"Aroma" news and stories

Scientists in the Netherlands say it could be possible to create foods with smells that suppress hunger as a means of battling the bulge, Business Week reports.

While researchers have tried to create foods that could make you feel fuller faster, in the past efforts focused on what happened to food after it was chewed and swallowed, the scientists said in a press release.

But now, some are trying to change the way food affects you while you're chewing it.

Yesterday I read that McDonald's is exiting the so-called home-meal replacement market with its sale of Boston Market to Sun Capital. Heck, I didn't even know they owned it.

To my credit I do know that Boston Market started in Colorado, just like Chipotle, which McDonald's sold its interest in a while back. At one time Mickey D's had its greasy fingers in a lot of pies, including Donatos Pizza and the Aroma coffee chain. It still owns one-third of Pret a Manger, but that, too, may soon go on the block since Pret itself is shopping around for a buyer.

Specifics of the deal, which should close in a few weeks, have not been divulged. A McDonald's spokesman had this to say: "This is consistent with our successful strategy to focus on brand, a strategy that continues to deliver results." Well, duh. I can't even begin to understand why McDonald's bought into a chain that presents itself as an alternative to an old-fashioned turkey dinner.

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I don't know how many of you folks out there have noticed that it isn't just the perfume makers who are using those scented ads in magazines. Pepsi did the same when it released its Black Cherry / Vanilla flavored Diet Pepsi Jazz. Scratch and sniff ads have been around for awhile but for dog food? Pedigree tried them at supermarkets and pet stores. Have you walked into a bakery and smelled that warm and comforting aroma of just baked bread? My local bakery has an electronic dispenser that sprays an artificial baking scent into the store every few minutes. Mars has been scenting its M&M World retail stores with a chocolate smell to make the experience more enveloping. Verizon recently did the same in its stores with the release of LG Chocolate phones. Do you remember smellavision from old TV cartoons? Well it's here. ScentAndrea has an 8,000 scent dispensing, flat panel screen monitor available in stores like Kroger's and Wal-mart to help make sales.

Scent is the most powerful of the human senses, and the most primitive. This is something I first learned when I was studying psychology in college. The right scent can trigger deep and long forgotten emotions and bring up feelings of every type. Marketers have known about this for a long time, which is why scent is starting to play a bigger role in many products advertising budgets. The best part about it from the sales perspective is that smell can help nudge you in a certain emotional direction without the person even noticing it. Sort of like a nasal version of Vulcan mind control. To boldly go, where no one has smelled before. Keep your eye's out... Uh, nose, for a lot more scent marketed advertising to come.

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It appears that this time it wasn't a K-9 unit, but rather a police officer, that did the nose work. After a pizza delivery woman reported being robbed at knife-point, Bartholomew County Sheriff's Deputy Jimmy Green canvassed the Columbus, Indiana, neighborhood to investigate. Green apparently noticed the distinct aroma of sausage and pepperoni at one residence. A search of the house turned up the missing pizzas and cash, a knife, and a phonebook still open to the pizza section, according to The Associated Press. Two young men believed to be the robbers were arrested at the house.

[Via Slice]

While browsing del.icio.us the other day I came across a link to WikiHow page on tasting dark chocolate. There are 11 suggested steps to getting the most out of your chocolate tasting experience. The first encourages you to "mute all kinds of background noise, such as television, music, a crying baby, etc." (Will someone please mute the baby?) After that comes palate cleansing and several tips for taking in the aroma, visual appearance and texture of the chocolate. There is also a list of suggested brands, in case you want to do some side-by-side comparisons.