Dan Offerman Designs Scents for Businesses

Offerman concocts enticing signature scents for companies that want customers to linger and spend more money

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By Christopher Bonanos

January 25, 2013 at 3:06 AM UTC

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This article is part of the January 28, 2013 issue of businessweek.

How do you approach a new client’s project?
It depends on the customer. In the Miami area, we’re doing bookstores with a coffee fragrance. We’re also looking to do this in food, to promote things like bakeries or deli meats in grocers. Or a ship, for example: If it’s a Caribbean cruise line, is it floral? Is it passion fruit? We usually bring in 8 or 10 vastly different scents, and then we go back and fine-tune it—let’s say a floral with some citrus, if [it’s a casino and] they want to keep people awake.

Can scent control behavior?
In general, you want to improve the customer experience: Either to get them to stay longer or to buy more. And now it’s another way of branding, tapping an additional sense to help you promote the company or a product.