Christine Esposito, Associate Editor09.03.14
September marks a change in seasons in the US. After Labor Day, American attitudes, in general, shift from the lazy days of summer to Autumn’s activities like Sunday football, Halloween and Thanksgiving—times when friends and families come back to the great indoors.
That’s show time for home fragrance marketers.
“Fall is always an exciting time at Yankee Candle. Autumn is a time when consumers share the season’s best in their homes, as they gather with friends and family,” said Geoff Medeiros, vice president-brand and product development.
And while the recession has impacted the candle market during the past few years, the category is showing signs of recovery. US candle sales declined 9% during the 2008-13 time period; however, sales grew by 0.3% during 2012-13, the first positive growth in several years, according to data compiled by market research firm Mintel.
Looking at the mass market alone, in air fresheners, which includes items for cars and the home, there was a modest gain (0.9%) in US multi-outlets, as sales neared $2.6 billion for the 52 weeks ended July 13, 2014, according to IRI, Chicago. Home air freshener sales, led by SC Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser, declined 1.9%. Candle sales dipped 4.7%. But growth came in the smaller potpourri and/sachets sector, where sales jumped 22.7% (see chart).
Note-able Fall Launches
Whatever the method of delivery, home fragrance launches this time of year are designed to conjure up special memories of Autumn, and everything from cranberry to candy corn to apple cider is on tap at leading companies.
Reckitt’s leading Air Wick Fall collection of Good to Be Home Candles has been expanded by three new scents made with natural essential oils. They include Homemade Preserves (rich, tart notes of blackberries and sugarcane), Iced Gingerbread Cookies (gingerbread combined with anise and cardamom); and Candied Citrus Peels (candied citrus zest with notes of orange and burnt sugar). Each candle has a label that easily peels off to fit with any décor, according to the company.
Diamond Candles—which burst onto the scene last year with its candles that have a ring inside that’s revealed as the 100% soy wax melts—has also added new seasonal scents. New fragrances include Caramel Apple Cider, Candy Corn and Pumpkin Chai.
Colonial Candle, part of the MVP Group, has added six new Fall scents. The offerings range from gourmand inspired fragrances like Pumpkin Roll (billed as a new twist on a classic with notes of pumpkin, ground ginger, brown sugar cinnamon and sweet buttermilk) to more complex and sophisticated pairings such as Tobacco & Honey and Mahogany Leather, the latter of which has notes of suede and leather and combined with sheer florals, smoked myrrh and musk.
Naturally, Yankee Candle is big on finding new ways to interpret the season too. “Our new fall fragrances capture the season with harvest kitchen favorites; fresh-picked flavors from the farmer’s market are made even better with decadent goodness, like our new Berrylicious and Cranberry Pear fragrances. Another fun new offering is the Chocolate Layer Cake fragrance, which is so true to life, it’s almost good enough to eat,” said Medeiros.
In the Pure Radiance by Yankee Candle line, new limited edition scents include Orchard (the scent of fresh air, crisp red apples and bright citrus), Ginger Pumpkin (fresh-baked blend of ginger, pumpkin and cognac) and Café (a blend of roasted, sweet and creamy aromas).
While these kinds of flavorful scents are part of the company’s DNA, Yankee Candle has also invested in new technologies designed to make home fragrancing an easier process. For example, the firm recently unveiled Scenterpiece, a new line that allows customers to quickly swap out their favorite fragrances without the cooling, scraping or pouring involved with traditional tart warmers. The system is comprised of wax-filled Easy MeltCups (sold in a wide selection of classic and new Yankee Candle fragrances) and 20 different electric warmers.
The MeltCups, which offer up to 24 hours of fragrance, are cool to the touch, even when in use, and can be simply dropped in or lifted out of the warmer to change fragrances quickly. The Easy MeltCup container is a low conductor of heat, so the wax at the bottom of the cup, which is close to the heat source, gets warm enough to melt, but the grip area of the cup maintains a comfortable temperature for handling, according to Medeiros.
