Who Is Franziska Josteit?
Franziska Josteit is an entrepreneur, scent designer, and perfume expert best known as the founder of Luisa Jo – Wild Perfumery, a luxury fragrance house redefining perfume as a tool for personal and brand identity. With over a decade of experience at International Flavors & Fragrances, where she held roles across sales, consumer insights, and scent design, Franziska brings a rare blend of strategic insight and creative mastery to her work. Today, she advises high-end brands and individuals on scent branding, creates bespoke fragrances, and speaks internationally on the power of scent in customer experience—helping her clients stand out through an unmistakable, invisible signature.
There are moments when creativity quietly announces itself, not through spectacle, but through sensation. For Franziska Josteit, that moment arrived not in a boardroom or laboratory, but in a simple, unexpected compliment. A perfume oil she had created privately, never intended for sale, caught the attention of a stranger who stopped and said, “It’s you… you smell gorgeous.”
What followed was not just admiration for a scent, but recognition of something deeper: fragrance as identity. That single encounter planted the seed for what would become Luisa Jo – Wild Perfumery, a luxury perfume house built on the belief that scent is not an accessory, it is an invisible signature.
The name itself reflects that philosophy. Luisa Jo is drawn directly from Franziska’s own identity, her second name, Luisa, chosen for its international ease and memorability, paired with “Jo,” taken from the first two letters of her last name, Josteit. Subtle yet intentional, the name mirrors her approach to perfumery: personal without being overt, distinctive without explanation.
Where Strategy Meets Sensibility
Franziska’s journey into perfumery was never accidental. Educated in business and marketing, including advanced studies at the University of Amsterdam, she developed an early fluency in consumer behavior, branding, and commercial strategy. Yet even then, her interests gravitated toward the emotional layers of decision-making—the why behind human choice.
That curiosity led her to International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), one of the world’s leading fragrance houses. Over more than a decade, Franziska moved through sales and marketing, consumer insights, and eventually into a creative role as a Scent Design Manager.
Her work demanded both analytical rigor and emotional intelligence: understanding cultural nuances, translating consumer desires into olfactive language, and managing complex global projects. She wasn’t just learning how perfumes are made, she was learning how people remember, desire, and connect.
During these years, Franziska also became a natural educator, designing and leading perfume trainings that bridged science and storytelling.
“Fragrance isn’t just chemistry,” she often explains. “It’s psychology, culture, and emotion, layered together.”
Choosing Freedom Over Comfort
After twelve years in a global corporate environment, Franziska reached a crossroad familiar to many high-performing professionals. Her role was comfortable. The work was exciting. The trajectory was clear. And yet, something essential was missing.
“When I moved into the creative side of the business, I felt a deep desire to create something of my own—without limitations or boundaries,” she recalls.
That desire took form in a deeply personal experiment: creating a skin-scent enhancer for her partner, someone who didn’t identify with commercial fragrances. The goal was subtlety, intimacy, authenticity. What emerged was not a traditional perfume, but a scent that amplified the wearer rather than overshadowing them.
For years, Franziska watched as people noticed—not the perfume itself, but the presence it created. Stories accumulated. Reactions repeated. Eventually, the realization became unavoidable.
“My biggest motivation was knowing that I would regret it if I never tried,” she says.
With that clarity, she stepped away from corporate security and founded Luisa Jo – Wild Perfumery.
Scent as Personal Branding
Luisa Jo is not built for mass appeal, and that is intentional. Franziska rejects the idea of fragrance as a seasonal commodity. Her perfumes are designed to become the scent, not a scent.
“If we all smell the same, what’s the point?” she asks.
Her clients don’t collect perfumes; they commit to one. Each creation functions as a personal branding tool, an olfactive identity that enters the room before words are spoken.
This philosophy has resonated deeply with both individuals and brands. Franziska advises high-end companies on scent branding, helping them integrate fragrance into customer experience strategies. Research supports her intuition: scent marketing has been shown to increase customer satisfaction and retail performance, precisely because smell bypasses logic and speaks directly to emotion.
“I’m not selling a product,” she says. “I’m selling an experience—a feeling of excitement, wilderness, and desire.”
Her approach has earned the respect of senior leaders and clients alike. One executive who worked with her describes her as “resilient, receptive, and unapologetically ambitious,” noting that “she doesn’t just sell you a product—she builds a relationship, tailoring every interaction so you feel seen, heard, and remembered.”
Whether through bespoke creations, immersive workshops, or keynote appearances, Franziska consistently reframes fragrance as a strategic asset, one that connects identity, memory, and emotion in ways few other tools can.
Vision for the Future
Despite her entrepreneurial momentum, Franziska measures success differently than most.
“It’s not about earning millions,” she reflects. “It’s about living an adventurous life.”
Today, she balances her role as founder and creative director with her most important responsibility: being a mother of two. That reality informs her leadership philosophy—one grounded in focus, intentionality, and long-term vision.
She practices visualization and disciplined planning, breaking ambitious goals into manageable steps. “Different life stages need different priorities,” she says. “Staying aware of that keeps me grounded.”
Looking ahead, Franziska remains committed to exclusivity over scale, depth over volume. Luisa Jo will continue to serve those who want to stand out, not loudly, but unmistakably.
Editorial Note
Franziska Josteit’s story is a reminder that the most powerful forms of branding are often invisible. Through courage, craft, and conviction, she has transformed scent into a language of identity, one that lingers long after the moment has passed.
For leaders, creatives, and brands seeking differentiation in a crowded world, her work poses a compelling question: What impression do you leave behind—before you ever speak?
