Scent has the ability to call up powerful memories in an area of the brain that controls behaviour and mood. Many brands are now using that insight to woo consumers. “The goal is to please the customer so that they linger in the space,” Cyrille Gerhardt of Smell Marketing says of the many merchants in Luxembourg that have added his firm’s services to their sales strategy.

Smell Marketing, a niche fragrance distribution firm, has been sniffing out B2B sales in Luxembourg since 2013. Gerhardt aims to optimise a company’s reputation through what he calls “olfactory scripting”. His goal is to help clients differentiate their business by associating their brand with a smell. In this way a service provider or shop owner may attach a signature aroma to a product or place. The aim is to create a more pleasurable customer experience and possibly up sell to clients.

His client base spans a broad range of international and local businesses such as jewellery boutique Pandora, the House 17 private members club and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. His grass roots marketing concept is to gain a following via recommendation. The company has also branched into the United Kingdom and is focusing on Canada.

The smell of cotton

Gerhardt says it was easy to convince buyers to choose his product due to his expertise. The 38-year-old has worked over ten years in the luxury perfume industry. One of his first patrons, clothing brand Blanc du Nil, wanted to inspire the aura of cotton, which has no scent. He created a signature fragrance with which they so deeply identified that they chose to reproduce the brand scent as a retail item so that customers could purchase it for home use.

Additionally, Gerhardt is aware of the legal matters that hang over the market, which gives buyers further confidence. “There is a growing concern over the liability of dispersing synthetics that could trigger allergic reactions. That’s why we use organic substances,” he says.

Liquid scent is aerated by a cold diffusion system that circulates a fine mist, just enough to trigger a mood. Timers regulate dissemination so there’s no waste.

Price and selection are also factors in attracting clients. Gerhardt has a catalogue of 450 fragrances and the possibility of 3,000 raw materials from which he can create the right essence for a specific environment. Costs vary depending on the contents of the scent, but pricing is more affordable due to his connections in Madagascar, cutting out middlemen. One plug and smell subscription disperses aroma throughout 300 square meters for about €100 per month.

Understandably, smell marketing is not an exact science and results can vary. That is where Gerhardt’s consultation comes in handy. For instance, for St. Valentine’s Day his company created an organic massage candle in orange flower, green tea and mango-passion fruit. He maintains that the light, sweet and soft on the skin product is reminiscent of love and wellbeing.