When you think of digital health, you probably think of sleek interfaces, chatbots, telemedicine, AI diagnostics, and smartwatches tracking your every heartbeat.
You probably don’t think of scent.
But maybe you should.
Because underneath all the algorithms, user flows, and biometric data lies a deeper truth: healthcare is emotional. And few things influence human emotion more immediately—and more viscerally—than smell. We recently discussed this “pheromone phenomena” on the Carloss Podcast. Listen here.
This is the premise that’s now being explored by a surprising new collaboration between Joe Masters, founder of House of Pheromones, and Min-Sung Sean Kim, the investor behind some of Europe’s most influential digital health startups. Their thesis: if scent can alter mood, trust, arousal, and memory in consumer behavior, why wouldn’t it have value in health behavior too?
The Neuroscience Behind Smell
Let’s start with the brain.
The olfactory system is the only one of the five senses that bypasses the thalamus and goes directly to the limbic system—the brain’s emotional core. This is where fear, pleasure, memory, and decision-making live.
In plain English? Smell is direct-line influence.
- Smell triggers emotional responses before conscious thought.
- It’s deeply tied to memory recall, especially autobiographical memory.
- Certain smells have been shown to reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
If you’re building a product that aims to:
- Reduce anxiety before a telehealth visit
- Improve mood adherence for CBT apps
- Reinforce mindfulness habits
…smell might be the secret weapon you’re ignoring.
Why Engagement Is Still Broken in Digital Health
Let’s be honest. Most health apps suck at keeping users engaged beyond the honeymoon phase.
Gamification helped. Notifications helped. Behavioral nudges helped.
But the fundamental problem remains: People don’t emotionally connect with the tools they use for health the way they do for fitness, social media, or even fintech.
Here’s where scent could help:
- Priming: A specific scent could signal “it’s time for therapy” or meditation.
- Anchoring: Pairing a calming scent with a meditation app could train the brain to relax faster over time.
- Trust-building: Familiar scent profiles might lower subconscious resistance in high-friction touchpoints.
These aren’t speculative ideas. They’re already being tested in scent-anchored therapy protocols and immersive environments for PTSD and trauma.
What Joe Masters Brings to the Table
House of Pheromones wasn’t built as a health platform. It started as a rogue experiment in understanding human behavioral influence through scent.
Joe Masters has spent over a decade reviewing, testing, and formulating pheromone-based blends. His audience? Men and women who wanted real-world results—in dating, social confidence, even negotiation.
But over the years, an unexpected crossover began to emerge:
- Testers reported enhanced emotional regulation.
- Certain blends appeared to improve focus or resilience.
- Some users described reduced anxiety symptoms in social environments.
Joe didn’t try to market this to the health world. But it got noticed. And when Mr. Kim saw that data, the potential became clear. Currently it is limited to small niche interests – companies like Pheromone Treasures have formed in a recent years offering unique products with potential to license, or expand into larger pheromone-infused fragrance brands.
How This Could Work in Practice
Let’s imagine a few use cases where olfactory cues could integrate into digital health products:
- CBT & Mental Health Apps
- A scent diffuser releases a calming blend when a user starts a journaling session.
- Over time, this creates a Pavlovian anchor that reinforces relaxation.
- Addiction Recovery Tools
- Scent used as a replacement or trigger override when facing cravings.
- Reinforces pattern disruption and habit shifting.
- Pre/Post Surgery or Procedure Prep
- Specific scents to reduce pre-op anxiety.
- Or to assist in post-procedure sleep and recovery routines.
- Sleep Optimization Apps
- Pairing blue light blockers and guided meditations with scent that supports melatonin regulation.
None of these require FDA approval. They’re adjacent interventions—tools that can support the emotional state behind behavioral compliance.
The Risks of Getting It Wrong
Of course, scent isn’t a magic bullet.
- Overuse = desensitization.
- Wrong profile = negative associations.
- Cultural variation = different responses to the same olfactory cues.
Any serious implementation needs user testing, personalization, and transparency.
But as an opt-in behavioral enhancement? The upside is huge.
Especially when paired with the data-driven rigor of digital health and the emotional storytelling that Joe Masters has mastered.
Where This Is Headed
House of Pheromones is already developing a line of neuroscented primer blends—custom-crafted fragrances designed not for seduction, but for habit formation, focus, calm, and resilience.
Min-Sung Kim is actively looking for founders who understand that the next wave of healthtech engagement won’t just be about data. It will be about trust, emotion, and creating rituals people actually want to return to.
And scent, for all its mystery, might just be the missing piece.
Want to go deeper? Read our feature: House of Pheromones: Where Scent, Science, and Behavior Meet Digital Health
He has invested in startups including American Well, Neuronation, Mimi, and most notably mySugr – which was recently acquired by Roche. Min-Sung is also a contributing writer for mediums including TechCrunch and Tech.EU and studied Business Economics at Witten/Herdecke, Harvard, St.Gallen, and in Seoul.