuck in this in this grind of just doing so much every single day? I mean, it’s so hard being an entrepreneur. So I know firsthand, and in building a company, that it just takes a lot of resilience and creativity and and time, right? Definitely,

Speaker 1 21:00
you you always have to push the needle and you know breathe life into into a brand.

Kara Goldin 21:04
So what is success for you and for Montauk Man?

Andrew Rose 21:09
Success for me in the literal sense is to keep growing, to have our products become you know nationally known first, and and really have a customer base, a fan base, if you will, and to continue to grow our fragrances to have more SKUs to be known for Montauk men to be known as an amazing American luxury fragrance brand. A quick example of almost like a little success. I remember our first week when we launched. We were in a we’re in a store in Bridgehampton, and a random woman, I guess, went into the store and bought Rough Riders, one of our fragrances, and put it on her story. I had no idea who this woman was, and she was raving about Rough Riders. And she went online about it to Instagram, put it on her story, said she bought it for her husband. It’s the best thing she’s ever smelled in a long time, and that, to me, I thought was a moment of success, even though it was just one sale, it was someone you know who I have no connection to. We’re on the shelves for the first week, and it was great to get an unbiased opinion of this fragrance from a consumer who was excite not only excited about it, but bought it for someone in her life and felt so passionate about that she took it to Instagram and had to just say something about it. That to me is success. I would love to have more of those stories. Those are really impactful to me. To me, a big part of the brand’s success is to ultimately make people happy. Fragrance makes me happy. That’s why we’re creating these fragrances is to make people just enjoy themselves to feel happy to feel good about themselves, so that was a great little success example. But from a from a brand and a business, I would of course love to grow more products and SKUs and be in department stores and and grow that way. Have ancillary items one day, whether it be body wash, shampoo, besides just perfumes,

Kara Goldin 23:03
I love it. Well, Andrew, thank you so much for coming on, and I love what you’re doing with Montauk Man. So such a great, great story. But also, while it’s in the early stages, I think you’re really onto something. I mean, it’s it’s super, super terrific! So, so for everyone listening, check out Montauk Man and follow Andrew as well on social to see what is happening with with him and the brand. And until next time on the Kara Goldin Show. Okay,

Andrew Rose 23:36
thank you.

Kara Goldin 23:37
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin Show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit, and of course feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. I would love to hear from you too, so feel free to DM me. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint: We are here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thanks for listening, and goodbye for now.

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