Can You Sell Scents On A Wholesale Basis To Companies?-Scent Marketing

Usually, when people hear about the “scent industry” what comes to mind for them are the small but expensive perfume bottles being sold individually in high end department stores and other luxury stores. But do you know that you can make good profit selling scents in bulk?

This is because there is a growing demand for scents that can be bought in bulk. Having worked as a chemical compounder (one who mixes chemicals) in a personal care company before, I know that there is good money to be made from selling scents in bulk.

The chemical industry actually manufactures in bulk concentrated scents that are then bought and watered down by personal care companies to be turned as fragrances for perfumes, colognes, deodorants, aftershaves and so on.

So, if you wanted to manufacture and sell a bargain basement version of an expensive perfume, all you need to do is to buy the concentrated perfume fragrance from one of these chemical companies. This is the oldest way for a small company to make money off fragrances.

Did you know that according to the research of Stevens Institute Of Technology, one of the oldest universities in America, the scent of coffee alone increases a person’s performance and ability to focus?

This is the reason why there are some companies who are pumping scents in their office vents: To influence their employees to perform work better and to focus more on their work. This might seem pseudoscience but if there’s scientific proof to back it up, it must be true.

For example, the research of Stevens Institute Of Technology which stated that coffee scent has an effect on people is further reinforced by The University Of California which stated that the smell/scent of coffee has a calming effect on people.

The Tubingen University of Germany meanwhile stated that vanilla fragrance has the same effect on people as coffee fragrance. Both of these fragrances have a calming effect on people.

These are just some findings made on scents by universities. There are other research into scents being conducted by private companies who are hoping that the use of scents to their employees and customers would increase their bottomline.

Burger King: That’s right, one of the biggest fast food chains in the world is using scents to influence you into eating more. Burger King use the smell of grilled meat to increase their customer’s appetite. They pump the scent in their ventilation ducts.

Abercrombie & Fitch: They have a proprietary scent developed to target upscale customers between the ages of 21 to 24. Their proprietary scent is spread throughout each corner of the store by nebulizers to engage shoppers and reduce purchasing inhibitions.

Rolls Royce: Uses the “new car smell” to increase their customer’s satisfaction with their car. In fact, the company refreshes their customer’s car with the new car smell scent everytime the car is dropped off their service centers.

Starbucks pump coffee scents in their HVAC system as a reminder for their customers to buy coffee. The scent of coffee in Starbucks is so strong that even the smell of baked treats in their coffee shops are barely noticeable unlike the strong smell of coffee.

Bloomingdales perhaps take a more scientific approach when it comes to scent marketing. The smell of coconut blankets the swimwear section, baby powder in the infant section and lilac for the lingerie section. All scents are aimed to attract more purchases.

There are still more examples of very successful companies who are using scent marketing to further attract their customers into buying more of their product and services. But does scent marketing apply to you if you’re just a small company?

Of course, no one for example wants to stay in a smelly place. That’s why toilets among other places use a lot of fragrances to drown down the foul smell of an everyday household and commercial toilet.

But if you’re for example a cafe or a hamburger shop, you can follow the example of Starbucks and especially Burger King and pump the smell of coffee or grilled meat in your shop. Coffee scented candles are for sale almost everywhere and you should have no problems finding one.

As to the scent of hamburgers, Do you know that McDonalds is selling a line of hamburger scented candles? I know, I know, it sounds ominous that the king of fast foods is trying to influence you more into buying hamburgers, but they could be good in a way.

For one, if you buy a hamburger scented candle from McDonalds, there is a good chance that your own hamburger shop would have the smell and vibe of a McDonalds shop. This is so cunning that even other hamburger companies are selling their own hamburger scented candles.

As can be seen, the scent market is growing at a good rate. According to Grand View Research, an industry reports firm, the global perfume market is worth about US$ 32.50 billion in 2019 and is poised to reach US$ 33.69 billion in 2020, CAGR is 3.9%.

With the growing use of scent marketing by companies, the market is even set to grow much further. This might be a good way for you to market scents not to individual consumers but to large companies who can buy your scents by the bulk.

Just imagine the difference between a purchase by a consumer versus a coffee shop owner for a coffee scented candle. A consumer would only use your coffee scented candle when they are around it.

In contrast, a coffee shop owner would use your coffee scented candle around the clock as long as their business is open. They might also not only use one but several of your coffee scented candles in their business.

Also, imagine the difference in purpose a coffee scented candle is to a consumer versus a coffee shop owner. The consumer treats coffee scented candles as an indulgence while a coffee shop owner might treat the candles as a necessary regular cost in running the business.

It is understandable that most of your potential corporate or small business clients might be skeptical to your scent products. Afterall, scent marketing only started in the US in the 1970s when casinos used scent diffusers in their cigarette smell infested gambling facilities.

It’s been just over 50 years since the concept was invented but still, not many companies are using it. The most common obstacle you’ll likely encounter is the issue regarding the cost of your product to your prospective clients and the value it provides for this cost.

The answer to this is of course to present your scent products as necessary business costs to increase productivity and sales. The best way to prove this is by citing how companies who have adopted scent marketing are profiting from it.

You could use for example such companies as Burger King, McDonalds, KFC and other fast food companies who are now selling their food related scents and are successful in doing so. For example, McDonalds hamburger scented candles are always sold out despite their steep price.

All you need is to make a long list of fast foods, casinos, hotels, supermarkets and other businesses who have made good money by implementing scent marketing. Show this proof to your prospective client to convince them of the effectivity of scent marketing.

There are various articles and videos online that discuss and even teach you how to make hamburger or bacon scented candles. These articles and videos like to point out that you could really use excess cooking oil grease to make candles.

But as to the whether these candles do smell like hamburgers and bacons is unclear. There are articles and videos which state that they do not while there are some articles and videos which state that they do.

Having not tried doing these candles, I leave it to you to try if you can really make hamburger and bacon scented candles just based off your excess cooking oil grease. But what is clear is that it is possible to make hamburger and even bacon scented candles.

This is of course proven by such companies like McDonalds and KFC who do create and sell hamburger scented candles and perfumes. So, if you have a friend who have a good grasp of chemistry, I suggest you ask them how these products are created.

For coffee scented candles, there should be no problem. There are plenty of coffee scents already being sold almost everywhere. It’s just a matter of adding these scents to your candle wax mixture and that’s it.

Scent marketing is being adopted by more and more companies in their bid to increase their employees’ productivity and also to extract more sales from their customers. Some companies like McDonalds and KFC have even made fragrances out of their products.

This might be a good time to enter the wholesale scents industry and target companies instead of individual consumers. This is because companies are more likely to buy your scent products in bulk and on a regular basis as compared to an individual consumer.

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