Guerilla marketing 101: Who Is Elijah’s journey from a NSW garage to the UK

Starting fragrance brand Who Is Elijah wasn’t on Raquel Bouris’ mind until she went to the Coachella festival in 2017. There, alongside music giants Radiohead and Beyoncé, she encountered a fragrance oil she simply couldn’t resist.

It was like nothing she had smelled before. Captivated, she bought 40 bottles wholesale and turned it into her personal signature scent. 

“At first, it was about the memories this scent held after I returned home,” Bouris says. 

“The instant I smelled the oil, I could remember every moment from Coachella.”

Inspiration struck when the compliments started. 

“I kid you not, I had over 100 people over a two-month period approach me on the street to ask what fragrance I was wearing,” she says. 

Building the Who is Elijah brand in a ‘saturated’ market

This stirred an idea – a fragrance brand that matched the complexity of luxury perfumes without the unattainable price point, built on the idea of memory. The result was HIS|HER, a genderless scent launched in 2018, designed for everyday wear. 

Fast forward just seven years, and that single fragrance has become one of 14 unique scents by Who Is Elijah – one being Bouris’ own version of the oil that started it all, a Coachella-inspired perfume called Desert Nights. 

Starting a fragrance brand in a saturated market meant hard work, and thinking outside the box. 

“Brand building took two good years,” Bouris says. 

To begin with, when her business was just her and one other employee working out of Bouris’ garage in Cronulla in New South Wales, it was all about guerilla marketing tactics that had low overheads and high return. 

“We would be on the streets giving out 2ml samples,” Bouris explains, a tactic that was repeated by the brand more recently with the launch of Ocean Eyes, when an AI-generated artwork of an oversized bottle on Bondi Beach was teamed with sample handouts along the famous promenade. 

From David Jones to Boots

Bouris’ determination and willingness to put herself and her brand out there have been key in all of its major business moments. Landing on beauty counters in David Jones was pivotal for the brand, and it started with a LinkedIn DM.

“I messaged the fragrance buyer, Kate, via LinkedIn with a little intro about myself and the three fragrances I had created,” says Bouris. “Within two days I had a reply requesting a brand deck! I worked hard for two weeks and then once I sent it to Kate, we basically got a ‘yes’ to partner instantly.”

While Bouris admits that forming store partnerships “isn’t as easy now”, and the brand has had plenty of rejections amidst its successes, Who Is Elijah is perched on the edge of global recognition, having landed a lucrative partnership with major UK beauty department store Boots in October 2024.

“I reached out to Boots in May 2023, but they politely declined a partnership as they weren’t aware of the brand,” explains Bouris. Not willing to give up so easily, Bouris flew to London with 500 Who Is Elijah Discovery Sets, and replicated her guerilla marketing tactics on London soil.

Handing out sets to customers going in and out of Boots stores, Bouris filmed the experience and posted it on social media, tagging Boots and getting their attention. “Nine months later I received an email from the head fragrance buyer,” says Bouris. 

The rest? Perfume history.

Who Is Elijah’s journey to $10 million

A “wow” moment for the brand? 2024’s Black Friday sale. “We did our first $1 million day on day one of Black Friday, which was incredible, it still doesn’t feel real,” says Bouris. 

In contrast, the same date during the brand’s launch year saw just 21 bottles of fragrance sold. Alongside her husband, Who Is Elijah CEO Adam Bouris, and creative and content Manager Jasmine Ryan, Bouris “prepped for months” to achieve record sales during retail’s biggest shopping period. She credits her team, plus doubling their customer database since 2023.

Bouris believes the overall success of Who Is Elijah comes down to being relentless. “Without the huge budgets of existing brands, it’s harder to make noise,” she says. 

Building strong partnerships, tending to the brand’s online community, and getting samples into the hands of future customers have all been integral elements of the company’s marketing journey.

“We constantly run sampling initiatives,” explains Bouris. “We aim to get our perfumes into the hands of thousands of new people each month.”

What does she see in the future of the beauty industry? The continued rise of smaller brands with a story. 

“I am seeing a lot of growth from the niche founder-lead brands, especially across Europe and the UK,” she says, adding that Australian brands are gaining traction in overseas markets.

“There is a lot of talk about Australian brands overseas, we are making our mark!” 

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