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Candles indicative of the current times, ethereal concepts, outdoor-inspired fragrances, fast-food scents, environmentally conscious products and smart diffusive technology are driving air care innovation.

BY AMY MARKS-MCGEE, Trendincite LLC; amy@trendincite.com

According to Fortune Business Insights, published in March 2020, the global home fragrance market size is expected to reach $7.96 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast periodDisplay footnote number:a. The NPD Group reported that first-quarter 2020 U.S. prestige fragrance sales dropped 13% compared to 2019, totaling $655.3 million. However, growth was seen in home fragrance categories such as candles (up 8% from 2019), diffusers (up 5%), home scents (up 4%) and ancillary gift sets (up 4%)Display footnote number:b.

The NPD Group noted that candles are up not just in the United States, but globally. According to a May 4, 2020 New York Times article, home fragrance sales have experienced a surge in demand as a direct result of COVID-19. For example, Diptyque’s sales in the home category have tripled since March, and D.S. & Durga’s candles now make up 40% of its direct business while about 90% of Nest New York’s sales now come from home fragrance, up from 75% before the pandemicDisplay footnote number:c.

Candles indicative of the current times, ethereal concepts, outdoor-inspired fragrances, fast-food scents, environmentally conscious products and smart diffusive technology are driving air care innovation…………………………………………….
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Smart Diffusive Technology

Technology is continually evolving, and the latest activity in air care is being driven by smartphone-enabled diffusers.

Air Wick introduced the Essential Mist smart diffuser with Bluetooth technology and a mobile app. Consumers can customize their scent experience with programmable scent schedules, adjustable scent intensity settings, refill reminders and the ability to purchase refills directly from their smartphone. The Aroma range starter pack is available in a Happiness (pineapple, peach and wild mint) fragrance and includes one diffuser, batteries and a fragrance refill. Additional fragrances in the range formulated for different moods include Sleep (lavender, eucalyptus and sage) and Unwind (jasmine, tea tree and lotus blossom) made with an exclusive blend of natural essential oils. Fragrances from the Air Wick Essential Mist collection include Cinnamon & Crisp Apple, Fresh Water Breeze, Lavender & Almond Blossom, Mandarin & Sweet Orange and Peony & Jasmine variants and are compatible with the smart diffuser.
Similarly, Nest New York launched a Smart Home Fragrance Diffuser powered by Pura that connects to a smartphone, is Alexa-compatible and enables user to set a scent schedule, swap between scents and adjust intensity. The starter set comes with Bamboo and Grapefruit fragrance vials, which are offered in scent refills, in addition to Cedar Leaf & Lavender and Moroccan Amber fragrances. Airzai released Aroma, a premium smart home fragrance diffuser with an app that is voice-enabled and can be managed by Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The smart diffuser can schedule fragrance preferences, adjust the fragrance intensity in low, medium and high settings and create ambient lighting. Australian Sandalwood, Mediterranean Blossoms and Santorini Fig are the three current aromas offered.
In February 2020, Candle Touch launched a Kickstarter campaign. Described as the “world’s first smart-connected real-flame candle,” the Bluetooth-enabled scented candle works with a password-protected app and uses a device with an electronic base that is connected to a scented coconut wax candle and sends a current up a wire to ignite the cotton wick. According to the brand, a candle can last up to 40 hours, and the app works from as far as 60 feet away and can light up 10 candles simultaneously. Candle Touch is offered in scents such as Amber and Clove, Avocado and Mint, Grapefruit and Cardamom, Lime and Grapefruit, and White Tea and Ginger. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, at the end of March, Candle Touch closed the campaign.

At the Consumer Electronics Show 2020 (CES), Tel Aviv-based startup company introduced Moodify, an “active scent” car-like air freshener, which is designed “to alter human behavior, improve performance, enhance feelings of well-being and even increase vehicular safety.” Moodify White is the brand’s first scented product, and it “eliminates perceptions of bad odors by temporarily affecting how the brain interprets smell. It confuses the brain with custom scents in the same way that a white noise machine dulls unpleasant sounds by saturating the space with a neutral audio background.” Moodify Blue, Moodify Green and Moodify Red scents are all under development. The Moodify Blue is meant to calm an individual down and reduce stress and aggression, which is being formulated to replicate pheromones found in human tears. Moodify Green is designed to increase alertness and awareness and is based on the pheromones found in the sweat generated by humans in fearful situations, while the Moodify Red is engineered to wake you up “100% of the time [with] a very good possibility to save lives.”

,,Moodify wants you to follow your nose to safer driving,,

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/moodify-fragrances-safer-driving-ces-2020/

An Israeli company says it’s figured out how to use special fragrances to block foul odors and even alter human behavior.

Flying cars, a nuclear reactor in every home and smell-o-vison are a few innovations our forebears in the 1950s probably thought were just around the proverbial corner. Unfortunately, or perhaps luckily, none of these things have come to pass yet, though this may no longer be the case for that last item.

Moodify, a startup company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, says it has figured out how to use scents to alter human behavior, improve performance, enhance feelings of wellbeing and even increase vehicular safety. This sounds like the stuff of science fiction or the gimmick of a bad romantic comedy, but while speaking at a private media event at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Yigal Sharon, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said it’s all backed by scientific fact.

Founded in 2017, Moodify draws on extensive development and testing. “Everything we bring to the table is backed by 10 years of research” conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, Sharon said.

How is this all said to work? Well, it’s a bit complicated, but here’s the gist. Certain aromas deliver unique signals to the brain that cause humans to react without even consciously knowing it.

Sharon said the work he and his company have done has resulted in the creation of various formulations, each with a specific purpose. So far, these are Moodify White, Moodify Blue, Moodify Green and Moodify Red. Think of these as perfumes that can directly alter human behavior.

First out of the gate is Moodify White, which is launching at this year’s CES. It’s designed to change how humans perceive odors. Like a volume knob, it’s supposed to essentially turn down the intensity of undesirable smells.

As a demonstration, Sharon handed out some small, air freshenerlike fobs infused with this Moodify White. When they eventually go on sale, he estimates these passive diffusers will sell for $25 each and last a month. Anecdotally, after opening the one I was given, one or two sniffs did seem to cancel out the cleaning-solution smell of my Vegas hotel room, but of course, we’d need to do real testing to render a verdict.

Sharon said Moodifier White can be used to make ride-hailing vehicles and rental cars more pleasant or to reduce tobacco-smoke aromas indoors — perhaps in buses, public spaces and even on airplanes. He also noted it’d be great for dealerships, to help reduce the perception of unwanted aromas in used cars.

Moving on, this is where things start getting a little weird. “Moodify Blue can calm you down,” Sharon said, reducing stress and aggression. Unfortunately, compared with the Moodify White formulation, “The Blue will cost more because this is a very specialized signal, which has to be synthesized,” though oddly enough, it’s a copy of pheromones found in human tears. He said he hopes it will hit the market in six to eight months, possibly as an oil you can rub on your skin if you feel anxious. “This has huge potential,” he said.

Read more….. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/moodify-fragrances-safer-driving-ces-2020/