August 23, 2024 • 30 mins
The worlds of food and perfume have always overlapped, but there's been a recent spate of fragrances meant to evoke branded food products, from soft pretzels to burgers to mayo. In this short, Anney and Lauren explore a strange sampling of food fragrance stunt marketing.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hello, and welcome to Saber Protection of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie
and I'm more.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In Vogel bamb And today we have a short episode
for you about food, food scented perfumes. Food scented perfumes
like and specifically branded ones that are weird and possibly
jokes and weird.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, it's kind of hard to describe, but as we
go on, you'll get it. You'll get it.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is when you know, right, like
like so so like at one point, like Shakeshack had
a line of scented candles and stuff like that. So
but for perfume that you wear on your body.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hypothetically, hypothetical, it's a tough one for me in some ways. Listeners,
and you'll find out why. Oh but yeah, not sponsors.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Nope, none of the sponsors currently. Yeah, reach out, let
us know please.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Uh well, yeah, I guess we should, we should, hop
right in.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah sure, all right, So okay, as we have talked
about in many of our regular episodes that the worlds
of food and perfumery are not that far removed and
have in fact frequently overlapped throughout history. Think like rosewater
or lavender or rosemary, orange peel, vanilla, and also every
(01:45):
single spice we've ever talked about, you know, plus of
course ambergris. Check out our guest spot about that overrun
stuff to blow your mind if you still have not.
The sense of fruits and vegetables are also often used
in or duped for perfumes. Think notes of like melon, peach, uzo, coconut,
even green pepper shows up like not entirely and frequently,
(02:09):
and like the only reason that perfume and food is
a Venn diagram which is not a circle is that
you know, food is meant to be eaten and perfume
generally is not. Perfume makers are setting out to make
these typically edible items shelf stable and skin stable in
ways that make them inedible. Don't eat perfume. There is, however,
(02:36):
a recent trend of edible perfumes that are meant to
be spritzed on food or drinks. Is like a kind
of fun, fancy gimmick or elevation, if you'd like to
put it that way. We definitely talked with Marianna Mersir
Barani up in Vegas about some of the ones that
she's been using for the resort cocktails out at the wind,
and there are other chefs and bartenders doing the same thing.
(02:58):
And of course, like the idea of perfuming a drink
with a sprits of something goes at least as far
back as whenever someone came up with using that method
of applying absinthe to a sazaraq, which I've been seeing
for about twenty years now, which is a really funny number.
What a hilarious I love that number. I'm fine. Also,
(03:21):
you know, like whenever someone came up with them serving
a dish or a cocktail under glass with wood smoke
inside the vessels, so that like the guest has the
experience of that smoke when they remove the cover before
they consume the whatever it is. Yeah, this is not
an episode about that. No, no, no, And we do
(03:44):
love some good brand marketing shenanigans, as y'all well know.
And there has been a recent trend of food brands
coming out with perfumes as marketing stunts, like perfume that
are meant to smell like their foods. I will say
(04:06):
perfumes that smell like foods are also not a new thing,
like especially in Indie and sort of fringe perfumery a
lot of creators have done been making sense that do
not just incorporate the sense of edible things, which most
perfumes do. These are actually meant to smell like foods
and drinks, mostly baked goods and candies, like cocktails or
(04:30):
coffee and tea drink kind of things, but also some
savory entries incorporating sense like a bacon or barbecue smoke
or tomato. The brand Demeter has entries like peanut butter
and jelly rye, bread and sushi which is apparently notes
of just cooked rice, seaweed, ginger, and lemon, no fish smell.
(04:53):
My personal favorite online goth nerd fragrance brand Black Phoenix
Alchemyla traditionally has a line of limited edition perfumes every
winter called lick It, which are candy cane themed and
wisely include an explicit note that you should not ingest
the perfume. Yeah, yeah, good note, good note, important safety tip.
(05:21):
But yeah, for some reason, there was like a lot
of the stunt perfume thing going on around twenty ten ish,
but we are seeing a resurgence of it right now,
like sort of this month. I'm not sure. I'm not
sure what's going on with that.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
I don't know. I was gonna say, like, I saw
a lot of holiday marketing already.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I was a little shaken by that because it's summer.
It's summer, it's summer.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
But who knows. There are a lot of recent examples
that is true. Yeah, so let's talk about some examples.
Let's talk about some examples. Starting with KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In May of twenty twenty four, Kentucky Fried Chicken released
number eleven Oh to BBQ, O to BBQ. As the
(06:21):
name suggest, it has hints of smoky wood and charcoal.
It was only available in the UK as part of
a promotion around an exclusive UK KFC menu item, the
Ultimate BBQ Burger. And yes, I speaking in the past
tense because like so many of these sort of stunt
promotional products we talked about, it sold out almost immediately.
