Scent marketing trends: what is changing for brands
Updated: 6 days ago
In short: scent marketing trends revolve around four movements we see among our clients: fragrances created to measure rather than chosen from a catalogue, more transparent and safer formulas, connected diffusers that adjust the scent to the time of day and the season, and a multisensory approach in which scent works with light and music. Fragrance is no longer a decorative extra: it is becoming part of a brand's identity.
Updated November 2026
Hotels, spas, shops, pharmacies, offices, restaurants: more and more professional spaces are turning to the sense of smell to stand out and offer an experience people remember. At Eco French Lab, we support these projects every day, from creating the fragrance to diffusing it. This article brings together what we see changing in the field. It will be updated every year, at the same address.
A note on method: what follows are observations drawn from our projects and the requests we receive, not forecasts with numbers. Serious studies on the effect of scent in stores do exist, but they cover specific settings and cannot simply be applied to every space.
Why are brands so interested in the sense of smell?
Smell has an anatomical particularity: the olfactory bulb is closely connected to the amygdala and the hippocampus, two structures involved in emotion and memory. This is one of the reasons a scent can bring back a memory so vividly.
Caution is still needed. A review published in 2014 in Frontiers in Psychology by Larsson and colleagues reports that most studies find an emotional advantage for memories evoked by odours compared with those evoked by images or words, but not all of them. In other words, scent is a powerful lever for creating an atmosphere and an association with a place, not a magic formula.
For a brand, the point is therefore less about "making people buy" and more about making a place recognisable, coherent and pleasant to be in. As Anne-Marie Spencer puts it: "Every space has a story to tell. Fragrance is one of the most powerful ways to bring it to life."
Which trends are we observing?
1. A bespoke scent signature rather than a catalogue fragrance
This is the clearest request. Brands no longer want just "a nice smell": they want a fragrance that tells their story, their values, their clientele. The perfumer works from a brief (materials, colours, emotions, audiences) to compose an exclusive fragrance.
We have seen this with scented-product brands such as Lulli, which creates high-end scented candles, and with hotels, restaurants and shops that want their customers to recognise the place with their eyes closed. The fragrance becomes a true signature, which can then be extended into candles, pillow mists or room sprays.
2. Cleaner, more transparent formulas
Professional clients ask more questions about what goes into a fragrance: origin of raw materials, compliance with IFRA (International Fragrance Association) standards, indoor air quality. Regulation is changing too: some long-used molecules, such as Lilial, are now banned in cosmetics in Europe.
This demand is healthy. It does not mean a fragrance should be "chemical-free" (every fragrance is made of molecules, natural or synthetic), but that it should be formulated responsibly, documented and suited to diffusion in enclosed spaces. Our ambient fragrances are formulated without alcohol for professional diffusion.
3. Smarter, more discreet diffusers
Professional diffusion systems have changed a great deal. Cold-air nebulisation turns fragrance into a very fine dry mist, without heating the formula or leaving damp residue. Recent devices can be programmed by time slot, controlled remotely from an app and adjusted in intensity according to footfall.
The result: a scent that is present but never overpowering, stronger when a hotel lobby opens, lighter at the end of the day. It is also a matter of comfort for the teams who spend all day on site.
4. Fragrance that follows the seasons
More and more venues change their scent atmosphere through the year: fresh, green notes in spring, warmer and enveloping accords in winter. The underlying signature stays the same, but seasonal variations mark the highlights (year-end holidays, 1 May, Easter). This keeps regulars curious without blurring the brand's identity.
5. Bolder gourmand and mineral notes
On the creative side, perfumers are exploring less expected territory: sophisticated gourmands (cocoa, vanilla, tonka bean), mineral accords, "wet stone" or salty notes. These choices help stand apart from the very floral or very woody ambient fragrances found everywhere.
6. Choosing "blind"
To choose a fragrance, some brands and customers now prefer blind testing: you smell without seeing the name, the bottle or the description. The aim is to choose by feeling, without being influenced by marketing. We use this principle in selection sessions with our clients: it often brings out unexpected and better choices.