“We spent a lot of time talking to consumers to get a deep understanding of what they love about wax melts and where we could make the experience even better,” Medeiros told Happi. “What we discovered is that she loves to try and frequently change fragrances. However, wax melt products can be tricky and time consuming to clean, making swapping fragrances a chore. That’s why we created Scenterpiece; now she can change fragrances easily with no clean up. Even better, the warmers are beautiful home accents. We’ve created a range of beautiful vases that provide ambiance through both fragrance and design.”
Yankee also paid close attention to other aspects of the design. Through a lid and unique design, Easy MeltCups can be stacked and stored when not in use, and the warmers include a six-foot cord that makes placement possible in more places throughout a room. In addition, the warmers feature a timer with automatic shutoff and LED light effects and decorative cutouts for added ambience, according to the firm, which predicts more changes ahead for the home fragrance category.
“We’ll continue to see design grow and evolve as an important element in home fragrancing,” said Medeiros.
In fact, more sophisticated and easier to use designs come to market year after year.
Competitor Party Lite, for example, has recently launched its new Jonathan Adler for PartyLite Collection, which will “deliver on-trend glamour” that the firm’s “global audience will love,” according to PartyLite Worldwide president Rob Goergen. The collection will be sold at PartyLite parties in Europe, North America and Australia.
New upscale entrants to the home fragrance category include Crafting Beauty (the private label fragrance manufacturer behind French made candles of Harrods, the Ritz Paris and the Fontainebleau Hotel) and Olavie, a wine-centric skin care brand sold in spas.
Crafting Beauty’s first own-branded candle is called Baiser Rose, which delivers a blend of rose, jasmine, carnation and lily. In branching out into home fragrance, Olavie is offering six scents—Signature Cellar, Vineyard Garden, Cassis & French Oak, Tuscan Fig, White Grapefruit and Sparkling Violet—plus one seasonal scent called Fir Balsam in formats that range from candles to reed diffusers.
Even companies outside the traditional wax candle category have joined the fray. In 2012, for example, Energizer entered the sector via Energizer Flameless Wax Candles. More recently Westinghouse, the venerable electric company that traces its roots back more than 125 years, rolled out new wax-free fragrance nightlights and warmers with its licensee IDC. Both products feature scented disks that release fragrance immediately and can quickly be replaced.
And just as this issue went to press, a rather high profile player re-entered the air freshener category with new technology. Method, which exited the air freshener category in 2008, is making a comeback with its new Air Refreshers line that, unlike traditional aerosols, is packed in an airtight chamber powered by compressed air. When sprayed, the air refreshers fill the room with a non-toxic, vibrant scent—no “dirty propellants,” according to the company. Plus, Method contends the continuous spray product is the first in the air care category to use clear, transparent packaging that shows how the product works.
According to Josh Handy, VP of product experience at Method, the goal is to “elevate the category by giving consumers a beautiful, non-toxic product that they are actually proud to use and display in their homes.”
The Method Air Refreshers are available exclusively at Target in US through Made to Matter, the retailer’s partnership with 16 leading sustainable brands. Fragrances include Fresh Clover, Sweet Tangerine, French Lavender, Wild Poppy and Beach Sage.
Stealth Scenting
It is usually easy to identify where fragrance is coming from: the lady in the seat next to you on the airplane, that “little tree” hanging from a car’s rearview mirror or the candle lit on the mantle in the family room. But P&G is out to change that.
The CPG giant has rolled out (no pun intended) new Charmin plus the scent of Chamomile bath tissue. The scent of chamomile is added to the inside of the tissue core, not to the tissue itself, which creates a bathroom experience that soothes all of the senses, noted Laura Dressman, Charmin communications manager.
According to P&G, there is a growing number of people looking for scented toilet tissue in the US market. One such sector is the Hispanic market, and to that end, Charmin is partnering with Ana Patricia Gonzales, host of !Despierta América! on Univision to introduce the new Charmin SKU.
“Many of our consumers grew up with scented toilet paper, we wanted to provide them with the same experience they know and love,” said Dressman. “The scent of Chamomile was selected as it is soothing to all of the senses, providing consumers with a truly enjoyable bathroom experience.”
Smells Like a Sale
While products such as the new Charmin SKU are designed to alter the mood at home, big name companies are incorporating the “Proustian” power of fragrance in retail, referencing French author Marcel Proust and his novel “In Search of Lost Time” in which dipping a cookie into a cup of tea unleashes childhood memories.
