BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

The power of scents in consumer products

3. Key words
Level: Advanced (C1-C2)
a. Have students find the words that complete the
Time: Approximately 90 minutes
sentences in the article. Paragraph number is given
in brackets to guide them. They then read the text to
Business topic: Scents and how products
can be aimed at evoking emotions, confirm their answers Elicit sentences using new words
demographics, and market appeal. in correct context, e.g., Many people think the food
industry is lucrative.
Business language: Words and phrases
for products, describing scents, and Key:
demographics. 1. ubiquity 7. evoke
2. lucrative 8. pitches
Activities: Key words, understanding the 3. espionage 9. demographic
text, business language, discussion, group 4. prowess 10. lag
presentations 5. trialled 11. take-up
6. edge 12. signifiers
Groups: Whole class, one-to-one,
small groups 4. Understanding the article

a. Ask students to read the sentences, tick (ü) the ones

Overview: This article discusses the appeal
of different scents in products aimed at
different consumer groups, and how lucrative
and powerful the role of scents is in product
development and marketing.
1. Warmer
a. Ask student to make a note of 6 everyday products
they buy and of the scents these products have. An
example is given. Have them then talk briefly to share
and compare their answers. If possible, they should
try to say why they choose those particular scents in
the products they mentioned and not a completely
different type of scent.
2. Find the information
a. Ask students to quickly skim read the article and
make a note of all the products and types of
Advanced
that are true, and rewrite the others.
Key.
1. True
2. False. He found the sweet fruity, even caramel,
scents in products unpleasant.
3. False. As the world globalizes, it is more
important to take cultural tastes and expectations
into consideration. This is as important in the
scent industry as in any other.
4. True
5. False. Two, Firmenich and Givaudan, are based
in Switzerland; the third, IFF, is based in New
York, in the US.
6. False. The pandemic hardly made any difference
to Givaudan’s and Firmenich’s 10-year,
compound annual growth rate in revenues of
about 5 per cent.
7. True (see section 13)
8. False. Perfumers are being asked to source
ever more unusual smells for fine fragrances.
Something technology could not predict.

scents mentioned. 9. True

10. True
Key:
Products: shampoo, detergent, candle, washing
powder, moisturiser, high-end cosmetics, fragrances
Scents: fruit, caramel, astringent, citrus, menthol,
fresh, clove, animalistic, faecal (!)
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 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

5. Business language

a.
Key:
1. squeaky clean
2. sitting alongside
3. compound annual growth
4. barely dented (something)
5. a code of silence
6. a key driver
7. a constant stream of …
8. social divide

b. Students work with a partner to write 2 sentences for

each of the word pairs or phrases. If possible, their
second sentences should be about their own company
or field of business.

6. Discussion

a. Put the students in pairs or small groups and ask

them to discuss the questions. When students have
covered all of the questions, bring the whole class
back together so that they can share their answers
and any interesting information that arose from
their discussions.

7. Wider business theme – Redesigning

product features

a. Students work through the stages of the task with a

partner or in small groups. To round off the lesson,
they should present their product ideas to the rest of
the group, justifying their decisions and answering any
questions the others have.
Advanced

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