A YORK manufacturer is working with retailers to enable their customers to safely try before they buy.

Safety guidelines mean businesses need to find new ways of allowing shoppers to smell fragrances before they reopen from June 15.

Maximise which makes absorbent tester strips is offering clients involved in fragrances, flavours and aromas Clear Envelopes as a solution.

Managing director Andy Hudson said: “By spraying scents onto tester blotter strips and then sliding them inside our Clear Envelopes, retailers can safely capture a fragrance and seal it in until a customer wants to try it.

"It works for aromatherapy oils, essential oils and e-cigarette liquids, too. The customer needn’t touch anything because it’s all been prepared beforehand. They still get to ‘try before they buy’ which, crucially, means they’re more likely to make a purchase.”

The envelopes, made from clear polypropylene, can then be wiped clean.

Andy approached York-based retailer, Soul Organic to offer a batch of envelopes and tester strips in return for them helping with a promotional video.

“We were more than happy to try out the Clear Envelopes and help a fellow York-based business in the process,” said Lauren Cook, owner of Soul Organic. “We didn’t know how we were going to let our customers sample our liquid products and it was a big worry. Now, we have a solution – and a starring role in Maximise’s explainer video.”

Maximise has already distributed thousands of Clear Envelopes and is getting new enquiries daily.

“Minimising the spread of infection is everyone’s priority. We have to do things differently. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do them at all. It just takes a bit of creative thinking and a willingness to try new methods.”