“Olfaction has significant links to emotion and memory. Some have called this the ‘Proustian Phenomenon,’ which is basically that of all our senses, our sense of smell produces the strongest effects on memory,” said Dr. Michelle Niedziela, behavioral neuroscience expert in neuropsychology, psychology and consumer science with a focus on flavor and fragrance technologies at HCD Research, Flemington, NJ.
“[Fragrance] can be very important for setting a mood, conveying a message, branding or even as an advertisement,” she continued. “When it comes to sensory marketing, the power of scent can also play a major role. Fragrances have been shown to influence mood and can set the stage for a product or store or even a hotel or restaurant.”
And maybe even car dealerships.
Nissan, for example integrated a bespoke fragrance into its motor show stand at the New York Auto Show. The scent features notes of bergamot, cardamom, thyme, nutmeg, jasmine, green tea, amber, cedarwood and gaiac wood. Nissan, which worked with Air Aroma to subtly diffuse the scent throughout the stand to help draw in consumers, is also scenting its Yokohama headquarters and plans to bring the program to Nissan dealerships globally.
An iconic American carmaker is also using scent in its showroom. The Lincoln Motor Company recently unveiled Essence of Lincoln, an original scent designed to create an upscale, relaxing showroom experience. The scent was created with SensoryMax and master perfumer Rene Morgenthaler, who developed Polo Extreme by Ralph Lauren, Sheer Obsession by Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion for Men. The scent is infused with top notes of green tea with undertones of jasmine and tonka.
“While every sense plays a part in forming a client’s perception of an experience, scent has one of the strongest connections to not only memory, but emotion,” said Dennis Carnevale, Lincoln experience training manager. “Essence of Lincoln is a subtle, yet powerful tool for our dealers to use to help clients make an emotional connection to their store and the Lincoln brand.”
Essence of Lincoln is made available on scent cards at Lincoln showrooms nationwide, while in some shops, the fragrance is dispersed through the facility’s ventilation system. Pompano Lincoln in Pompano Beach, FL has been using Essence of Lincoln in its showroom’s ventilation system for almost a year, according to the automaker.
It puts a whole new spin on that new car smell.
That’s show time for home fragrance marketers.
“Fall is always an exciting time at Yankee Candle. Autumn is a time when consumers share the season’s best in their homes, as they gather with friends and family,” said Geoff Medeiros, vice president-brand and product development.
And while the recession has impacted the candle market during the past few years, the category is showing signs of recovery. US candle sales declined 9% during the 2008-13 time period; however, sales grew by 0.3% during 2012-13, the first positive growth in several years, according to data compiled by market research firm Mintel.
Looking at the mass market alone, in air fresheners, which includes items for cars and the home, there was a modest gain (0.9%) in US multi-outlets, as sales neared $2.6 billion for the 52 weeks ended July 13, 2014, according to IRI, Chicago. Home air freshener sales, led by SC Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser, declined 1.9%. Candle sales dipped 4.7%. But growth came in the smaller potpourri and/sachets sector, where sales jumped 22.7% (see chart).
Note-able Fall Launches
Whatever the method of delivery, home fragrance launches this time of year are designed to conjure up special memories of Autumn, and everything from cranberry to candy corn to apple cider is on tap at leading companies.
Reckitt’s leading Air Wick Fall collection of Good to Be Home Candles has been expanded by three new scents made with natural essential oils. They include Homemade Preserves (rich, tart notes of blackberries and sugarcane), Iced Gingerbread Cookies (gingerbread combined with anise and cardamom); and Candied Citrus Peels (candied citrus zest with notes of orange and burnt sugar). Each candle has a label that easily peels off to fit with any décor, according to the company.
Diamond Candles—which burst onto the scene last year with its candles that have a ring inside that’s revealed as the 100% soy wax melts—has also added new seasonal scents. New fragrances include Caramel Apple Cider, Candy Corn and Pumpkin Chai.
