FRANCE REVEALS NEW SNIFF AND SCRATCH BAGUETTE POSTAGE STAMPS
Nothing is more stereotypically French than the baguette. The bread's pillowy interior and crispy crust have made it synonymous with its nation of origin. When people think of the European nation, it's frequently one of the first things that come to mind. La Poste, the national postal service of France, has launched a new range of scratch-and-sniff stamps that are meant to resemble the popular bread to cash in on its widespread popularity.
La Poste has been developing the concept for some time, and to produce the stamps, they enlisted the assistance of Paris-based designer Stéphane Humbert-Basset. In his design, a baguette is displayed on a white background and is finished with a ribbon that matches the French tricolour. The remaining stamp is filled in with text that says, "La baguette, de pain française," which is translated as, "The baguette, the French bread." The ink contains tiny fragrance microcapsules that break when a fingernail is dragged across the stamp, giving it a pleasant smell reminiscent of bread.
It was only fitting that the personalised stamps were unveiled on St. Honoré's Day, as she is considered the patron saint of pastry chefs and bakers. A total of 594,000 copies were printed and sold for €1.96 (approximately $2.13) per unit.
The distinctive stamps were part of a bigger initiative to revive public interest in the postal service, particularly in light of the growing paperless nature of communication in the digital age. With delectable scents to go along with it, each piece in the collection showcases a traditional French culinary component, such as chocolate, lavender, and strawberries.
Fortunately for other individuals hoping to join in on the fun, this is not the first time an initiative of this kind has been attempted. For the summer of 2018, the USPS released a collection of scratch-and-sniff stamps that had a fruity popsicle scent to celebrate.