The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) launched its first scratch-and-sniff stamps titled “Frozen Treats Forever” on June 20, 2018. The summer launch features illustrations of frosty, colorful, ice pops.
The First-Class Mail Forever stamps are the work of Margaret Berg of Santa Monica, California. A First-Class Mail Forever stamp means it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.
Each of the 10 stamp designs includes two different treats. When scratched, the stamp evokes a tantalizing aroma, described as a mixture of watermelon, kiwi, orange and strawberry, chocolate, and root beer.
How it works or How it come to be
In the 1940s, researchers at two companies, 3M (manufacturer of Scotch tape and Post-it note pads) and NCR Corporation, were pursuing better ways to trap ink in microscopic pockets on paper. The use case was for applications in carbon copies and cash register receipts. Specifically, they trying to find a way to prevent purple fingers, the stains that remained after workers at the cash register changed the cash register tapes.
The process that they developed independently, called “micro-encapsulation,” also worked with scented oils. Tiny droplets of scented oils are surrounded by a coating to create extremely small capsules which could rupture under pressure, thereby releasing the scent of the oil. [Source]
Since then marketers have been putting scratch-and-sniff strips into the likes of fashion magazines to market perfumes and fragrances. The scent strips revolutionized the global fragrance industry in the direct mail market.
I wrote about fragrant stamps in the past as well, but apart from stamps, the technology is also featured in various marketing campaigns:
Liberty Mutual, an insurance company, created a scented print ad that releases the ‘New-Car Smell’ [Source]
San Francisco once had bus shelters that smelled like cookies and milk before people complained and got them removed [Source]
Reference
Malcolm, Andrew H. “OVERPOWERING THE SCENT MARKET.” New York Times, 27 Mar. 1988, p. 6006056.