Jovan perfumes form part of the Coty Inc. portfolio of brands. Its history starts as Jovan Inc. in 1968, founded by Bernard Mitchell in the city of Chicago, picking the name because it both sounded French and it resembled the phonetics of their two main competitors, Avon and Revlon. The introduction of the very successful Jovan Musk Oil in 1972 consolidated the potential for best-selling status. The infamous line proclaimed “Drop for drop, Jovan Musk Oil has brought more men and women togetherthan any other fragrance in history”, introducing a sexual positioning advertising that paid handsomely. Subsequent successful launches paved the way to the company’s sale to the Beecham Group in 1979. Later on, in 1988 a leveraged buyout to its managers left the company known as Quintessence. The Quintessence unit merged into Coty Inc. in 1993, retaining the name Jovan which had become the stuff of many scented memories for millions of Americans and people around the world. Today Jovan still produces many of its classics, including Musk, White Musk, Musk for Men, Sex Appeal, Island Gardenia, Black Musk, and Gingeng NRG.
