(Bloomberg) -- You may find yourself smelling crayons in the aisles of stores soon — if Crayola’s Chief Executive Officer Pete Ruggiero has his way.
In July, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a trademark to the arts and crafts giant for the smell of its crayons — that waxy scent of a childhood spent trying to color within the lines. While it’s too soon for this back-to-school season, Ruggiero imagines one day pumping it through the aisles of retailers, triggering nostalgia while shoppers are browsing and hopefully buying more crayons.
Crayola, a unit of Hallmark, first applied for the trademark in 2018 and was initially turned down less than a year later, but won its bid on appeal. During the process, the company shared examples of its own crayons as well as competitors to verify the distinctiveness.
It’s a “slightly earthy soap with pungent, leather-like clay undertones,” according to the trademark documents.
Almost half of Crayola’s annual sales come during the weeks between early July and Labor Day — when millions of kids in the US are heading back to school.
Crayola sells 30% of its products online at places like Amazon.com Inc. with the other 70% from brick-and-mortar retailers including Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Staples Inc.
Crayola ranks number one in US sales in the coloring category, which includes crayons and colored pencils, according to Euromonitor.
“We’ve been talking about doing it for years,” Ruggiero said about the trademark. “That Crayola smell, there’s a connection between the smell and childhood memories that is very powerful.”
(Updates with more context in the fifth paragraph. An earlier version corrected use of the word trademark.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