(06:44):
The company describes the scent as quote a woody, earthy
foundation that promises to make your mouth water for the
taste of BBQ. And I'm going to go out on
a limb and guess the eleven is for the famous
eleven herbs and spices.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Sure. Yeah, it's also a reference to Chanelle number five
and other traditions of perfume nomenclature. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yes, it came in a one hundred millimeter bottle that
cost eleven pounds and the proceeds went to the KFC Foundation,
And from that foundation's website quote, since two thousand and six,
the KFC Foundation has provided more than thirty six million
dollars to support, empower and serve joy to over sixteen
thousand students, restaurant employees, and nonprofits. Our charitable programs focused
(07:35):
on education, accessibility, financial and hardship assistance, and community giving.
And I wanted to put that in there because both
people were like, and it goes to charity, and.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I was like, what charity?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, still kind of vague from that description, but at
least that's a bit more than I was getting from
the articles. Sure, so let's talk about the packaging. It's
really swanky, Like if I didn't know better, I would
never guess it is a KFC promotional cologne as they
are calling it. But it does have like the red
(08:07):
KFC lettering at the bottom. But if if I had
missed that, yeah, I would have never known. It looks sleek.
It's largely black with red and white accents.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, Yeah, it's a it's a black it's a black bottle.
It also sort of looks like if someone tried to
make Darth Vader a perfume. Yeah, yeah, which I do
have that Darth Vader hot sauce, and it does kind
of look like that, except as a big Darth Vader
cap on it. There you go, there you go.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah. Can you imagine if you accidentally bought.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
This without realizing that.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Like you somehow missed the like, oh to BBQ, the KFC.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I mean, but apparently you can't really get a hold.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Of it, right, You can't just find it in a store, Yeah,
just seek it out?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, and the right and I and yes, And the
packaging is definitely a send up of the Chanel number
five packaging. So so here we are.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
I just feel like if someone smelled like barbecue, I
would just want barbecue. I don't know, I think my
brain might be confused.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
But I mean, uh, smoky, smokey wouold is definitely or
definitely notes that appear in a lot of fragrances that
can be quite pleasant. Oh yeah, charcoal, charcoal. I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah, I think it can work. I think, but I'm
just I'm also not sure. I'm not sure I would.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I would really have to smell it. So if anyone
knows where I can get a sample, holler, or if
you somehow got some oh yeah, and you can send
us like sent notes, please do please do gosh for
any of these, for any of these. Okay, our next
(10:17):
one is from Pizza Hut. And I was going to
talk about this in our Pizza Hut follow up, but
here we are. So in twenty twelve, Pizza Hut Canada
posted to their Facebook page and said, do you love
the smell of a box of Pizza Hut pizza being opened?
We thought, so, if that smell was a perfume, what
(10:39):
would it be called? And this post got such an
intense response that they just went ahead and produced a
limited round of one hundred and ten bottles of Pizza
Hut perfume that they gave away to people who had
commented on the post. It quote most top notes of
freshly baked hand tossed dough.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
They also that was not the end of it. They
brought it back briefly for Valentine's Day twenty thirteen. Fans
could at Pizza Hut on Twitter with the hashtag last
Minute Lovers on February thirteenth that year for the chance
to win a gift package including the perfume and a
twenty dollars gift card for the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I can see that going really well or really bor.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Wait what it depends on your audience, for sure, But
I mean I hope that anyone who would give that
as a Valentine's gift would be that it would be
received by someone who would appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
One would hope, one would certainly hope. Well, next, let's
talk about Anti ms So. Earlier this month, in early
August twenty twenty four, pretzel company Anti Ann's announced the
(12:10):
upcoming launch of their perfume need like k n E
A d Yeah oh de Pretzel Yeah. That was launching
on August thirteenth and would be available more widely on
the fourteenth. It is meant to encapsulate buttery dough with
(12:31):
hints of salt and sweetness, a nostalgic scent for many me,
including Yeah, it's that smell when you're in a mall
and you're just hit with like nopees of warm buttery
dough intermixed with the salt and the sweet sent ament
in there.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Oh yeah, it's a very intense small smell.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
It is. It is, and it's like in such a
small area, like you'll just be walking and then all
of a sudden, you're just hits you if.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You're right here, like moving through a wall of water.
Like it's just it's just like, WHOA Do I need
a pretzel?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes? Usually it says surrendered to the smell, I believe
on the box.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Good tagline, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Good tagline. Julie Young love Web, the company's chief brand officer,
said in a statement quote, there are a few sents
more recognizable than the aroma of Anti Ann's smell is
a special and powerful sense. Over the years, fans have
shared their memories and experiences that begin with just a
whiff of our pretzels. We've bottled that moment and can't
(13:44):
wait for fans to enjoy it in a whole new way. Okay,
it comes in yes, this blue box with yellow lettering
similar to their logo, while the bottle itself is clear
with a yellow pretzel similar to their logo and blue lettering.
