Most people I know would consider themselves “self-proclaimed foodies” but many don't understand how big a role their nose plays in taste. Before your taste buds even touch food, the aromatic flavors reach your nose and travel straight through the olfactory bulb with the help of 400 scent receptors and straight into your brain. Remember when Covid wiped out so many people's sense of smell? One of the biggest complaints was that food didn't taste the same. For a few, their taste would never come back to what it was before their scent was interrupted. The team at FragranceX put together this great visual on The Powerful Link Between Smell, Memory and Emotion. One interesting fact shows that Dunkin Donuts increased the amount of people coming in by 16% and increased overall sales by 29% for stores along a bus route that was able to emit the smell of coffee throughout the bus whenever a DD commercial came on the radio. This tactic is called olfactory marketing or scent marketing and is a helpful technique to boost sales and keep loyal customers. I know that I am a sucker for DD coffee so that ad would definitely work for me.
