Scientists have found that there is a direct link between sound and smell, and that the relationship between the two may be much more complex than was previously thought.
Participants were asked to eat toffee while listening to different pieces of music, and experienced the taste and smell of the sweet differently when the music was changed, seemingly associating certain sounds with sweetness and others with bitterness.
This news has fascinating implications not only for the food and beverage industries, but also for fragrance marketing. The music played in department stores could soon be put together as carefully as the visual displays, in order to enhance customers' enjoyment of different perfumes. The discovery could also open new avenues for the collaborations between pop stars and perfume houses, with fragrances and hit singles potentially designed to work together in new ways.
For more information, see Cassie Barton's Wellcome Trust prize winning article for the Guardian G2 here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/oct/22/sound-and-smell-create-harmony
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