Perfumes and Their Significance in Product Marketing

November 19, 2023

Various fragrances affect spontaneous brain activities and cognitive functions. Actually, scents (fragrances) often prompt immediate emotional responses and have overall physiologic effects such as mood, stress and an influence on working capacity. This has been demonstrated through electrophysiological studies.

Human beings, as well as animals (Monkeys, Cow, Elephants etc.) are created with a sensory organ which comprises of olfactory epithelium, olfactory bulb and higher olfactory cortex, all making a system (olfactory system). One cannot switch off the system, just as we would close our eyes, probably in a bid to avoid watching a disturbing scene.

And Since the sense of smell cannot be turned off, marketers are becoming aware of its usefulness in communicating with consumers. Over the last few decades, consumers have been increasingly influenced by ambient scents, which are defined as general odors that emanate from a product and are present as part of the retail environment. Some traditional popular scents for example, the Johnson’s Baby Powder Scent, when incorporated in home-made lotions, is likely to sell more than a lotion with Pure Lavender or Jasmine

From evoking nostalgic memories to stimulating appetites, this use of scent in product manufacturing has immense potential to create memorable brand experiences and influence consumer behavior, besides visual and auditory dimensions of branding.

Scent branding has the power to forge strong emotional connections between brands and their consumers. As a result, this invisible form of branding offers businesses a unique opportunity to establish a distinct and lasting identity.

Here in Kenya, for example, 20% of the consumer response to products like Bathing soap, Hair shampoos, Detergents, Skin and Hair care cosmetics is influenced by Scent Preference. This means that a brand without a good scent may lose 20% of its customers!

Scents and Memories

In our adulthood, many of us have had experiences where a certain smell—perhaps, Dettol, Fresh uncooked fish or the fresh bathroom smell -floods our brain with memories of a distinct event, eg. Hospitals, Auntie’s home or location that we associate clearly with certain emotions

I remember the year I joined Form 3, in Garba Tulla High School, our seating arrangement saw me have a Boran Lady, Ms Halima Halake, as my desk mate. She used to apply Pears, a cream brand that was very popular in the 80s. The last time I smelt the cream was in late 80s but I remember our “Auntie” our then house help used to apply it.

The very day we shared the seat with Halima for the first time, the memories of the house help, whom, together with my siblings we were very fond of, became vivid and often made me feel sleepy. I developed an unusual friendship with the girl that my desk mates used to say jokes that were unpleasant.

Again, in my first pre-clinical assignment in Masaka regional hospital, Uganda, I visited the Nurses Station in surgical ward and the Dettol Smell reminded me of our Rural health centre in Ruiri where I was given jabs by Timothi, a Clinical Officer in the early 80s following a bruise I sustained after head-to-head collision with fellow nursery school pupil (a Mr. Thiolo, pronounced as Siolo) while running around the classroom.

Bad Memories Stress Disorders and Attraction

While some craftily made scents can arouse positive emotions like man-to-woman attraction, it is also noteworthy that some smells can be linked to strong negative emotions, a connection which can play a significant role in contributing to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some people cannot withstand the smell of perfumes that were used during burial and funerals of their dead loved ones even after many years past the incident.

How to Duplicate Popular Scents

In our routine classes for Perfumery, our trainees often ask us if we can reproduce some scents that belong to powerful brands such as Cussons and downy. While the answer is always on the affirmative, we are quick in reminding them that these are patented and in the case of the expired patent, we can produce the exact replica of the scent, including that of Cussons Imperial Leather Soap, Downy etc.

It takes a dedicated research, trial and errors, time and resources to copy an existing scent. I remember very well in 2020 during the Covid lockdown, I spent most of my time in Lab 3 doing a number of reverse engineering for some products from the Middle East brought to us by clients from Somalia. Among the achievements I made was duplicating Downy Scent with 99.8% specificity. In the year 2022 February, I managed to create Cusson’s Imperial Leather scent with 99.7% specificity. The task of reverse engineering is always tedious, and in the case of Scents, temporary olfactory damage (medically known as Anosmia) can occur. We invite everyone to sample our Scents in Lab 3. Training on general perfumery is also done on daily basis. Talk to our training coordinator Ms Kiki on Mobile number 0710 2023 26

This article is written by Dr. Herman Koome Kithinji, MD

Fabric rinse perfumes made for customer sampling in Lab 3

Written by Cosmetics Kenya Posted in Uncategorized