Scent marketing agency Air Aroma recently partnered with Capella Hotels & Resorts to develop its signature scent. Here, the brand’s Global Senior Sales Manager Annalisa France tells all on what it takes to create a bespoke fragrance for luxury hotels.

How do you work with a brand to craft its own fragrance? 

When we create a signature fragrance for a client, we take special care to start from scratch, developing a bespoke blend that is uniquely and exclusively theirs. We have honed this creative process for over two decades, designing signature scents for international luxury and innovative brands, providing scent marketing solutions and creating unique olfactive logos.  

What can scent bring to a hotel? 

Through the signature scent creation process, Air Aroma transforms aspects of a brand identity, both tangible and intangible, into an exclusive, custom blend. This aroma acts as a scent logo for the brand, allowing them to harness the sense most deeply linked to emotions and memories, thus connecting guests with the brand in deeper, more meaningful ways. 

What did the creative process look like when working with Capella? 

To begin with, Air Aroma held numerous workshops with the Capella team to learn about the brand’s history and positioning. Pulling from these proceedings and additional, in-depth research, we then put together a scenting brief for Capella’s approval. 

From there, we pulled fragrance notes that inspire the essence of the brand, taking into consideration key elements of Capella such as its brand ethos, characteristics, history and interior design. For this project, rather than pulling location-specific notes, the team focused on notes that inspire international appeal – a nod to the brand’s global prowess and worldly clientele. 

After a sampling process, variations were fine-tuned until a final decision was made, resulting in a scent curated entirely to Capella’s core aesthetic. We then began production of the oil in France, to be used for diffusion at all Capella locations globally. 

Tell us more about how Capella’s scent reflects its identity? 

Capella’s scent was ideated through extensive review of the brand’s identity. For example, the green tea ingredient present in the blend was specifically chosen as nod to the heritage of the brand, which was founded in Singapore.  

Additionally, each Capella location is designed to feel like a second home to their guests and residences. At the heart of each Capella location is The Living Room, a signature space in all properties that is designed to look and feel like the living area of a private home. Here, guests can relax, enjoy complimentary refreshments and enjoy curated local art and experiences. When developing the Capella scent, care was taken to choose a scent that creates a sense of cosy familiarity to align with the feel of these spaces. Candles were designed with the express intent of being feature pieces in both the Capella Living Room spaces as well as guests’ own homes, should they wish to take a piece of Capella back with them. 

The scent was crafted to capture the senses with timeless sophistication. Bright top notes of bergamot and green tea leaves bring soothing freshness to the blend, while citrus and herbal aromatics combine to enhance the feelings of serenity and calm. Elements of peony and freesia compose the body of the scent, bringing a further freshness with delicate, airy florals. This heart of white florals evokes the classic elegance inherent to the Capella brand. 

Base notes of vetiver, a green, earthy scent, and cedarwood balance the light scent with a natural woodiness. Grounding the blend, these base notes provide an aura of depth, intrigue and nostalgia that nods to Capella’s commitment to craftmanship and hospitality. Following one of Capella’s key mantras, the signature scent presents individuality with a twist of the unexpected. 

The final scent creates a warm welcome and lingering impression, serving as a lasting reminder of the brand’s commitment to excellence.

For more information on Air Aroma, visit www.air-aroma.com