"scent" news and stories

Sure, the smell of apple pie is comforting and welcoming, but when I heard that some Sheraton Four Points Hotels were going to use the scent of cinnamon apple pie as a way to make guests feel welcome, I was a little skeptical. Luckily, it appears they're also using plenty of real pie as well. A Four Points exec has even joined the board of directors of the Pie Council of America (yes, it exists). Other hotels use food smells as well, including green and white teas, fig and bergamot, according to USA Today. Coincidentally, a recent episode of Good Eats also talked about how smell relates to memory and emotion.

[Via AdJab]

From Grateful Palate, the brilliant folks that brought us the Bacon of the Month Club, come these bacon, lettuce and tomato scented votive candles. Justifying the need for the smell of bacon in one's home seems unnecessary, but nevertheless, the Grateful Palate offers this pitch: "You may want to light them in your kitchen, office or bedroom or wherever you seek sensual pleasure and enlightenment; by yourself or with someone special." I'd say that "someone special" is an understatement. If anyone responds favorably to your setting the mood with a bacon candle, then you're talkin' soul-mate. I still don't quite understand the "Bacon=Freedom" part, though. The set of three, which sells for $33.95, would seem to go against the hunger-quelling candles that Sarah posted about last month.

At Luxist, Deidre reported that a new scent called the Spirit of Scotland is to go on sale soon. Following in the footsteps of another unusual scent, the Spirit of Scotland is supposed to smell like malt whisky. While people have sample the scent and given it positive reviews, not everyone feels that it actually smells like whisky. Apparently, it has smoky, peaty notes with floral overtones. Honestly, it seems like you wouldn't want to walk around smelling like whisky all day, so it's probably just as well that the perfume is not an exact match for the spirit. Of course, if you already walk around smelling like whisky and are looking for a way to hide that, this could be the perfect product. 

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A few months ago, I mentioned that some food producers were testing out a new advertising strategy where they add smells to their packaging , trying to lure customers in with scents that promised how tasty their products would be. Grocery stores also appear to be applying this technique. The flyer pictured here, for example, is one I recently received in the mail from my local supermarket that tried to lure me with its sensory (scent-sory?) appeal.

To experience the smell, the oven door had to be "opened," but I was cautious in my approach because the warning label read "Do not open if you are highly sensitive to fragrances." How strong could this smell be? Keeping the flyer at a distance, just to be safe, I peeled back the label. It actually smelled pretty good and, much to my surprise, not entirely unlike the blueberry muffins it was trying to represent.

One small sample wasn't overwhelming, but I certainly can't imagine a whole store filled with them. Like the perfume samples that infest so many magazines, I can imagine advertisers increasing the strength of their scents until they're overwhelming. Walking through the bakery section and smelling fresh breads is one thing, but once the cereal aisle starts to smell I think the idea will lose a lot of its appeal.

AriZona Beverage Co., which produces a line of popular iced teas, is experimenting with some new advertising techniques. The company already uses bright, eye-catching labels and graphics and is now experimenting with adding scent to its packaging. AriZona is working on embedding the smell of its products inside the cap of its bottles, but other companies are using other technologies to appeal to consumers, like scented inks. The Washington Post reports that the sales industry is frantically trying to come up with new ways to lure shoppers into trying their products, as television ads are shown to be increasingly less effective.

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