To celebrate the launch the company, well, okay, this is
(14:08):
we're recording this on August sixteenth. This might have already happened,
but they're going to offer or did offer the first
pretzel perfumeriri in New York, and at that perfumery, they're
offering two sizes. I don't know what's funny about this, Lauren,
one ounce and three point four ounce for twenty five
(14:28):
dollars and forty five dollars respectively.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, it's it's definitely already sold out online and I'm
not positive, but I strongly suspect it was a one
time stunt and it's not going to be restocked.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yes, I feel like a lot of those, a lot
of the ones we're talking about, I don't Yeah, they'll
be back.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, I would say that probably about one hundred bottles
is what they're what they're producing, and when it's gone,
they're like, well that was funny, let's move on.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Hoop uh.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Speaking of McDonald's, in March of twenty twenty four, McDonald's
Japan specifically featured some images of these French fry themed
perfumes on their Twitter account, one that's just like good
old salted fries, one for their plum Nor seasoning for fries,
(15:30):
and one for their garlic black pepper mayo seasoning for fries.
McDonald's Japan has this line called Shaka Shaka Potatoes. Shake
a Shaka potatoes. Sure, yeah, it's it's this, it's this product.
It's it's a it's a bag with seasoning and you
use the bag to toss the fries around in the
(15:51):
seasoning and so they're all seasoned like this specific thing. Unfortunately, fortunately,
whichever way you want to look at it, it was
just a promotion for the food product. They had no
intention of releasing it as a perfume.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
The poor, poor broken hearts.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah yeah, I know people were psyched. However, if you're
looking for a burger chain and perfumery, burger King way
back in two thousand and eight, during the perhaps the
(16:33):
height of body sprays, did this body spray called Flame
by BK for their holiday marketing push. It apparently smelled
like grilled meat and was available in select Burger King
locations for three ninety nine for a limited time. And
(17:00):
that's not all. In twenty fifteen, Burger King Japan released
there sent a Flame grilled fragrance on April first, just
for one day at one location. This was a perfume,
not a body spray. It cost a little over the
equivalent of forty bucks and came with a whopper sandwich,
(17:23):
the scent of which it was meant to evoke. A
writer for The Verge really disliked it, but mentioned notes
of burnt rubber, salt, and bacon. Okay, yeah, yeah, I'm
picturing the burnt rubber being that charcoal. That's what I'm
thinking of. When I'm thinking of a note of charcoal.
(17:47):
I feel like it could go burnt rubber real easy. Anyway.
But yeah, he was kind of being an edgelord about
the whole thing. And yes, Japan does have an April
Fool's Day culture, so I feel like this was part
of that.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
That makes sense, Okay. Uh yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So this that deep sigh that I think we should
leave in brings us to the final entry of the day,
and the one that Annie was dreading. And I am
so sorry for not giving you a content warning.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Annie.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I I still feel really bad about it. You must,
I meant to, and I just there was a lot
going on that afternoon and I forgot. Okay, so we're
talking about a Hellman's Mayo perfume, uh huh uh. If
(18:51):
you will remember the grudge that Annie has against Mayo
is like generations deep. It was written in the stars.
It just she does not like Mayo.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yes, I really don't. And I when I found this
with no warning, I'm sorry, I was sick. I almost
knocked my laptop away from me, as if the video
from the ring was playing and I could maybe save myself.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Mhm.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
But we must go on, Lauren, We must we, we
must be strong, We must report on this very important
news story. All right, Okay, So just recently, NFL quarterback
for the Tennessee Titans, Will Levis, teamed up with Hellman's
(19:55):
to create will Levis Number eight eight for the number
of the Loves Jersey. It is also called Perfume de
Mayonnaise has six fragrance notes, according to them, tart lemon mayonnaise, accord, parsley,
(20:16):
coffee undertones, musk, and creamy vanilla. And if you're interested,
you can go to the product websites and they have
little descriptions of why they included each one on there,
and they were fun.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, yeah, it's clearly being written in good fun. I
will explain that that in Perfume and a Chord is
a blend of fragrances meant to evoke a particular thing.
In this case, it's meant to evoke Mayo from the
product's website quote. At the heart of the fragrance lies
(20:50):
a daring mayonnaise accord. The creamy and slightly tangy note
adds an unexpected twist, mirroring Will Levis's bold personality. Then
a chord provides a rich, smooth texture to the fragrance,
making it intriguingly complex and memorable.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I'm sure it's me.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
All right, Okay, So what happened here was apparently this
football dude back in twenty twenty three said something in
an internet video I believe on TikTok about how he
sometimes puts mayo in his coffee. He later clarified that
was a joke. But Helman's was the brand of Mayo
(21:36):
that he used in this video, and they took notice.