Colonial Candle, part of the MVP Group, has added six new Fall scents. The offerings range from gourmand inspired fragrances like Pumpkin Roll (billed as a new twist on a classic with notes of pumpkin, ground ginger, brown sugar cinnamon and sweet buttermilk) to more complex and sophisticated pairings such as Tobacco & Honey and Mahogany Leather, the latter of which has notes of suede and leather and combined with sheer florals, smoked myrrh and musk.
Naturally, Yankee Candle is big on finding new ways to interpret the season too. “Our new fall fragrances capture the season with harvest kitchen favorites; fresh-picked flavors from the farmer’s market are made even better with decadent goodness, like our new Berrylicious and Cranberry Pear fragrances. Another fun new offering is the Chocolate Layer Cake fragrance, which is so true to life, it’s almost good enough to eat,” said Medeiros.
In the Pure Radiance by Yankee Candle line, new limited edition scents include Orchard (the scent of fresh air, crisp red apples and bright citrus), Ginger Pumpkin (fresh-baked blend of ginger, pumpkin and cognac) and Café (a blend of roasted, sweet and creamy aromas).
While these kinds of flavorful scents are part of the company’s DNA, Yankee Candle has also invested in new technologies designed to make home fragrancing an easier process. For example, the firm recently unveiled Scenterpiece, a new line that allows customers to quickly swap out their favorite fragrances without the cooling, scraping or pouring involved with traditional tart warmers. The system is comprised of wax-filled Easy MeltCups (sold in a wide selection of classic and new Yankee Candle fragrances) and 20 different electric warmers.
The MeltCups, which offer up to 24 hours of fragrance, are cool to the touch, even when in use, and can be simply dropped in or lifted out of the warmer to change fragrances quickly. The Easy MeltCup container is a low conductor of heat, so the wax at the bottom of the cup, which is close to the heat source, gets warm enough to melt, but the grip area of the cup maintains a comfortable temperature for handling, according to Medeiros.
“We spent a lot of time talking to consumers to get a deep understanding of what they love about wax melts and where we could make the experience even better,” Medeiros told Happi. “What we discovered is that she loves to try and frequently change fragrances. However, wax melt products can be tricky and time consuming to clean, making swapping fragrances a chore. That’s why we created Scenterpiece; now she can change fragrances easily with no clean up. Even better, the warmers are beautiful home accents. We’ve created a range of beautiful vases that provide ambiance through both fragrance and design.”
Yankee also paid close attention to other aspects of the design. Through a lid and unique design, Easy MeltCups can be stacked and stored when not in use, and the warmers include a six-foot cord that makes placement possible in more places throughout a room. In addition, the warmers feature a timer with automatic shutoff and LED light effects and decorative cutouts for added ambience, according to the firm, which predicts more changes ahead for the home fragrance category.
“We’ll continue to see design grow and evolve as an important element in home fragrancing,” said Medeiros.
In fact, more sophisticated and easier to use designs come to market year after year.
Competitor Party Lite, for example, has recently launched its new Jonathan Adler for PartyLite Collection, which will “deliver on-trend glamour” that the firm’s “global audience will love,” according to PartyLite Worldwide president Rob Goergen. The collection will be sold at PartyLite parties in Europe, North America and Australia.
New upscale entrants to the home fragrance category include Crafting Beauty (the private label fragrance manufacturer behind French made candles of Harrods, the Ritz Paris and the Fontainebleau Hotel) and Olavie, a wine-centric skin care brand sold in spas.
Crafting Beauty’s first own-branded candle is called Baiser Rose, which delivers a blend of rose, jasmine, carnation and lily. In branching out into home fragrance, Olavie is offering six scents—Signature Cellar, Vineyard Garden, Cassis & French Oak, Tuscan Fig, White Grapefruit and Sparkling Violet—plus one seasonal scent called Fir Balsam in formats that range from candles to reed diffusers.
Even companies outside the traditional wax candle category have joined the fray. In 2012, for example, Energizer entered the sector via Energizer Flameless Wax Candles. More recently Westinghouse, the venerable electric company that traces its roots back more than 125 years, rolled out new wax-free fragrance nightlights and warmers with its licensee IDC. Both products feature scented disks that release fragrance immediately and can quickly be replaced.
