NeuroScent™

Why is scent such a powerful influence on consumer behaviour?

Consumers can usually tell you whether they like a scent. What is much harder is explaining what that scent does to them and why they respond to it. Scent processing is closely linked to brain systems involved in emotion, memory and association. As a result, a scent can evoke feelings of freshness, luxury, comfort or familiarity without people being consciously aware of its influence. These responses can shape how they experience a product, brand or environment.

Scent can influence:

• Brand and product evaluation: how positively consumers experience a brand, product or environment.
• Time spent and time perception: how pleasant a space feels and how long people want to stay.
• Purchase intention and behaviour: whether a product feels more appealing, relevant or appropriate.
• Memory: how strongly a brand, product or experience is remembered.
• Emotional associations: such as freshness, luxury, comfort, trust or a sense of security.

The impact of scent depends heavily on context. A scent that works well for a premium product may not be right for a more accessible brand or a different environment. Similarly, a scent may be pleasant in isolation but add little to the product, packaging or brand promise.

A pleasant scent is therefore not necessarily the most effective one. NeuroScent™ reveals which scents activate the desired emotions and associations, and helps predict which option is most likely to strengthen the intended brand or product experience.

Where NeuroScent™ adds value

NeuroScent™ is particularly valuable when scent plays an important role in how people experience a product, brand or environment. For example, when developing a new scent, comparing several scent options or predicting which scent is most likely to create the desired response before launch.

NeuroScent™ can be used for:

• A signature scent for a physical environment, such as a shop, hotel or showroom.
• Product scents, for example in food, beauty, personal care or home care.
• Scented packaging, where scent forms part of the consumer’s first product experience.
• A new sensory brand identity, where scent works alongside visual design, sound, materials or the surrounding environment.
• A product launch, where you want to understand in advance which scent is most likely to create the intended experience.

NeuroScent™ can also form part of broader multisensory research. In these studies, we look not only at scent in isolation, but at how it interacts with other sensory cues as part of the overall brand experience.

This helps predict which scent will make the strongest contribution to the intended brand or product experience in the context in which it will actually be used.

Who can benefit from NeuroScent™?

NeuroScent™ is relevant for organisations where scent and the overall sensory experience play an important role in the product experience, brand promise or customer environment.

The method is particularly valuable for:

• Retail and hospitality brands
  Looking to use scent in shops, hotels, showrooms or other physical customer environments.
• FMCG and product brands
  Comparing scent concepts for products, packaging or new variants.
• Beauty, personal care and fragrance brands
  Where scent is a central part of the product experience and positioning.
• Food and beverage brands
  Exploring how scent interacts with taste, packaging and expectations.
• Automotive, interior and luxury brands
  Developing a distinctive and relevant sensory brand identity.
• Marketing, innovation and product teams
  Looking to make scent decisions based on more than conscious preferences or internal opinion.

NeuroScent™ is suitable for both established brands and challengers that want to identify in advance which scent has the greatest potential to strengthen their brand or product experience.

The Neurensics approach to scent research

Scent is a sensory cue that often works outside conscious awareness. That is precisely why effective scent research requires more than a questionnaire or focus group. Neurensics combines neuroscience expertise, advanced measurement methods and extensive experience in consumer research to study scent responses where they originate: in the brain.

With NeuroScent™, we combine controlled scent delivery through an olfactometer with fMRI. This allows us to see not only which scent people consciously find pleasant, but also which scent evokes the desired emotional and motivational responses in the brain. Based on these responses, we can predict which scent is most likely to have the strongest impact on the brand or product experience.

What sets Neurensics apart is our ability to translate complex neural data into practical business decisions. We do not simply deliver brain data; we provide clear insights that help brands make better choices in product development, retail experience, packaging and sensory brand strategy.

In this way, NeuroScent™ goes beyond traditional scent research: it reveals what a scent evokes beneath the surface and helps identify which option best supports the intended effect.

Discover what NeuroScent™ could do for your brand

Want to know which scent is most likely to have the strongest impact on your brand or product? With NeuroScent™, we measure not only which scents people consciously prefer, but also which ones evoke the desired unconscious responses in the brain.

This allows you to base scent decisions on measurable brain responses and invest more confidently in the scent with the greatest potential to strengthen your brand experience, product experience or sensory identity. Contact us to discover how NeuroScent™ can help you use scent more strategically and support your decisions with neuroscience.