7. The multisensory approach
Fragrance works less and less on its own. It is designed together with the light, music, materials and colours of the space. A spa with dimmed lighting does not call for the same scent as a bright shop in pale tones. This consistency across the senses makes the experience easier for the customer to read.
8. The wish to measure
Companies want to know whether their scent investment is working. In the absence of a universal indicator, the most serious approaches remain simple: customer and staff feedback, observing time spent, comparing periods with and without diffusion where possible. It pays to stay clear-eyed: many spectacular figures circulating about the effect of fragrance cite no verifiable study.
9. Digital tools serving the scent story
There is a lot of talk about virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence applied to smell. These remain experimental for now: a scent cannot be transmitted through a screen. Social media and video content, however, play a real role in telling a fragrance's story, presenting its notes and making people want to come and smell it in person.
How do these trends play out in different spaces?
Type of space | What we observe | Most useful trends |
Hotels and spas | Looking for a signature recognisable from the lobby, extended to rooms and products | Bespoke, programmable diffusers, extensions (mists, candles) |
Shops and retail | Wish to differentiate the store and extend the experience at home | Seasonality, multisensory, room sprays |
Restaurants | Discreet scent at entrances and waiting areas, without competing with the food | Fine dosing, light notes, localised diffusion |
Offices and headquarters | Staff comfort and brand image at reception | Transparent formulas, low intensity, time scheduling |
Pharmacies and healthcare spaces | Need for calm and a feeling of cleanliness | Safe, documented formulas, fresh notes |
How can you build scent marketing into your strategy?
The approach we follow with our clients comes down to a few steps:
Clarify the goal: brand recognition, welcome, relaxation, showcasing a product.
Describe the brand identity and the space: values, clientele, materials, light, floor area.
Choose between an existing fragrance from our range or a bespoke creation, ideally by blind-testing several proposals.
Size the diffusion: number and type of diffusers, locations, intensity and time slots.
Gather feedback after a few weeks and adjust, then consider extensions (candles, sprays, seasonal variations).
To go further, read our article on in-store customer experience and scent marketing, our thoughts on sustainability and olfactory diffusion, and our article on a scent signature for corporate headquarters.
Frequently asked questions
Is scent marketing only for big brands?
No. An independent shop, a practice or a small hotel can start with a single diffuser and a fragrance from our range, then move on to a bespoke creation.
Do you have to create a bespoke fragrance?
Not necessarily. A well-chosen existing fragrance can be enough. Bespoke makes most sense when the brand wants an exclusive, recognisable fragrance that can be extended into products.
Can a diffused scent bother customers or staff?
A badly dosed scent can. That is why intensity, time slots and locations are set carefully, and why we favour formulas that comply with IFRA standards.
Can you change the scent with the seasons?
Yes. Many venues keep an underlying signature and add seasonal variations for the highlights of the year.
Can you measure the effect of an ambient fragrance?
Partly. Customer and staff feedback, time spent and comparing periods give useful indications. Be wary of percentages presented without a verifiable study.
Conclusion: making scent part of your identity
Scent marketing trends converge on one idea: a successful ambient fragrance is exclusive, well formulated, well dosed and consistent with the rest of the experience. It is not a passing fad; it is a way of making a brand recognisable beyond its visuals.
Would you like to think about your own signature? Discover our bespoke fragrance creation offer or read our guide to scent marketing, then get in touch with the Eco French Lab team.
Article written by Anne-Marie Spencer, co-founder of Eco French Lab.
Sources
Larsson, M., Willander, J., Karlsson, K. and Arshamian, A. (2014). Olfactory LOVER: behavioral and neural correlates of autobiographical odor memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 312. Read the article
Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1902, banning among others Lilial (butylphenyl methylpropional) in cosmetic products from 1 March 2022. EUR-Lex
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