A new marketing tool is set to bring the sweet smell of success to a tiny Oxfordshire firm, writes David Duffy.

Poparoma is an ingenious device, developed by The Aroma Company in Wallingford, that allows shoppers to smell fragrant products like shampoos and washing powders by pressing a button on the supermarket shelf.

Director Sarah Harrop said developing the device had taken almost a year of hard work for the two-strong firm.

She said: "We knew we had a great concept but we didn't have the necessary skills in-house to bring it to market quickly.

"So we got in touch with Business Link Thames Valley and asked them for help in three specific areas protecting our idea, designing the new products and sharpening up our corporate identity."

Business Link design counsellor Clive Steer encouraged the firm to take out patents, design registrations and copyrights. Ms Harrop said the advice agency was also a great help in choosing the best designer. She said: "His specialist expertise enabled us to gather input from potential users an invaluable exercise that resulted in us changing the design from a battery-operated machine to a device using bellows.

"He went on to build a prototype, organise the tooling and move into production.

Ms Harrop said: "Our business adviser, Ronnie Epstein, has remained in touch with us. So we'll be relying on him to help us structure the business to ensure we take the anticipated growth spurts in our stride."