Japanese e-commerce site allows customers to choose by aroma

Hisamitsu Coffee, which manufactures roasted beans under the Guild Coffee brand, has agreed to be the first store featured on Aroma Bit’s Milunio,com, where it will offer 15 varieties of coffee beans.

The products will each carry their own aroma codes that link to an aroma-visualising smart label developed by Aroma Bit. The JPY30,000 (US$269) label sensor, when given a whiff of a product, will work alongside a smartphone app to provide a visual representation of the aroma.

The process allows people to “see the odour as if smelling it​,” according to the company, and match up their favourite aromas with those of products in the store.

Products with similar patterns have similar aromas, and those with different patterns have different ones.

When a consumer finds an aroma pattern that is similar to their preferred pattern, they will then be charged half price on any purchases. 

“This offers a new shopping experience and opportunity to discover products based on aroma, which was not possible in conventional e-commerce websites​,” Aroma Bit says. 

The platform offers sellers the opportunity to find new customers where they would otherwise be lost due to not having access to the aroma.

“Aroma code provides a new tool for communication and promotion that conveys the aroma of products, which embodies their uniqueness or characteristics, to consumers digitally, visually and intuitively​,” according to the company. 

“This is expected to help sellers cost-efficiently create opportunities for consumers to discover and purchase products without spending a heavy promotion cost for tasting​.” 

Milunio.com is currently only available in Japan, though Aroma Bit plans to expand it globally.