For a brand whose heritage is rooted in sourcing British ingredients, returning to the earth is no small matter. Veggies —a limited edition available starting in June 2026—features three colognes built around vegetable notes, an olfactory territory that niche perfumery has been exploring for two decades but that major fragrance houses have long avoided.
Butternut squash as the heart note. Beet as the top note. Carrot blossom as the floral accord—not the carrot itself, but its umbellate flower, with a slight aniseed note, which is found in *Carrot Blossom* with a base of patchouli and a top note of fennel. This choice is worth noting: using the flower rather than the root signals a botanical interpretation of the plant, not merely a culinary one. Jo Malone London doesn’t scent the kitchen; she looks at the vegetable garden from the stem up.
Velvety Butternut structures its fragrance pyramid differently: ginger at the top, butternut in the heart, and patchouli at the base. The tonka bean mentioned in the narrative description does not appear in the official fragrance pyramid—a discrepancy between the presentation text and the technical specifications. Scarlet Beetroot follows a more straightforward approach: blackcurrant at the top, beetroot at the heart, and patchouli at the base—a fruity-earthy accord reminiscent of the work of certain niche perfumers with fermented ingredients.
Patchouli, a common ingredient in all three compositions, functions here as a woody anchor rather than as an oriental signature note. This is its classic role in green and vegetal accords: to anchor notes that tend to evaporate too quickly.
Beyond juices, the collection extends into the home—the Green Tomato Vine candle in two sizes, the Tomato Leaf diffuser, soap formulated with naturally derived glycerin and oil from the seeds of Limnanthes alba, a white-flowered plant grown primarily in Oregon, whose oil is renowned for its stability in cosmetic formulations.
Céline Roux, International Director of Fragrances, frames the project within a specific contemporary context: “We loved the idea that people, even in the heart of cities like London, could grow their own carrots and herbs […] something grown at home, a little raw, unrefined, but reimagined with a fresh twist. ” The statement gets to the heart of it: Veggies is not a naturalistic collection. It’s a collection about the desire for urban nature—a desire that, since the post-2020 resurgence of balcony gardens, has significantly broadened its audience.
It’s puzzling that Jo Malone London—a brand whose signature lies in floral lightness and London-inspired accords—would choose this particular moment to go underground. Vegetables as a serious olfactory ingredient are no longer a niche provocation. It’s starting to look like a consensus.
Detail
Limnanthes alba, known as “meadowfoam,” is grown primarily in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Its oil is extracted by cold pressing and contains more than 95% long-chain fatty acids, which gives it very high oxidative stability. In soap formulations, it is frequently used as a non-comedogenic emollient in place of jojoba oil.
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