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Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, owes much of its legacy not to corporations or factories, but to families, generations of cultivators who have tended their flower fields with devotion and skill. In this chapter of The Families Behind the Fields, we turn our attention to the jasmine growers whose blossoms have defined French perfumery for centuries.

The Founding Families of Fragrance

The jasmine fields of Grasse have long been family-run, with names like Mul, Roustan, and Biancalana's deeply woven into the region’s perfumed past. These families didn’t just grow flowers; they safeguarded traditions that shaped the scent of luxury.

In the early 1900s, jasmine (particularly Jasminum grandiflorum) became the soul of many of France’s most iconic perfumes. The Mul family, perhaps the most well-known, began cultivating jasmine in 1840. Over generations, they became the trusted supplier of Chanel, particularly for N°5, a partnership that continues to this day. Their fields in Pégomas and Plascassier remain some of the most celebrated in the world.

The Art of Growing Jasmine

Each jasmine bloom must be handpicked at dawn, when its scent is at its peak. On a typical morning, thousands of tiny white petals are gathered before the sun rises too high a race against time to capture nature’s most delicate note.

The Roustan family, another emblem of Grasse’s farming community, describes the process as “a dialogue with the land.” The soil composition, altitude, and rhythm of each season determine the character of every harvest. These are details modern science can measure, but only generations of experience can perfect.

The Legacy Continues

Today, many jasmine growers have expanded their practices beyond traditional perfumery, partnering with local distillers and schools to preserve knowledge for future generations. The Mul family, now led by Joseph Mul, has even collaborated with sustainability experts to ensure that jasmine cultivation in Grasse remains both profitable and environmentally sound.

Other growers, the Roustan family run Les Jardins de la Cascade Parfumée, a certified organic farm. Their work focuses on maintaining the purity of jasmine through chemical-free cultivation, echoing the broader shift in perfumery toward transparency and authenticity.

The Biancalana family, owners of Domaine de Manon, carries on one of Grasse’s proudest traditions, growing roses and jasmine used by Dior. Their fields are living proof that luxury and locality can coexist, and that the artistry of perfumery begins long before the bottle.

( Read about the families who shaped the rose fields in our earlier article, The Families Behind the Fields: The Centifolia Rose of Grasse).

The Human Scent of Grasse

What makes these families remarkable isn’t just their craftsmanship, it’s their continuity. Each generation adds its own innovation while maintaining a shared reverence for nature’s rhythm. The jasmine fields of Grasse are more than a business; they are living legacies that carry the essence of France’s perfumed identity.

In every drop of jasmine absolute, you can trace the quiet devotion of these families, the early mornings, the worn hands, and the enduring belief that beauty begins in the soil.