Bath & Body Works adds dryer sheets to laundry line as it seeks to reclaim fragrance market share

Bath & Body Works, best known for candles and body care, is turning to fragrance-driven household categories to strengthen its position in the market. The millennial favorite now faces heightened competition, particularly for younger consumers, from celebrity-backed brands like Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty, as well as mall stalwarts like Gap, amid a broader fragrance boom. Its top 10 scents still generate about $1 billion annually, according to Bath & Body Works, but its U.S. fragrance share has slipped to 13% from 16% in 2021, per IBISWorld. The new launch is meant to grow baskets among loyal shoppers while reinforcing the brand’s image as a fragrance destination.

“The consumer really was asking for dryer sheets,” Betsy Schumacher, the company’s chief merchandising officer, said in an interview. “We were excited to be able to bring the dryer sheets in at this point in time and to be able to satisfy that ask from the customer.”

Analysts say the move signals an attempt to make a mundane household item more fashionable. “No one’s really making dryer sheets stylish and fashionable as a statement,” said Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at digital consultancy CI&T. “To move into this space with a mission that is more sartorial is pretty genius.”

Doubling down on laundry

The fabric care collection began with a small test two years ago and expanded to all stores and online in 2024. Schumacher said nearly one-third of customers who purchase from the laundry category have returned to buy again. That repeat rate reflects traction in what remains a relatively new segment for the company, she added.

Bath & Body Works is introducing the dryer sheets just ahead of the holiday quarter, a season when its candles and lotions are perennial gift items. Schumacher said the timing was intentional. The company has ramped up marketing and initiatives to position its products as affordable luxuries and ideal gifts year-round, including launching a Disney villains-themed product line aimed at Halloween season sales. On an earnings call in May, Bath & Body Works said gifting helped drive sales while the candle category has lagged.

“Often when people come in buying gifts, they also buy gifts for themselves,” Schumacher said. “Our ability to take a category like laundry and make it so beautiful is something only we can do.”

Minkow said that while the fragrances may help differentiate Bath & Body Works in the category, persuading shoppers to pick up dryer sheets at the mall won’t be automatic. “I don’t think a consumer is necessarily going to reroute and make a destination out of Bath and Body Works specifically for the dryer sheets, unless this product is something really unique and different,” she said. “They’re going to have to build some positioning here and some association in consumers’ minds.”

At $7.95, the sheets are priced lower than some specialty competitors but higher than mass-market options. Schumacher said affordability was a central consideration. “We always try to make sure that we sit in a place where we are affordable for our customers,” she said. “We want to give them the very most high quality scents, but we also want to make sure that they are at a price she can afford.”

That balance is harder to strike as consumers pull back on discretionary spending. Uncertainty around U.S. sweeping tariffs has pressured inflation-weary shoppers to cut back on non-essential spending, contributing to a recent profit miss in the company’s second quarter. While Bath & Body Works is largely shielded from tariffs thanks to its predominantly U.S.-based supply chain, it still faces higher operating costs and softer demand for premium-priced items like fragrances and candles.

Schumacher said the company’s local manufacturing supports affordability and speed to market. “It helps us with speed, so we can react very quickly after we get new products out in the world, to be able to scale them,” she said.

Competing in a crowded market

The expansion into laundry comes as the U.S. fragrance industry experiences both growth and increased competition. Sales of perfumes and scented products have surged in recent years. According to market research firm Circana, fragrance is driving the fastest growth across the global beauty market. In the first half of 2025, prestige fragrance sales increased 6% to $3.9 billion and grew on all metrics including units sold and average selling price. Sales of mass-market fragrances surged by 17%, driven by women’s fragrances. 

Despite the fragrance hype, shares of Bath & Body Works have declined 18% over the past year, and in 2024, Bath & Body Works was dropped from the S&P 500. In May, the company hired Nike veteran Daniel Heaf to take over as CEO. Since his appointment, he has outlined a strategy built around expanding distribution, investing in digital and sharpening product efficacy. That has included testing third-party channels, such as college bookstores, to reach Gen Z shoppers. Bath & Body Works has also tested exclusive launches on TikTok Shop, which the company joined last fall.

The laundry line fits into the company’s broader effort to claw back share. Household fragrance products allow Bath & Body Works to extend its best-known scents beyond candles and body lotion. “Our secret sauce is that we can take a fragrance and bring it across multiple forms,” Schumacher said, pointing to scents like Champagne Toast and Mahogany Teakwood, which now appear in candles, body care, car fresheners and laundry.

While the company’s new dryer sheets are only available in core scents, Schumacher said that seasonal fragrances — like the company’s “Vampire Blood” Halloween-themed laundry scent — have performed well within laundry. Bath & Body Works will continue to bring in seasonal newness alongside a consistent core assortment. As Schumacher put it, “Seasonal is very much a part of our consumers’ ask from this category.”

Looking ahead, Minkow said the product could pave the way for Bath & Body Works to move deeper into the home. “I hope they’re able to create success with this, and then expand that success in a way that’s easily transferable, because there’s possibility there for sure,” she said.