For 29 years, customers of Merritt's Bakery, Tulsa, Okla., regularly remarked about the aromas in the bakery. But now that Merritt's does its baking in a single central location, those in-store aromas have disappeared from retail locations without ovens. “The lack of fresh bakery smells can be detrimental to any baker operating a cold spot,” says Larry Merritt, president of Merritt's Bakery.

At a Texas Restaurant Association show in Houston, Merritt and his wife sniffed out a solution — scent machines. They now have one scent machine in each of their four retail locations.

“The machines have produced the results I was looking for,” Merritt says. “The new birthday cake scent is wonderful, and again my customers are commenting about the fresh-baked aromas in my stores.”