Continuing our series on scent marketing we come to number 4 – understanding the rules and regulations of scent marketing.
For over 30 years, the manufacturing process for flavors and fragrances has been guided by the Fragrance & Flavor industry’s instruments of self-regulation. Those are:
• RIFM (Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Inc.) which evaluates the safety of fragrance ingredients and where all of the reputable fragrance manufacturers and consumer goods companies that sell scented and flavored products are members.
• IFRA (International Fragrance Association) issues standards based on the conclusion of RIFM’s work that can restrict or completely ban the use of a certain ingredient. Those standards are distributed within IFRA’s membership, among major customer associations in the U.S., Europe and Asia as well as other stakeholders and published on the organization’s public web site.
Any marketer and brand owner would be well advised to work with a manufacturer that belongs to those organizations. While membership has a price (an average of $100K/year) it also buys the peace of mind (and the paperwork and documentation that comes with it) that an unrecognized company in China or Eastern Europe would not be able to provide.
However, for scent delivery systems (those that disperse the fragrances into the open) no such regulating bodies exist. It is an industry busy with its own growth that still needs to establish safety standards and risk management procedures. The Scent Marketing Institute, as the public face and voice of the industry, works with its members and the public on grassroots efforts to establish a similar “safety net” for the category.
In the meantime, allow the customer control over the exposure to scent. Some of us do not like it; some of us have allergies or worse. As long as brand marketers respect these concerns and limitations, scent marketing is a great way to educate and entice the consumer.
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Harald Vogt
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