They have partnered with him, They've given him a lifetime
supply of Mayo. And then they all worked together with
an unnamed perfumer to create a cent that is, to
quote Will from a Food and Wine interview, representative of
me and what I can showcase on the football field.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Okay, okay, oh my, And here's a line from the
commercial which I just confessed to Lauren and I couldn't
even get through because I got.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
A little little nauseating.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, so I think this was actually in the caption.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Well, anyway, they tried to define you, but you are
the ingredient to your own success. Smell like creep. And
people thought it was a joke. But the company responded
on social media and they were like, it's definitely not
a joke. But who knows a good stuffy joke. I
(22:46):
don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I mean, well, I mean they but they produced the perfume.
From what I understand, they did actually produce them.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
They certainly did, and it is sold out. It was
eight dollars per thirty millimeters and as of recording, the
company is planning on restocking.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I think that might be a joke, Like it says
it says that they'll add more to the website on
the website, but I think that might not be an
accurate fact.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah, ah Mayo review lovers. But yeah, the the imagery
of the commercial is quite striking.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I perfume commercials are very striking image.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
True.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I'm sure I should be more fair my assessment of this.
I guess I just couldn't get out of my head
that it was mayo. He spraying on himself.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
All I'm sorry, but yeah, yeah, so that's why. That's
why I mean, in addition to I guess wanting to
make something that actually smelled, okay, those fragrance notes included coffee,
and I don't know, you know, I don't know. I
(24:12):
to me, mayo isn't something that has a smell. It
like barely has a flavor. It really mostly has a texture.
And so you know, like lemon and parsley and musk
and vanilla, I can kind of all picture going together.
(24:33):
Coffee earnestly really throws me in most perfumes, like I'm
always it's sort of confusing to me, and a little
bit it comes off a little acrid to my nose.
But you know, maybe and then I yeah, and then
creamy tangy, creamy tangy.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I don't know, i'd be willing to give it a whiff. Yeah, yeah,
i'd have to be. I think it was just because
I wasn't expecting this, it really did.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I'm really sorry.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
It's okay, no, no, no, it's all it was kind
of it was comical. It was really funny at least
there wasn't no Doctor Pepperson. I mean, I'm willing to
try most things. Once there you go.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I mean you wouldn't have to spray it on yourself.
You could spray it on like a card or you know,
something like that.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Yeah, we need to tell Bim Bowling about this. Oh yeah,
he also is a mayo wary. Shall we say it's
a kind way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think most of this would make him
very wary.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, this is not his at all.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
No, No, I will say in general, food related sense
and perfumes are not my favorite. Whenever something is like
I smell like a baked good and I'm like, I'm
gonna hate that. That is not a cent for me.
That's not going to go well with me. I know
Holly Fry loves them, so yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
And randomly I guess stuff I've never told you. Has
done an episode on like Popular Sense, and it's definitely
a lot of like baked goods, And I always say
I don't like those kinds of food things. And then
I'm always like, I love lavender, but you could eat lavender.
We've done an episode on lavender, So yeah, I'm more
of a like.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
But yeah, lavender is not a food.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
I mean, yeah, it's edible.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
But you're not like, oh man, I'm gonna have dinner,
what are you having lavender?
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Right right? I mean I'm sure that camp of like
I like, I don't know, a under and sage and
cinnamen sometimes yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, yeah, yea, yeah, yeah I can. I can do
lots of fruits and herbs and musks are great. Yeah,
I don't know, I have I have a spreadsheet for
my many, many, many black phoenix perfumes.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I always love looking at when they because usually they
do like a line from a certain property, and I
like just reading the descriptions, yeah, and thinking about, like
I wonder what was the thought behind this?
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah, yeah, the the creator the creator of that brand,
Beth does a really fun job of of yeah, tying
in nerd brands and and also yeah, just just putting
in little little bits of poetry or mythology or all
of the above into into things. So it's pretty pretty cool. Yes, yes,
(27:56):
well also not a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
No, And yeah, there was a lot of other things
we could have talked about.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did not go down the candle route.