And just as this issue went to press, a rather high profile player re-entered the air freshener category with new technology. Method, which exited the air freshener category in 2008, is making a comeback with its new Air Refreshers line that, unlike traditional aerosols, is packed in an airtight chamber powered by compressed air. When sprayed, the air refreshers fill the room with a non-toxic, vibrant scent—no “dirty propellants,” according to the company. Plus, Method contends the continuous spray product is the first in the air care category to use clear, transparent packaging that shows how the product works.
According to Josh Handy, VP of product experience at Method, the goal is to “elevate the category by giving consumers a beautiful, non-toxic product that they are actually proud to use and display in their homes.”
The Method Air Refreshers are available exclusively at Target in US through Made to Matter, the retailer’s partnership with 16 leading sustainable brands. Fragrances include Fresh Clover, Sweet Tangerine, French Lavender, Wild Poppy and Beach Sage.
Stealth Scenting
It is usually easy to identify where fragrance is coming from: the lady in the seat next to you on the airplane, that “little tree” hanging from a car’s rearview mirror or the candle lit on the mantle in the family room. But P&G is out to change that.
The CPG giant has rolled out (no pun intended) new Charmin plus the scent of Chamomile bath tissue. The scent of chamomile is added to the inside of the tissue core, not to the tissue itself, which creates a bathroom experience that soothes all of the senses, noted Laura Dressman, Charmin communications manager.
According to P&G, there is a growing number of people looking for scented toilet tissue in the US market. One such sector is the Hispanic market, and to that end, Charmin is partnering with Ana Patricia Gonzales, host of !Despierta América! on Univision to introduce the new Charmin SKU.
“Many of our consumers grew up with scented toilet paper, we wanted to provide them with the same experience they know and love,” said Dressman. “The scent of Chamomile was selected as it is soothing to all of the senses, providing consumers with a truly enjoyable bathroom experience.”
Smells Like a Sale
While products such as the new Charmin SKU are designed to alter the mood at home, big name companies are incorporating the “Proustian” power of fragrance in retail, referencing French author Marcel Proust and his novel “In Search of Lost Time” in which dipping a cookie into a cup of tea unleashes childhood memories.
“Olfaction has significant links to emotion and memory. Some have called this the ‘Proustian Phenomenon,’ which is basically that of all our senses, our sense of smell produces the strongest effects on memory,” said Dr. Michelle Niedziela, behavioral neuroscience expert in neuropsychology, psychology and consumer science with a focus on flavor and fragrance technologies at HCD Research, Flemington, NJ.
“[Fragrance] can be very important for setting a mood, conveying a message, branding or even as an advertisement,” she continued. “When it comes to sensory marketing, the power of scent can also play a major role. Fragrances have been shown to influence mood and can set the stage for a product or store or even a hotel or restaurant.”
And maybe even car dealerships.
Nissan, for example integrated a bespoke fragrance into its motor show stand at the New York Auto Show. The scent features notes of bergamot, cardamom, thyme, nutmeg, jasmine, green tea, amber, cedarwood and gaiac wood. Nissan, which worked with Air Aroma to subtly diffuse the scent throughout the stand to help draw in consumers, is also scenting its Yokohama headquarters and plans to bring the program to Nissan dealerships globally.
An iconic American carmaker is also using scent in its showroom. The Lincoln Motor Company recently unveiled Essence of Lincoln, an original scent designed to create an upscale, relaxing showroom experience. The scent was created with SensoryMax and master perfumer Rene Morgenthaler, who developed Polo Extreme by Ralph Lauren, Sheer Obsession by Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion for Men. The scent is infused with top notes of green tea with undertones of jasmine and tonka.
“While every sense plays a part in forming a client’s perception of an experience, scent has one of the strongest connections to not only memory, but emotion,” said Dennis Carnevale, Lincoln experience training manager. “Essence of Lincoln is a subtle, yet powerful tool for our dealers to use to help clients make an emotional connection to their store and the Lincoln brand.”
Essence of Lincoln is made available on scent cards at Lincoln showrooms nationwide, while in some shops, the fragrance is dispersed through the facility’s ventilation system. Pompano Lincoln in Pompano Beach, FL has been using Essence of Lincoln in its showroom’s ventilation system for almost a year, according to the automaker.
It puts a whole new spin on that new car smell.