One day I was driving up the interstate with the truck windows down and distinctly smelled pizza. I turned and saw a pizza parlor to the right. How does a pizza smell get to a speeding vehicle that far from the frontage road? That small event stuck with me until I ended up eating pizza that night.
Restaurants and other food vendors know the value of smell, and chain restaurants encourage associations with the unique smell recognizable at all their locations. That’s why outlets like KFC and Burger King have toyed with perfumes that evoke the smell of their restaurants. It’s why Cinnabon and Subway put their ovens near the entry door. It’s also why Starbucks had to pull their breakfast sandwiches and redesign them in 2008- because the smell of the sandwiches interfered with the customary smell of the coffee, and customers noticed. Read up on how restaurants customize …