Didn't want to talk about candles today. I feel like
that's a different thing.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yeah. Yeah. I went to get my haircut today and
she was asking me what she was going to record,
and I told her this, and she was like, have
you heard about all of the makeups and nail polishes
of the Cheetos is doing. I was like, I don't
know who. But She's like, some of them have a smell,
and I was like, oh no, no, wow, I don't
(28:38):
want that.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So there's a lot of ground for us to cover
in this there is, apparently, but I think we're gonna
let ourselves take a break from this for now. But again, listeners,
if you somehow have interacted with any of these or
anything like it, anything similar, please.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Let us know.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yes, oh my goodness, yes yes.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
In the meantime, you can email us at hello, atsavorpod
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
You can also find us on social media. We are
at savor pod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I usually
say that in the other order, but here we are.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah, we do hope to hear from you. Savor is
a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
you can visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to
our super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. If I
sound weird, it's because I immediately looked up the Cheetos
(29:43):
makeup brand and I'm a little bit distracted by the
Bronzer palette. Thanks to you for listening, and we hope
that lots more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Saber Protection of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie
and I'm more.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In Vogel bamb And today we have a short episode
for you about food, food scented perfumes. Food scented perfumes
like and specifically branded ones that are weird and possibly
jokes and weird.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, it's kind of hard to describe, but as we
go on, you'll get it. You'll get it.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is when you know, right, like
like so so like at one point, like Shakeshack had
a line of scented candles and stuff like that. So
but for perfume that you wear on your body.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hypothetically, hypothetical, it's a tough one for me in some ways. Listeners,
and you'll find out why. Oh but yeah, not sponsors.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Nope, none of the sponsors currently. Yeah, reach out, let
us know please.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Uh well, yeah, I guess we should, we should, hop
right in.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah sure, all right, So okay, as we have talked
about in many of our regular episodes that the worlds
of food and perfumery are not that far removed and
have in fact frequently overlapped throughout history. Think like rosewater
or lavender or rosemary, orange peel, vanilla, and also every
(01:45):
single spice we've ever talked about, you know, plus of
course ambergris. Check out our guest spot about that overrun
stuff to blow your mind if you still have not.
The sense of fruits and vegetables are also often used
in or duped for perfumes. Think notes of like melon, peach, uzo, coconut,
even green pepper shows up like not entirely and frequently,
(02:09):
and like the only reason that perfume and food is
a Venn diagram which is not a circle is that
you know, food is meant to be eaten and perfume
generally is not. Perfume makers are setting out to make
these typically edible items shelf stable and skin stable in
ways that make them inedible. Don't eat perfume. There is, however,
(02:36):
a recent trend of edible perfumes that are meant to
be spritzed on food or drinks. Is like a kind
of fun, fancy gimmick or elevation, if you'd like to
put it that way. We definitely talked with Marianna Mersir
Barani up in Vegas about some of the ones that
she's been using for the resort cocktails out at the wind,
and there are other chefs and bartenders doing the same thing.
(02:58):
And of course, like the idea of perfuming a drink
with a sprits of something goes at least as far
back as whenever someone came up with using that method
of applying absinthe to a sazaraq, which I've been seeing
for about twenty years now, which is a really funny number.
What a hilarious I love that number. I'm fine. Also,
(03:21):
you know, like whenever someone came up with them serving
a dish or a cocktail under glass with wood smoke
inside the vessels, so that like the guest has the
experience of that smoke when they remove the cover before
they consume the whatever it is. Yeah, this is not
an episode about that. No, no, no, And we do
(03:44):
love some good brand marketing shenanigans, as y'all well know.
And there has been a recent trend of food brands
coming out with perfumes as marketing stunts, like perfume that
are meant to smell like their foods. I will say
(04:06):
perfumes that smell like foods are also not a new thing,
like especially in Indie and sort of fringe perfumery a
lot of creators have done been making sense that do
not just incorporate the sense of edible things, which most
perfumes do. These are actually meant to smell like foods
and drinks, mostly baked goods and candies, like cocktails or
(04:30):
coffee and tea drink kind of things, but also some
savory entries incorporating sense like a bacon or barbecue smoke
or tomato. The brand Demeter has entries like peanut butter
and jelly rye, bread and sushi which is apparently notes
of just cooked rice, seaweed, ginger, and lemon, no fish smell.
(04:53):
My personal favorite online goth nerd fragrance brand Black Phoenix
Alchemyla traditionally has a line of limited edition perfumes every
winter called lick It, which are candy cane themed and
wisely include an explicit note that you should not ingest
the perfume. Yeah, yeah, good note, good note, important safety tip.
(05:21):
But yeah, for some reason, there was like a lot
of the stunt perfume thing going on around twenty ten ish,
but we are seeing a resurgence of it right now,
like sort of this month. I'm not sure. I'm not
sure what's going on with that.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
I don't know. I was gonna say, like, I saw
a lot of holiday marketing already.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I was a little shaken by that because it's summer.
It's summer, it's summer.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
But who knows. There are a lot of recent examples
that is true. Yeah, so let's talk about some examples.
Let's talk about some examples. Starting with KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In May of twenty twenty four, Kentucky Fried Chicken released
number eleven Oh to BBQ, O to BBQ. As the
(06:21):
name suggest, it has hints of smoky wood and charcoal.
It was only available in the UK as part of
a promotion around an exclusive UK KFC menu item, the
Ultimate BBQ Burger. And yes, I speaking in the past
tense because like so many of these sort of stunt
promotional products we talked about, it sold out almost immediately.
