French Postal Service's New Stamps Let You Experience The Delicious Aroma Of A Baguette

France is gearing up for the upcoming Olympics and they’re ensuring every detail is right for the event. Whether you’re a local or visiting for a vacation, you can bring home a piece of France with you in a unique way. Interestingly, the French Postal Service has launched a new stamp featuring a baguette decorated with a blue, white and red ribbon, and that’s not it, it also smells like a freshly baked baguette. Each year on May 16, France celebrates Saint Honore, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs.

This year, La Poste, the postal service, decided to pay homage by launching a special stamp in his honour. Designed by Stephane Humbert-Basset, the stamp costs 1.96 Euros (approximately Rs 176) each and has a limited print run of 594,000 copies. What makes the stamp more special is the ink, containing microcapsules that release a delightful fragrance.

According to the La Poste website, “The baguette, bread of our daily life, a symbol of our gastronomy, jewel of our culture. Bearer of culture and customs, the baguette is deeply rooted in the daily practices of the French. It embodies a ritual, that of going to your bakery, a local business anchored in the regions, attracting twelve million consumers every day. The making of six billion baguettes each year confirms its iconic status in French food heritage.”

Talking about the process, Damien Lavaud, a printer at Philaposte, told France Bleu, “This scent is encapsulated. We buy it from another manufacturer. And the difficulty for us is to apply this ink without breaking the capsules, so that the smell can then be released by the customer rubbing on the stamp.”

The baguette, which is made using just four ingredients, flour, water, salt and yeast, received UNESCO heritage status in 2022. During the time, President Emmanuel Macron praised it as “the spirit of French know-how.” He mentioned that many attempted to replicate the bread but the results were bland industrial product.

The stamp is specifically designed for international packages weighing approximately 0.7 ounces and one can buy these stamps from the post offices and stalls across France for 1.96 Euros (approximately Rs 176).