Product launches may gain an edge when consumers get a whiff.
ScentAir Technologies, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based technology company, has provided wide-area scent-enhancement systems to retailers such as BI-LO grocers and the Hershey's store in New York's Times Square. Recently, the firm devised a smaller, less expensive device for use with product-specific promotions. "It's like product sampling, but instead of costing $400 to $500 per 1,000 samples, it can be delivered for $10 to $20," according to CEO Forrest Fleming. Pilots for Kraft Foods' Post Banana Nut Crunch cereal and General Mills' Pillsbury Cookie Dough were executed in the fall, and Fleming expects major promotions to break in the coming months. Remy Amerique is using the technology to launch Mount Gay flavored rums, with vanilla or mango aromas wafting around liquor displays.