(06:44):
The company describes the scent as quote a woody, earthy
foundation that promises to make your mouth water for the
taste of BBQ. And I'm going to go out on
a limb and guess the eleven is for the famous
eleven herbs and spices.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Sure. Yeah, it's also a reference to Chanelle number five
and other traditions of perfume nomenclature. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yes, it came in a one hundred millimeter bottle that
cost eleven pounds and the proceeds went to the KFC Foundation,
And from that foundation's website quote, since two thousand and six,
the KFC Foundation has provided more than thirty six million
dollars to support, empower and serve joy to over sixteen
thousand students, restaurant employees, and nonprofits. Our charitable programs focused
(07:35):
on education, accessibility, financial and hardship assistance, and community giving.
And I wanted to put that in there because both
people were like, and it goes to charity, and.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I was like, what charity?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, still kind of vague from that description, but at
least that's a bit more than I was getting from
the articles. Sure, so let's talk about the packaging. It's
really swanky, Like if I didn't know better, I would
never guess it is a KFC promotional cologne as they
are calling it. But it does have like the red
(08:07):
KFC lettering at the bottom. But if if I had
missed that, yeah, I would have never known. It looks sleek.
It's largely black with red and white accents.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, Yeah, it's a it's a black it's a black bottle.
It also sort of looks like if someone tried to
make Darth Vader a perfume. Yeah, yeah, which I do
have that Darth Vader hot sauce, and it does kind
of look like that, except as a big Darth Vader
cap on it. There you go, there you go.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah. Can you imagine if you accidentally bought.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
This without realizing that.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Like you somehow missed the like, oh to BBQ, the KFC.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I mean, but apparently you can't really get a hold.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Of it, right, You can't just find it in a store, Yeah,
just seek it out?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, and the right and I and yes, And the
packaging is definitely a send up of the Chanel number
five packaging. So so here we are.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
I just feel like if someone smelled like barbecue, I
would just want barbecue. I don't know, I think my
brain might be confused.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
But I mean, uh, smoky, smokey wouold is definitely or
definitely notes that appear in a lot of fragrances that
can be quite pleasant. Oh yeah, charcoal, charcoal. I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah, I think it can work. I think, but I'm
just I'm also not sure. I'm not sure I would.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I would really have to smell it. So if anyone
knows where I can get a sample, holler, or if
you somehow got some oh yeah, and you can send
us like sent notes, please do please do gosh for
any of these, for any of these. Okay, our next
(10:17):
one is from Pizza Hut. And I was going to
talk about this in our Pizza Hut follow up, but
here we are. So in twenty twelve, Pizza Hut Canada
posted to their Facebook page and said, do you love
the smell of a box of Pizza Hut pizza being opened?
We thought, so, if that smell was a perfume, what
(10:39):
would it be called? And this post got such an
intense response that they just went ahead and produced a
limited round of one hundred and ten bottles of Pizza
Hut perfume that they gave away to people who had
commented on the post. It quote most top notes of
freshly baked hand tossed dough.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
They also that was not the end of it. They
brought it back briefly for Valentine's Day twenty thirteen. Fans
could at Pizza Hut on Twitter with the hashtag last
Minute Lovers on February thirteenth that year for the chance
to win a gift package including the perfume and a
twenty dollars gift card for the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I can see that going really well or really bor.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Wait what it depends on your audience, for sure, But
I mean I hope that anyone who would give that
as a Valentine's gift would be that it would be
received by someone who would appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
One would hope, one would certainly hope. Well, next, let's
talk about Anti ms So. Earlier this month, in early
August twenty twenty four, pretzel company Anti Ann's announced the
(12:10):
upcoming launch of their perfume need like k n E
A d Yeah oh de Pretzel Yeah. That was launching
on August thirteenth and would be available more widely on
the fourteenth. It is meant to encapsulate buttery dough with
(12:31):
hints of salt and sweetness, a nostalgic scent for many me,
including Yeah, it's that smell when you're in a mall
and you're just hit with like nopees of warm buttery
dough intermixed with the salt and the sweet sent ament
in there.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Oh yeah, it's a very intense small smell.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
It is. It is, and it's like in such a
small area, like you'll just be walking and then all
of a sudden, you're just hits you if.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You're right here, like moving through a wall of water.
Like it's just it's just like, WHOA Do I need
a pretzel?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes? Usually it says surrendered to the smell, I believe
on the box.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Good tagline, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Good tagline. Julie Young love Web, the company's chief brand officer,
said in a statement quote, there are a few sents
more recognizable than the aroma of Anti Ann's smell is
a special and powerful sense. Over the years, fans have
shared their memories and experiences that begin with just a
whiff of our pretzels. We've bottled that moment and can't
(13:44):
wait for fans to enjoy it in a whole new way. Okay,
it comes in yes, this blue box with yellow lettering
similar to their logo, while the bottle itself is clear
with a yellow pretzel similar to their logo and blue lettering.
