Get to Know the Story Behind Kindling, the Nostalgic Scent of 1 Hotels

If you’ve ever stepped foot into one of our sustainable sanctuaries, you’ve felt the inexplicable comfort that meets you at the door. Surrounded by the lush, native greenery, the rustic, natural wood structures, the bright, warming sunlight, and the pure, soothing scents of nature, you’re reminded of the grounding, healing powers of the natural world.

Well, that feeling — that comfort — is largely influenced by our signature scent, Kindling. A mixture of seven pure, all-natural ingredients, the scent is designed to mesh with the nature-inspired designs and materials in our serene spaces to create a warm, refreshing ambiance.

Available for purchase with our best-selling soy candles and room spray, it also allows you to bring that same soothing sensation into the comforts of your own home, creating harmony with nature in all of your favorite spaces. 

In celebration of the nostalgic influence that Kindling carries, we wanted to share the story of its delicate formulation and the female-led business in NYC that helped us bring it to life: Scent Marketing Inc.

The Story of Scent Marketing Inc.

At 1 Hotels, all of our partnerships are extremely intentional, and our partnership with Scent Marketing Inc. is one that we’ll always hold close to our hearts. As a female-owned, mission-driven brand, our admiration for Scent Marketing begins with their heartfelt story. 

As CEO Caroline Fabrigas describes, “The evolution of Scent Marketing Inc. has been both a legacy and a love affair.” Caroline inherited the company in 2010 when her beloved husband of 15 years, Harald H. Vogt, suddenly passed away. Harald was a well-known and respected advocate, educator, and pioneer in the story of Scent Marketing, and Caroline fused his vision with her 20-year luxury marketing background to shape the Scent Marketing that exists today.

Over the years, it has blossomed from an indie startup company to a full-service Scent and Sensory Marketing company — a leading authority and innovator in the art and science of scent branding and marketing.

In many ways, the Scent Marketing vision aligns with the 1 vision. They push beyond convention and expectation to provide an unparalleled luxury sensory experience. As a leading expert in Aromacology, Scent Marketing Inc. recognizes that scent is more than just scent. It’s a powerful tool that can be specifically formulated to align with a brand’s values and effectively enhance brand identity, create lasting memories and nostalgia, and nurture guest loyalty.

Their dedication to honoring brand identity and nurturing the guest journey is exactly why we cherish our partnership with them — and why they’ve become the trusted resource for Fortune 500 companies and global brands, including Ever Body, Physique 57, Ride Cycle Studio, North Face, and Grand Marnier.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the creation of Kindling, the scent that makes you feel perfectly at home and at ease in our sustainable sanctuaries.

Behind the Scenes of Kindling, the Signature Scent of 1 Hotels

When developing the 1 Hotels exclusive signature scent, Caroline explains, “Our aim was to provide 1 Hotels guests with the ultimate olfactory journey. We allow them to feel one with nature through aromas that bring the outdoors in.”

Process
Kindling began with Scent Marketing’s holistic approach to understanding the 1 mission and vision. The process includes four essential stages:

1. Discover: This required understanding our unique story by deconstructing our brand’s sensorial dimensions, visiting our sanctuaries, and honing in on our strong connection with nature.
2. Define: Master perfumers at Scent Marketing used our brand values and identity to create a custom scent. Influencing factors were validated by a global sensory database that uses human response data to create precise scent associations.
3. Design + Develop: A prototype was developed using a 100% exclusive ingredient palette, which was then tested and refined to create a final scent that deeply resonated with our brand and guest experience. 
4. Deliver: This signature scent was then delivered and harmoniously diffused throughout our sanctuaries.

As Caroline eloquently professes, “A well-crafted ambient scent is an invisible influence that envelops, whispers the brand’s message in a deep, meaningful and indelible way,” and we’re proud that Kindling does just that.

Ingredients, Packaging, and Manufacturing
Kindling has the ability to deepen your connection with nature through its aromatic bouquet of all-natural ingredients. Exotic eucalyptus leaves and sultry cedarwood meld together with lucid oakwood to create an uplifting impression, while a base of sheer musk and earthy tree moss impart a touch of nature’s luxury.

Every detail of this scent is designed to signal simplicity, purity, and comfort. To achieve this in our signature candle, Kindling is suspended in a natural soy wax blend, hugged by a white matte vessel, and dispersed through a cotton wick. Each candle is packaged in a natural, cotton drawstring pouch carrying the 1 Hotel logo and a description of the custom scent.

Kindling further honors the natural world through rigorous safety standards. This exclusive scent is vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free, phthalate-free, petroleum-free, and thoughtfully made in the USA. Beyond crafting transcendent, harmonious scents, Scent Marketing coordinates with the industry’s regulatory organizations such as IFRA and RIFM to ensure all ingredients are responsibly sourced — another thing that beautifully aligns with our brand values.

With all that said, be on the lookout for future Kindling products including water-based room freshener and Eau de Parfum.

Experience Kindling

This exclusive, treasured scent can only be found at 1 Hotels, our Goodthings online shop, ScentMarketingInc.com, ScentFluence.com, or the ScentFluence Aroma Design Studio in Scarsdale, NY.

Capture the essence of nature and relive the nostalgia of your serene, majestic 1 Hotels retreat every day.