WHAT IS IT?
Hospitality is full of touchpoints: small, intentional moments where guests interact with the brand in a way that shapes memory. Some are expected, like the menu or the check. But the wow moments come when a restaurant decides to introduce a touchpoint that’s unexpected, sensory, and emotional.
One of the most original examples is Cafe ArtScience in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Instead of ending dinner with a chocolate or a mint simply put on a plate, they give the guests AeroPods: inhalable aromatic mints. Imagine breathing in mint or chocolate as a vapor instead of eating it.
WHY IS IT COOL?
- It surprises guests. Everyone expects dessert to be eaten. Nobody expects to inhale flavor. That moment flips the script, and instantly it becomes memorable, whileit definitely brings the wow factor we are all looking for.
- It engages another sense. Dining is usually about taste, sight and touch. Ending the dinner while making the smell the star of the moment creates a multisensory twist. You actually immerse yourself in mint, not just taste it.
- It ensures that the goodbye moment is unforgettable, since this mint is served after the dessert, right at the end of the meal. That means that the last impression is not just sugar on the tongue,the guest experiences a fun and playful act that will keep the memory more vivid. Let’s not forget the peak-end rule that exists in psychology and definitely is used in this scenario.
- It’s Instagrammable! Inhaling mint or chocolate is a story one will definitely share. In the ages of digital word-of-mouth this is a touchpoint that is not only emotional, but photogenic as well.
WHY IT HAS FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL?
First, this palate cleanser is a memory anchor. Scent is neurologically tied to memory. The guest is able to recall the scent of this mint weeks or months later, and this is exactly what guests are looking for nowadays. They crave experiences beyond eating; they are looking for story- telling, playfulness, and interaction. The AeroPod may seem like a small gesture, just a puff of mint at the end of the meal. But in reality, it is a bold statement about where hospitality is headed. It proved that a touchpoint doesn’t need to be elaborate or expensive in order to be powerful. What matters that it surprises, engages, and lingers in memory. By turning smell into a star, Cafe ArtScience tapped into one very strong emotional sensor, and that is the secret of an amazing touchpoint. It transforms something ordinary (like the mint) into something extraordinary (a story worth telling). In this industry,where technology is playing a big part with QR codes, fancy plating and high-tech dining, this example reminds us that guests don’t only want to eat but also to feel, to remember. And when a restaurant delivers that in such an unexpected way, I believe that’s when hospitality becomes magic.
References:
https://www.wired.com/2014/11/science-inspired-restaurant-inhale-dessert-mints/
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