“Huat” Is in the Air This Chinese New Year
As part of the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities, Asia’s leading bank DBS Bank has launched its very own perfume named HUAT Eau De Parfum, a limited edition fragrance inspired by the crisp scent of fresh banknotes, designed to spread ‘HUAT’ or good fortune and prosperity during the new year.
The bank (DBS/POSB) is giving away 2,500 bottles of HUAT Eau De Parfum to its customers, to complement the bank’s popular QR Ang Bao gifting option, which has been growing in popularity among customers as they embrace and adopt digital festive gifting.
This year’s QR Ang Bao has been refreshed to feature a slot-in design that is reminiscent of the traditional Ang Bao opening ritual. Customers can further elevate the gift by adding a spritz of HUAT Eau De Parfum to it, allowing recipients of the QR Ang Bao to indulge in the scent of prosperity as they unveil their gift.
“We are excited to introduce this unique perfume as a complement to our QR Ang Bao, especially as more customers embrace and use it for their festive gifting. This idea was inspired by feedback from some customers who cited the absence of the scent of money as a reason for not switching to digital gifting. By adding a layer of sensory delight to the QR Ang Bao gifting experience, we hope to be able to spread more joy and ‘huat’ to our customers and their loved ones this Chinese New Year,” said Lim Bee Bee, head of marketing, Consumer Banking Group (Singapore), DBS Bank.
"Fragrance has always been rooted in powerful storytelling and primal sensory experiences. While the adoption of e-gifting has increased in the digital age, HUAT Eau De Parfum adds a unique sensory dimension to this, enhancing traditions in a way that is fun and surprising,” said Nicholas Ye and Mavis Neo, co-chief creative officers, The Secret Little Agency.
The Secret Little Agency worked closely with perfume laboratory Oo La Lab to develop the scent from scratch and nail down the perfect notes for the fragrance.
“We knew that freshly printed notes had a distinctive smell; a delicate mix of effervescent aldehydes, inky paper and soft musk. HUAT Eau De Parfum is as close as we could get to the smell of prosperity, and specifically, the festive mix of smells typically associated with the fragrance from red packets, greeting cards and new legal tender notes printed in Singapore” said Dan Terry Jacobson, Founder of perfume laboratory, Oo La Lab.
The unique fragrance will be given out for free at:
- The bank’s pop-up ATMs at Tampines Hub and Fernvale CC from 3 to 8 February
- River Hongbao 2024 (QR Ang Bao Booth) from 8 to 9 February
To receive a bottle, one will need to download the DBS PayLah! app and use it to send a QR Ang Bao or eGift to their loved ones (min $8).
