Top creative leader Nils Andersson launches FIFTYSIX: A China-born fine fragrance brand

After more than three decades of shaping some of the world’s most awarded advertising work in large multinational networks, and then co-founding his own creative agency in China, creative leader Nils Andersson begins a new chapter: luxury perfumery.

Since starting his own agency, Stig&Xi, with Chinese partner Maxine Jia in 2018, Nils Andersson has taken every opportunity to embrace change beyond advertising.

Andersson believes there is no standing still in today’s market: “The industry is in meltdown, morphing before our very eyes. The networks are careering into one another like rudderless supertankers. Shorter lead times on production and more competitive pitches for less revenue. AI fears are dominating the conversation. Youth and social-led content creators are the new norm. Talented people are on the streets in all markets around the world, out of work. And the final nail in the coffin of one of the great agency names of the business has just been hammered home.”

As creative people, Andersson believes we should not sit and wait for the dust to settle.

“We have to adapt and step out of our comfort zones; in doing so, there is always a new solution to be found,” says Andersson.

He believes the very act of creating a ’start-up’ rewires your thinking from the moment you begin. Since arriving in the China market some twenty years ago, Andersson has openly embraced the new. Even the very notion of a move to China then was not for the many.

Fast forward to today. Having already built Stig&Xi into a successful, highly awarded agency in the country, the feeling was that there must be another exciting chapter – one where the skills the company has can be applied to something outside the normal realms of the industry.

“If we can’t control where the future goes, at least we can control what we are trying to do and create,” he says.

The seeds of that chapter were sown when his brother, Paul Andersson, moved to Shanghai six years ago as President of Firmenich China – the world’s best-known fragrance creator, founded in Switzerland.

It was, therefore, only a matter of time before the two brothers found a way to embark on something entirely new.

Paul’s knowledge and experience in international fragrance, garnered over 30 years, combined with Nils’s craft, design, and advertising background, along with a local team of talented artists and designers, began to take shape.

They sat down together with the Chinese team – in particular, the highly talented designer Onyx Liu, who kept everyone focused on creating an authentic new story true to the culture, whilst Maxine Jia and Miika Sun kept everything on track.

What should the new brand be about? What were they passionate about? What was ripe for a fresh approach? It seemed to the team that the fragrance world had many conventions – not just marketing conventions, but fragrance ingredient and craft approach conventions too.

They thought: there must be another way.

So, FIFTYSIX was born. A fine-fragrance brand inspired by the stories and rich cultural heritage of the country’s diverse ethnic groups.

“We began with a simple but ambitious idea: a luxury brand by China, for China, of China – and ultimately the world. One that celebrates its diverse culture through myth, craft, and imagination,” says Nils.

On the global luxury stage, China is usually portrayed through a narrow, clichéd lens. Chinese brands often try to appear foreign rather than having an authentic cultural root. The team saw an opportunity not just to create a fragrance line, but to share the wealth of China’s unique cultural depth with the world through a premium, elevated medium.

China’s fragrance heritage dates back over 5,000 years, to when scent was inextricably linked with health, beauty, spirituality, sexual attraction, and pure sensory pleasure.

“The dynastic nobility and elite of China were wearing fragrance when Europe barely wore clothes,” Paul Andersson notes.

“Born from a landscape of over 30,000 botanical species and shaped by the traditions of its cultures, this heritage is long, deep, diverse – and unmistakably alive.”

The result is eight unique unisex fragrances created by some of the world’s most celebrated master perfumers.

The bottle designs echo the traditions of ancient Chinese water-carrying vessels yet are seen through a contemporary lens. They do not portray the past but reimagine the future. Just as each of the fragrance stories has a beating heart based in culture, it is represented for ‘now.’ Each label design centers around an aperture that allows us to view the contents of the bottle inside.

“Think of it as a window into the soul of the story – and the potion,” says Nils Andersson.

The packaging is inspired by a reinterpretation of the drawers of ancient medicine cabinets. Each composition took many months to perfect, undergoing the same rigorous creative and sensory process used by the world’s most established maisons. Yet in this case, the usual constraints were removed. This meant no need for consumer validation or cost limitations – simply bringing to life the finest quality version of the story in a unique fragrance.

From Mongolian long-song chants echoing across the grasslands to the ancient indigo-dyeing practices of the Miao people – even the reimagining of love potions from the distant past – FIFTYSIX brings heritage to life through contemporary, world-class perfumery.

SOMA’S TEAR. A love potion inspired by the tragic legend of the Yi people. A timeless story of forbidden love, set 2,000 years into the future – for love is truly eternal.

WILD HEART. An untamed burst of freedom inspired by the vast Mongolian grasslands. A tribute to the free-spirited souls among us all.

FIRE WATER. A fearless fusion of fire and alchemy, born of the ancient pursuit of immortality that, en route, gave birth to gunpowder. Here, it is recreated as a statement of explosive passion.

“We begin with eight stories that span the culture,” says Nils. “Each with its own unique backstory.”

While the vision began with the brothers, the brand is built with Chinese collaborators – historians, cultural researchers, filmmakers, illustrators, and scent specialists. Their input ensures the stories are represented thoughtfully, grounding each fragrance in authentic narrative rather than abstraction or exoticism.

For Nils, the project reflects something deeply personal.

“China has given me so much over the years,” he says. “My career, my friendships, and many of my most important life experiences were shaped here. FIFTYSIX is my way of giving something back – by helping tell Chinese stories to the world through fragrance.”

With FIFTYSIX, the aim is to build a new chapter in modern Chinese luxury – one rooted in craft, authenticity, heritage, and emotional depth.

FIFTYSIX launches this month in Shanghai, marking a bold new direction for one of advertising’s most recognizable creative leaders. A direction that he also hopes will inspire others in the market to believe in the power of their own creativity to effect change.

Credits
Brand Team: Onyx Liu, Maxine Jia, Miika Sun, Danny Low, Xiaoxin Gong
Directors: Hao Liu, Di Lu, Duncan Bone
Photographers: ABAO, Sean Gao
Agency: Stig&Xi Shanghai
Fragrance creators: dsm-firmenich

Available in China via WeChat. Search FIFTYSIX.

International enquiries: Miika@parfums56.com