Sensory-driven products and experiences connect consumers to the parallel relationship between fragrances and flavors. Trendincite LLC has a soft spot for multi-sensory products and services and has been reporting on the intricate relationship for the last two decades. From eye-catching glow-in-the-dark packaging to consumer packaged goods designed after art, to scratch-and-sniff activations and high-tech devices, there’s no shortage of creativity in new launches.
IN GLOWING COLORS
Of the five senses, our eyes are arguably the most important. Science suggests we perceive approximately 80% of all impressions using our sight. Glow-in-the-dark and color-changing formulas are the latest packaging innovations that attract consumers’ attention. In partnership with the upcoming sequel of Universal Pictures’ M3GAN 2.0 movie, Captain Morgan teamed up on the Captain M3GAN limited-edition glow-in-the-dark bottle of Original Spiced Rum. Captain Morgan also launched an exclusive Cocktail Courier, This Is the Part Where You Rum (& Cola) Kit, which includes the limited-edition rum, cherry syrup, cola, lemons, sugar rim packet, dehydrated dragonfruit slices, glow-in-the-dark pink straws, and a recipe card. In Australia, Frank Green released a limited-edition trio of glow-in-the-dark water bottles in Aurora Glow, Solar Glow, and Star Glow. These bottles feature the brand’s premium reusable ceramic design, made from at least 90% recycled stainless steel. GNC introduced the brand’s best-selling Beyond Raw LIT Pre-workout in a color- and flavor-changing formula. The flavor changes from Lemonade to Green Apple, shifting from yellow to green when shaken as the color-shifting beads dissolve. Chili’s May Margarita of the Month was the Radical ’Rita featuring “a swirling mix of dragonfruit, blue curaçao, and Lunazul blanco tequila that transforms from pink and blue into a bright purple hue when stirred with a themed swizzle stick.” Dye and accessories brand Hally Hair collaborated with SOUR PATCH KIDS on the limited-edition Glow Up Gem Pen Set, “its first-ever edible beauty collaboration.” The Hally x SOUR PATCH KIDS kit contains the brand’s viral Gem Pen tool, Glow Up Watermelon candy, a glow-in-the-dark travel pouch, and neon hair gems that light up under black light.
LEAN INTO ART
Art is a creative outlet for self-expression. Flavored and scented products are leaning into art to inspire new products. Unimocc Art Cafe Gallery in Japan serves Art Mock Drinks, which draw inspiration from famous paintings. This summer, the gallery pays tribute to Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai with two beverages. The first drink is inspired by “Fine Wind, Clear Morning,” also known as “Akafuji” (Red Fuji). The art is recreated in the drink with a cut sheet of kanten, a Japanese-style agar gelatin, for the slopes of Mt. Fuji at sunrise, piled with an edible mountain of honeyed apple, yuzu citrus gelatin, and layers of ginger soda and blue soda completed with a yuzu granita to keep everything suspended. The second beverage is inspired by “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.” It features grapefruit granita, a deep-blue jasmine soda, jasmine gelatin, and frothy jasmine foam, hand-brushed streaks of cream, sliced apple, and a matcha green tea sauce. Pura introduced Limited Edition Madame X, part of its exclusive collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Inspired by John Singer Sargent’s 1883-84 oil painting, the home fragrance features notes of apricot, bergamot, violet, saffron, osmanthus, leather, cedarwood, patchouli, and sandalwood. Water For People, a non-profit organization in Latin America, created The Dehydrating Book to highlight the issue of water scarcity and its harmful effects on children. The innovative “first of its kind book that requires water to be read” is printed with hydrochromic ink that only becomes visible when the pages are wet, and the story disappears completely as the pages dry. Colombian company Glasst offers Unpaint, a removable paint designed for temporary home decoration. This product is ideal for homeowners, realtors, and the entertainment industry. The “peelable paint can adhere to any surface and be removed by hand, without any tools or chemicals, and without leaving any residue behind.”
