Some of us will probably always be enthralled by the way Heston Blumenthal, world renowned scientific food chef, comes up with what he does. Now, a New York grocery store has started applying one of Heston’s techniques. Namely, pairing real food with artificial scents infused into the air in the store via scent machines, to induce sales.

Scent Air, the American firm responsible for the manufacture of the scent machines, now has a presence in about 105 countries, and says of its business:

[It’s about] how businesses are breaking through the mundane and overused marketing gimmicks to reach customers emotionally.

It’s finally being innovative enough to involve the strongest of the five human senses in a marketing campaign. It’s the art of incorporating smell into the business of marketing and branding.

The Brooklyn supermarket has five scent machines, including a grapefruit smell in the produce section, chocolate in the candy aisle and rosemary focaccia for the bakery.

Traditionally, shops and delicatessens have offered tasters to potential customers, but this new technique is specifically targeting a shopper’s sense of smell.

Although sales figures haven’t gone through the roof yet – the supermarket is only claiming an increase in produce sales turnover of about seven percent – it’s garnering customer attention.

And now, the all important bit, if you’d like to create your own original scent, you will be in for about R35 000.

[Source: TimeNewsFeed]