Candy Professor

News Brief: Smells Like Candy Spirit

May 9, 2011 at 11:41 am 3 comments

Well, looking back I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. It had to happen eventually:

The ingredient innovator BENEO has found a way to incorporate body fragrance into a tasty candy that works from the inside out. (full press release here)

Did you get that? Body fragrance. In candy. This product is now available in Europe, and the brand name says it all: Deo.

Deo is a sweet rose-flavored lozenge. Eat a piece, and after a half hour or so you too will be sweetly rose scented. I am not making this up. It’s the magic of a chemical called geraniol, a sweet-smelling chemical found naturally in some plant essences. Mad candy scientists discovered that if you eat geraniol, it comes back out through the skin. The same thing happens when you eat garlic, although the consequences are generally quite different.

It actually might not be such a bad idea; sort of a breath mint on steroids. But did they really have to call the candy Deo? It will make it difficult to hide your true intentions when you offer a packet to your stinky office mate. On the other hand, it will certainly be a nicer gesture than the traditional gift-wrapped deodorant stick.

And it’s nice to think that candy is working to solve our global water crisis, too. Those daily showers use up a lot of precious fluids; Deo can help us all move toward a reduced bathing schedule.

Catchy marketing phrase? How about: “Now you can have your deoderant, and eat it too.” Although this is likely to evoke bad memories of accidentally licking a freshly swiped underarm. Mmmm…

Entry filed under: News Briefs.