Every August, the Silver Salmon Derby draws anglers to the waters around Seward, Alaska. And every year, whether we’re there or not, it brings our own Alaskan adventures rushing back.

It was for our 20th anniversary that David and I took our first trip to Alaska. We decided to fly into Anchorage, rent a car, drive to Seward, and spend the week exploring the beautiful Kenai Peninsula.

We went online and started searching for airline tickets and a place to stay. We found the phone number for a local vacation rental company and were even able to speak with a real person. When we told her our travel dates, she explained that finding accommodations would be nearly impossible because we were arriving during the Silver Salmon Derby.

“The what?”

She explained that the Seward Silver Salmon Derby had been a tradition since the mid-1950s and attracted thousands of anglers hoping to land a prize-winning salmon.

“What sort of accommodations are you looking for?” she asked.

“A bedroom, bathroom, and maybe a little kitchen.” In other words, a cabin, lol!

There wasn’t one available for miles.

But then she mentioned that she had an apartment over her garage that she would be happy to rent to us for the week.

It couldn’t have worked out better.

A Little Piece of Home Goes to Alaska

She emailed us pictures of the apartment, and I knew immediately that I wanted to take something along that would make it feel a little more like home.

So into my suitcase went my Belle Aroma® Platinum Dolphin Plugables® Premium Diffuser and a bottle of Belle Aroma® Lavender Fields Fragrance Oil.

The Platinum Dolphin seemed made for Seward. Its silver finish and graceful dolphin design added just the right touch of seaside charm to our little apartment.

And, as it turned out, bringing fragrance along was an even better idea than I realized.

Every evening, David would wander down to the docks to see the day’s catch. The serious Alaskan anglers were after silver salmon, and when someone caught a pink salmon they didn’t want, David was more than happy to take it off their hands.

Back to our apartment it came, and I would cook it for dinner.

At the time, we didn’t know much about the differences between silver, red, pink, or any other kind of salmon. We just knew there was something pretty incredible about eating a fish that had been caught only an hour or two earlier.

There was just one little problem.

Fresh salmon smells like fresh salmon!

That’s when I was especially glad I’d packed my diffuser. The Lavender Fields Fragrance Oil helped freshen our temporary home after dinner while creating the peaceful, relaxing atmosphere I wanted at the end of a busy day exploring Alaska.

And that experience reminds me of something that’s important for Belle Aroma retailers:

You’re not simply selling a diffuser and a bottle of fragrance. You’re selling the feeling customers can create with them.

Turn the Platinum Dolphin Into a Story in Your Store

The Platinum Dolphin Plugables® Premium Diffuser gives retailers a natural opportunity to create a display that customers can instantly understand.

Instead of placing the diffuser alone on a shelf, consider creating a small “Coastal Escape” or “Seaside Retreat” vignette. A few simple touches—driftwood, seashells, sea-glass-colored accessories, or a framed ocean photograph—can help set the scene.

Then place several Belle Aroma® fragrance refills alongside it, giving customers the opportunity to choose the fragrance that completes their own version of the experience.

Now your customer isn’t simply looking at a diffuser on a shelf. She’s imagining that little coastal retreat in her own home.

That’s a much easier story to sell.

Bring a Little Seward to Your Store

Our week in Seward was many years ago, but every time the Silver Salmon Derby rolls around, I think about that apartment over the garage, those beautiful Alaskan views, David coming home from the docks with another salmon, and my little Platinum Dolphin filling our temporary home with Lavender Fields fragrance.

That’s the kind of memory scent can create—and the kind of experience we can help our customers create in their own homes.

So this summer, consider giving your Platinum Dolphin Plugables Premium Diffuser a little more attention. Pair it with a few fragrance choices, add some simple coastal touches, and create a display that invites your customers to imagine their own seaside escape.

Don’t just put a diffuser on the shelf.

Give it a destination. Give it a fragrance. Give it a story.

Then give your customer a reason to take that story home.

-Lori Herr for Belle Aroma