REVEALED: The Nation’s Favourite Scents

VELO set out to survey 2,000 people within the UK in order to find out which scents win the British people’s hearts.

The respondents were asked to choose from some of the most common scents in order to find out which smell would come out on top, and which smell people would rather live without. Respondents were also analysed by age, gender and city to look at how those characteristics can influence reactions to different scents.

THE UK’S FAVOURITE SCENTS
30% of the respondents say the smell of freshly baked bread is one of their favourite scents. That makes it more popular than the smell of sizzling bacon (21%) and even fresh flowers (19%). The smell of freshly baked bread is more popular for respondents aged 55+ (42%) compared to only 12% of 18-24-year olds surveyed who feel the same way.

Following closely behind the top spot is the smell of fresh coffee (27%). This is also the most picked choice of smells from respondents in these UK cities: Plymouth (35%), Sheffield (32%) and Leeds (31%). The third favourite scent in the UK is freshly cut grass – the first of the outdoor smells. Almost a quarter of people surveyed (24%) chose freshly mowed grass as one of their top outside smells. Interestingly, it is a greater favourite for those living in big UK cities; respondents in Brighton (35%), Liverpool (34%) and Nottingham (26%) all chose it as one of their top smells.