- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
There are few aromas as universally loved as freshly baked bread.
Whether it's the buttery richness of a croissant, the caramelised crust of a sourdough loaf or the sweet spice of a cinnamon bun, the smell of baking has an almost instant ability to stop people in their tracks. Even those who have no intention of buying, or cannot indulge for dietary or health reasons, will often smile at the familiar aroma wafting from a bakery.
That emotional connection may be one of the baking industry's greatest strengths.
Professor Charles Spence, Head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford, has spent years studying how our senses shape flavour perception. In articles published in Baking Europe, he explains that aroma is central to how we experience food and that the smell of freshly baked bread is closely linked with memory, comfort and wellbeing. He also points out that authentic bread aroma is exceptionally difficult to reproduce because it comprises hundreds of volatile compounds created during mixing, fermentation and baking. If bakery aromas are so emotionally powerful, it perhaps comes as little surprise that other industries are trying to recreate them.
Comfort has become a commercial opportunity
Consumers today are not simply looking for sweetness or indulgence. Increasingly, they are seeking products that make them feel good.
According to Innova Market Insights' 2026 flavour trends, mood and emotion are playing an increasingly important role in flavour choice, with comfort, happiness and nostalgia emerging as key purchase drivers. The company also notes that familiar bakery-inspired profiles, including cookies, biscuits and cinnamon rolls, are finding their way into categories such as beverages, snacks and dairy as brands look to tap into those positive emotional associations.
Mintel has identified a similar shift, reporting that nostalgic flavours are increasingly valued because they make food and drink feel more comforting and indulgent.
The message is clear: consumers are buying experiences as much as ingredients.
It's about more than taste
The bakery sector has long understood that great products are judged by far more than flavour alone.
Texture, crust, colour, aroma and mouthfeel all contribute to the overall eating experience.
That thinking is increasingly reflected across the wider ingredients industry. Givaudan, for example, says creating successful sweet goods is "not just about taste", but also about mouthfeel, crunch, crispiness, chewiness and softness. The company describes its approach as creating a 'complete sweet goods experience', recognising that indulgence is built through multiple sensory cues rather than sweetness alone.
For bakers, that is hardly revolutionary. It is what bakeries have always done. But it does reinforce an important point: the sensory experience surrounding baked goods has value in its own right.
When bakery leaves the bakery aisle
Perhaps the strongest evidence comes from products that have little obvious connection with bakery.
In fragrance, brands are increasingly recreating the atmosphere of bakeries and cafés rather than relying solely on traditional floral or citrus perfumes.
US fragrance brand Snif launched Crumb Couture, inspired by buttery croissants, berry jam and toasted
bread, french fragrance house Versatile Paris followed with Croissant Café, blending notes of warm pastry, coffee and vanilla to recreate the feeling of sitting in a Parisian café, while luxury brand Maison Margiela also entered the category with Replica Afternoon Delight, centred on the comforting aroma of warm madeleines enjoyed with coffee.
The objective is not to make consumers smell like a bakery for novelty's sake. These fragrances are designed to evoke warmth, comfort and familiarity—the same emotions associated with freshly baked food.
The drinks industry has explored similar territory.
Australian distiller Four Pillars collaborated with Melbourne's Lune Croissanterie to create Croissant Gin, incorporating baked croissants and clarified croissant butter during distillation to capture the richness and buttery complexity of laminated pastry.
Meanwhile, sports nutrition brands have embraced flavours such as Birthday Cake and Cinnamon Bun to soften the functional image of protein products. Ghost Whey x Cinnabon and Quest Birthday Cake Protein Bar are just two examples of bakery-inspired flavours helping transform nutritional products into something that feels more indulgent.
Viewed individually, these launches may seem quirky. Taken together, they suggest something more significant: bakery has become a source of sensory inspiration well beyond its own category.
As bakers, what can we take away from this?
Industrial bakeries have always invested in the science behind fermentation, butter quality, oven profiles, crust development and texture. Traditionally, those investments have been measured by loaf volume, eating quality and shelf life.
Perhaps there is another way to look at them.
Every time a loaf comes out of the oven, it delivers an experience that is difficult to quantify but instantly recognisable. The aroma of freshly baked bread tells consumers that something is warm, fresh, authentic and made with care. Long before the first bite, expectations have already been formed.
This has implications beyond product development. If aroma and the anticipation of freshness are among bakery's greatest assets, how can they be communicated when consumers cannot smell the product? Packaging, branding, photography, in-store theatre and marketing all have a role to play in reinforcing those cues. Equally, open baking, scratch finishing and visible production remain powerful ways of communicating freshness in retail environments.
The fact that perfumers, distillers and nutrition brands are now borrowing bakery's sensory language should perhaps be seen as a compliment rather than a curiosity. It suggests they recognise something bakers have understood for generations: people do not simply enjoy baked goods, they respond emotionally to everything they represent.
For an industry often focused on ingredients, process efficiency and production volumes, it is worth remembering that bakery's greatest product may not be bread or pastry at all, but the feeling people get from the smell of something freshly baked.
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