Remember my post about restaurants having menus that send smells for their visually impaired customers? (If not, read it here).Well technology is rapidly invading the food scene in ways we cant imagine! There is a Japanese company called "Scentee" that is designing an added gadget to your smart phone (I-phone in particular for now), whereby it can allow you to smell food by a single click on the screen!
How does it work?
The " Hana Yakiniku" or " Nose Grilled Meat" kit words around the concept of " tasting and savouring food with your nose".The company listed flavours like apple, lavender, strawberry, curry, mint, rose, cinnamon role, coconut, corn soup, Jasmine &Coffee...
The Food-scented cartridges are meant to be attached to your smartphone. ( sold on Amazon)
Then: It’s simple: download the free app, choose a flavor, insert the Scentee cartridge, and let your olfactory nerves do the work! Be sure to prepare a bowl of rice to go with your ‘scent’.
What is the benefit?
- Enjoyable Experience: Enjoy your untasty food by smelling other foods from your phone.
For example, you are eating rice, you can smell grilled meat along.
Or if you don't like eating a certain food, you can choose your favourite food, lets say PIZZA! & just smell it! - Better Health: How? Besides being full, smelling a certain junky food that you love, you wont have to eat it. This means less eating, less calories and better health
Is it effective? ( Back draws)
- This "invention" can make some people more hungry or atleast stay hungry even after eating
- Does the food taste change? Perhaps it does. Perhaps the combination of the smell and the food you eat, wont be very delicious.
- There are no complicated flavors, the flavors listed for now are simple that can be overwhelmed and not obvious with other flavors.
- Dismiss complex flavors and aromas. Food is not a single ingredient, it is a hybrid matrix of many chemicals ( compounds, elements, nutrients, flavors).
- Sometimes, you might crave even more when you smell a certain food. A simple example, when you pass by a restaurant of bakeshop and you smell the food coming out, you will want to enter there and order some!
Other possible/beneficial uses
- Restaurants and Cafes to attract passers by. They can put it on the street or in the mall, and make passers want to come in and grab their food.
- Ads by Restaurants and cafes online ( real smell of their food) to invite customers to come, instead of posting normal text or visual ads
- Place it in your home , room, or car to change the smell of your room.
The company says it has other uses (Self-Puffing tool) for example, every time you get a facebook like or a message, a scent gets automatically puffed to your nose from your phone! Thereby, providing the 4D communication experience for the customer!
Will it be the next Instagram thing? Where people post & share the smell of their food instead of photos?
Oh... no.. I hope not.. especially for not the-so-well avid cooks.
