Scent, at the heart of emotions

“Where scents unlock emotions and reveal the soul of a brand.”

Olfactory identity: a sensory journey to the heart of the brand

There is something about the smells of childhood that stays with us throughout our lives. An invisible but lasting impression. The smell of cake baking slowly, warm skin after a day spent outdoors, freshly cut wood, chocolate snacks paired with apple slices, glue sticks used for crafts… So many memories that, as adults, come back to us like tender glimpses of who we once were.

These smells are not just memories: they are connections. They weave a continuity between our past and our present, between what we have received and what we want to pass on. They connect individuals to each other through shared sensations, through those intimate markers that everyone recognizes without naming them. Smell is a silent language, a discreet thread that connects us—a way of inhabiting the world together, without saying a word.

It is precisely this power of connection, emotion, and memory that makes olfactory identity such a unique tool in the world of branding.

When the brand is written with memory

Some brands are recognizable without even seeing them. They exist in that brief moment when a scent brushes against your consciousness and brings back a memory like a gentle wave. That is the power of olfactory identity: an invisible but extraordinarily memorable signature that draws its power from one of the most archaic areas of our brain. Smells are processed directly by the limbic system—the seat of emotional memory, instincts, and deep recollections. Even before a thought forms, the emotion is already there.
A scent can transport us back to a scene from childhood: a grandmother’s kitchen, filled with the mingled aromas of warm vanilla, yeast dough, and waxed parquet flooring. Or to those summer days after a storm, when the air was filled with the delicate scent of petrichor, the smell of wet earth after rain. Or to the smell of bread fresh out of the oven, fresh laundry, the aged leather of a car seat, or the resin of fir trees during a winter walk.

The discreet but powerful signature of brand positioning

In a world saturated with images and digital interfaces, olfactory identity offers another path: that of sensation. Where images capture the eye, fragrance captures the soul. It does not merely accompany a place; it defines it. It does not merely reinforce a positioning; it makes it palpable.

A fresh, mineral scent suggests precision and modernity. A woody, amber note evokes warmth and stability. Citrus notes speak of energy, floral notes of attentiveness, and resinous notes of authenticity. In this way, olfactory identity embodies the brand in a different way: through what it makes you feel, not just what it shows you.

Sensory work, but also deeply human

Creating an olfactory identity is not about selecting a scent: it is a collective creative process. At >moser, these initiatives often provide an opportunity to organize onboarding workshops, where employees immerse themselves in olfactory families, compare, associate, and share stories.

The exchanges are often surprising: one scent triggers laughter, another an emotion, yet another reveals a deeply shared value. These workshops become unique moments of alignment, appropriation, and cohesion. The olfactory identity becomes not only a branding tool, but also an internal cultural marker.

In a virtual world, an authentic presence

At a time when our experiences are becoming increasingly artificial, smell brings us back to reality, to the moment, to pure sensation. It reintroduces a form of authenticity that screens cannot reproduce. It offers brands a different way of being present—more intimate, more lasting, more human.

Why Moser chose to add this string to his bow

By integrating olfactory identity into our areas of expertise, we wanted to get to the heart of what makes a brand come alive: the ability to touch, connect, and anchor. Because a strong brand is not only perceived—it is felt.
And a well-chosen fragrance can become one of its most lasting memories, one that lodges itself deep in the memory, where stories never fade.

When fragrance enters the memory, it prolongs the brand’s narrative.