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES
There’s no limit to creativity. Brands experiment with old-school scratch-and-sniff technology, fermentation, and interactive experiences to connect with consumers. Natura, the Brazilian beauty brand, introduced an olfactory test in its widely circulated catalog that includes distinctive scents such as cheese, mothballs, and bacon. This smell test is paired with a 20-question assessment to help detect early signs of neurodegenerative diseases. Throughout New York City, razor brand Billie displayed scratch-and-sniff posters highlighting the new Coco Villa all-day deodorant scent on various and diverse armpits. The deodorant is also offered in Cotton Cloud, Lavender Milk, Santal Blossom, and Tidal Rose scents.
EvodiaBio, a Danish bio-industrial company, and Lallemand Brewing, a yeast science manufacturer, created Yops, a novel natural fragrance solution made from yeast. Created for the brewing sector, Yops helps improve the flavor of low- and no-alcohol beers to restore the hop aroma compounds often lost during production. According to the press release, “Yops provides brewers with a new level of control over the aroma profile of their beer in a natural manner, allowing them to achieve the desired fullness of taste and consistency.” To kick off summer, Carvel debuted “the world’s first soft serve-dispensing billboard” in New York City. In Japan, Suntory brought back its Glass and Words immersive experience. The concept bar is based on emotions. Guests selected an empty glass with a coaster marked with descriptions of emotions, and the bartender crafted a cocktail with specific ingredients to match the mood.
TECH TASTES & SMELLS
Virtual reality tasting and smelling is an area of interest, particularly for gamers. Scientists and innovators are developing devices that enable individuals to taste and smell virtually. Yizhen Jia, a graduate student in materials engineering at Ohio State University, adviser Jinghua Li, and colleagues, created a “sensor-actuator–coupled gustatory interface chemically connecting virtual and real environments for remote tasting.” The published paper in Science Advances reported that volunteers tasted flavors transmitted by a pump of a mix of chemicals that represented coffee, lemonade, fried eggs, cake, and fish soup. Liu Yiming and biomedical engineers from the City University of Hong Kong designed a “VR Lollipop,” a lickable device to try to recreate tastes in VR. The technology utilizes gel pouches to replicate various flavors, including salt, sugar, milk, cherry, citric acid, green tea, passion fruit, grapefruit, and durian. Each flavor lasts for one hour. The gel is activated by a low electrical voltage, and the flavor intensity varies based on the voltage interacting with saliva.
Last year, ASUS introduced the ASUS x Anna Sui laptop collaboration, which featured a custom fragrance dispenser in the lid. It came with three different fragrance sheets: Basil and Mandarin, Be a New Her, and Rose of Man’s Land. This year, ASUS launched a Fragrance Mouse that has an internal fragrance compartment with a refillable vial for aromatic oils and scents. The vial is removable and can be washed and refilled with different fragrances. Infinix released the Infinix Note 50s 5G+ Smartphone, which has a built-in aroma said to last for up to six months. The scent is incorporated into its vegan leather back using microencapsulation. The “Energizing Scent-Tech” highlights notes of marine, lemon, lily of the valley, amber, and vetiver. Wildflower Cases and Orebella, Bella Hadid’s fragrance brand, collaborated on the Wildflower x Orebella limited-edition collection. The Wildflower Orabella case features a crescent moon with glowing stars and fluffy clouds and the Scentable Wristlet is inspired by friendship bracelets with a delicate gold rose charm and matte beads. The porous wristlet can be sprayed with Orebella perfumes.
Creativity and technology fuel multi-sensory products and experiences. Expect more glow-in-the-dark and color-changing consumer packaged goods, art-inspired food, beverage, and scents, exploration of devices for virtual interactions, and scented technology.
Excite your senses. Let Trendincite LLC facilitate new product ideas with a custom-designed trend excursion, an interactive marketing presentation, an inspirational blog post, or hire Amy Marks-McGee as a guest speaker.