To celebrate the launch the company, well, okay, this is
(14:08):
we're recording this on August sixteenth. This might have already happened,
but they're going to offer or did offer the first
pretzel perfumeriri in New York, and at that perfumery, they're
offering two sizes. I don't know what's funny about this, Lauren,
one ounce and three point four ounce for twenty five
(14:28):
dollars and forty five dollars respectively.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, it's it's definitely already sold out online and I'm
not positive, but I strongly suspect it was a one
time stunt and it's not going to be restocked.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yes, I feel like a lot of those, a lot
of the ones we're talking about, I don't Yeah, they'll
be back.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, I would say that probably about one hundred bottles
is what they're what they're producing, and when it's gone,
they're like, well that was funny, let's move on.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Hoop uh.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Speaking of McDonald's, in March of twenty twenty four, McDonald's
Japan specifically featured some images of these French fry themed
perfumes on their Twitter account, one that's just like good
old salted fries, one for their plum Nor seasoning for fries,
(15:30):
and one for their garlic black pepper mayo seasoning for fries.
McDonald's Japan has this line called Shaka Shaka Potatoes. Shake
a Shaka potatoes. Sure, yeah, it's it's this, it's this product.
It's it's a it's a bag with seasoning and you
use the bag to toss the fries around in the
(15:51):
seasoning and so they're all seasoned like this specific thing. Unfortunately, fortunately,
whichever way you want to look at it, it was
just a promotion for the food product. They had no
intention of releasing it as a perfume.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
The poor, poor broken hearts.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah yeah, I know people were psyched. However, if you're
looking for a burger chain and perfumery, burger King way
back in two thousand and eight, during the perhaps the
(16:33):
height of body sprays, did this body spray called Flame
by BK for their holiday marketing push. It apparently smelled
like grilled meat and was available in select Burger King
locations for three ninety nine for a limited time. And
(17:00):
that's not all. In twenty fifteen, Burger King Japan released
there sent a Flame grilled fragrance on April first, just
for one day at one location. This was a perfume,
not a body spray. It cost a little over the
equivalent of forty bucks and came with a whopper sandwich,
(17:23):
the scent of which it was meant to evoke. A
writer for The Verge really disliked it, but mentioned notes
of burnt rubber, salt, and bacon. Okay, yeah, yeah, I'm
picturing the burnt rubber being that charcoal. That's what I'm
thinking of. When I'm thinking of a note of charcoal.
(17:47):
I feel like it could go burnt rubber real easy. Anyway.
But yeah, he was kind of being an edgelord about
the whole thing. And yes, Japan does have an April
Fool's Day culture, so I feel like this was part
of that.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
That makes sense, Okay. Uh yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So this that deep sigh that I think we should
leave in brings us to the final entry of the day,
and the one that Annie was dreading. And I am
so sorry for not giving you a content warning.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Annie.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I I still feel really bad about it. You must,
I meant to, and I just there was a lot
going on that afternoon and I forgot. Okay, so we're
talking about a Hellman's Mayo perfume, uh huh uh. If
(18:51):
you will remember the grudge that Annie has against Mayo
is like generations deep. It was written in the stars.
It just she does not like Mayo.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yes, I really don't. And I when I found this
with no warning, I'm sorry, I was sick. I almost
knocked my laptop away from me, as if the video
from the ring was playing and I could maybe save myself.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Mhm.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
But we must go on, Lauren, We must we, we
must be strong, We must report on this very important
news story. All right, Okay, So just recently, NFL quarterback
for the Tennessee Titans, Will Levis, teamed up with Hellman's
(19:55):
to create will Levis Number eight eight for the number
of the Loves Jersey. It is also called Perfume de
Mayonnaise has six fragrance notes, according to them, tart lemon mayonnaise, accord, parsley,
(20:16):
coffee undertones, musk, and creamy vanilla. And if you're interested,
you can go to the product websites and they have
little descriptions of why they included each one on there,
and they were fun.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah, yeah, it's clearly being written in good fun. I
will explain that that in Perfume and a Chord is
a blend of fragrances meant to evoke a particular thing.
In this case, it's meant to evoke Mayo from the
product's website quote. At the heart of the fragrance lies
(20:50):
a daring mayonnaise accord. The creamy and slightly tangy note
adds an unexpected twist, mirroring Will Levis's bold personality. Then
a chord provides a rich, smooth texture to the fragrance,
making it intriguingly complex and memorable.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I'm sure it's me.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
All right, Okay, So what happened here was apparently this
football dude back in twenty twenty three said something in
an internet video I believe on TikTok about how he
sometimes puts mayo in his coffee. He later clarified that
was a joke. But Helman's was the brand of Mayo
(21:36):
that he used in this video, and they took notice.
They have partnered with him, They've given him a lifetime
supply of Mayo. And then they all worked together with
an unnamed perfumer to create a cent that is, to
quote Will from a Food and Wine interview, representative of
me and what I can showcase on the football field.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Okay, okay, oh my, And here's a line from the
commercial which I just confessed to Lauren and I couldn't
even get through because I got.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
A little little nauseating.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, so I think this was actually in the caption.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Well, anyway, they tried to define you, but you are
the ingredient to your own success. Smell like creep. And
people thought it was a joke. But the company responded
on social media and they were like, it's definitely not
a joke. But who knows a good stuffy joke. I
(22:46):
don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I mean, well, I mean they but they produced the perfume.
From what I understand, they did actually produce them.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
They certainly did, and it is sold out. It was
eight dollars per thirty millimeters and as of recording, the
company is planning on restocking.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I think that might be a joke, Like it says
it says that they'll add more to the website on
the website, but I think that might not be an
accurate fact.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah, ah Mayo review lovers. But yeah, the the imagery
of the commercial is quite striking.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I perfume commercials are very striking image.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
True.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I'm sure I should be more fair my assessment of this.
I guess I just couldn't get out of my head
that it was mayo. He spraying on himself.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
All I'm sorry, but yeah, yeah, so that's why. That's
why I mean, in addition to I guess wanting to
make something that actually smelled, okay, those fragrance notes included coffee,
and I don't know, you know, I don't know. I
(24:12):
to me, mayo isn't something that has a smell. It
like barely has a flavor. It really mostly has a texture.
And so you know, like lemon and parsley and musk
and vanilla, I can kind of all picture going together.
(24:33):
Coffee earnestly really throws me in most perfumes, like I'm
always it's sort of confusing to me, and a little
bit it comes off a little acrid to my nose.
But you know, maybe and then I yeah, and then
creamy tangy, creamy tangy.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I don't know, i'd be willing to give it a whiff. Yeah, yeah,
i'd have to be. I think it was just because
I wasn't expecting this, it really did.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I'm really sorry.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
It's okay, no, no, no, it's all it was kind
of it was comical. It was really funny at least
there wasn't no Doctor Pepperson. I mean, I'm willing to
try most things. Once there you go.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I mean you wouldn't have to spray it on yourself.
You could spray it on like a card or you know,
something like that.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Yeah, we need to tell Bim Bowling about this. Oh yeah,
he also is a mayo wary. Shall we say it's
a kind way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think most of this would make him
very wary.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, this is not his at all.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
No, No, I will say in general, food related sense
and perfumes are not my favorite. Whenever something is like
I smell like a baked good and I'm like, I'm
gonna hate that. That is not a cent for me.
That's not going to go well with me. I know
Holly Fry loves them, so yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
And randomly I guess stuff I've never told you. Has
done an episode on like Popular Sense, and it's definitely
a lot of like baked goods, And I always say
I don't like those kinds of food things. And then
I'm always like, I love lavender, but you could eat lavender.
We've done an episode on lavender, So yeah, I'm more
of a like.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
But yeah, lavender is not a food.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
I mean, yeah, it's edible.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
But you're not like, oh man, I'm gonna have dinner,
what are you having lavender?
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Right right? I mean I'm sure that camp of like
I like, I don't know, a under and sage and
cinnamen sometimes yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, yeah, yea, yeah, yeah I can. I can do
lots of fruits and herbs and musks are great. Yeah,
I don't know, I have I have a spreadsheet for
my many, many, many black phoenix perfumes.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I always love looking at when they because usually they
do like a line from a certain property, and I
like just reading the descriptions, yeah, and thinking about, like
I wonder what was the thought behind this?
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah, yeah, the the creator the creator of that brand,
Beth does a really fun job of of yeah, tying
in nerd brands and and also yeah, just just putting
in little little bits of poetry or mythology or all
of the above into into things. So it's pretty pretty cool. Yes, yes,
(27:56):
well also not a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
No, And yeah, there was a lot of other things
we could have talked about.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did not go down the candle route.
Didn't want to talk about candles today. I feel like
that's a different thing.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yeah. Yeah. I went to get my haircut today and
she was asking me what she was going to record,
and I told her this, and she was like, have
you heard about all of the makeups and nail polishes
of the Cheetos is doing. I was like, I don't
know who. But She's like, some of them have a smell,
and I was like, oh no, no, wow, I don't
(28:38):
want that.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
So there's a lot of ground for us to cover
in this there is, apparently, but I think we're gonna
let ourselves take a break from this for now. But again, listeners,
if you somehow have interacted with any of these or
anything like it, anything similar, please.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Let us know.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yes, oh my goodness, yes yes.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
In the meantime, you can email us at hello, atsavorpod
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
You can also find us on social media. We are
at savor pod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I usually
say that in the other order, but here we are.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah, we do hope to hear from you. Savor is
a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
you can visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to
our super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. If I
sound weird, it's because I immediately looked up the Cheetos
(29:43):
makeup brand and I'm a little bit distracted by the
Bronzer palette. Thanks to you for listening, and we hope
that lots more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Dylan Fagan
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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