Supermarket scents, sound sleep, smarter scans: Velocity $100k Challenge winners

The next time you consider buying something at the supermarket, could your nose play a big part in the decision?

Business School student Liam Smith says scent could become a powerful new tool for retailers. His venture, Scentsation, won first place and $30k in the 2026 Velocity $100k Challenge, along with support from start-up incubator Venture Lab.

Liam's a duty manager in a supermarket and the idea came to him at work.

“Eggs were cooking in the deli area and the smell drifted into the next aisle. I watched shoppers’ behaviour change straight away. Most avoided that aisle completely. The few who did walk down it didn’t stop or browse; they just wanted out. That got me thinking: if one bad smell can empty an aisle, what could the right smell do?”

The third-year entrepreneurship, innovation and international business student says retailers spend heavily on lighting, layout, signage and promotions to influence what shoppers notice and buy. But he points out that smell, one of our most powerful senses, is left almost entirely to chance.

“Research shows the right scent, matched to the right product, can make shoppers notice, linger and buy more. Yet most retailers have no reliable, measurable way to use it.

“Scentsation creates a subtle scent zone around a single product display, so fresh bread smells the way you’d expect fresh bread to. For shoppers, that means a more enjoyable, more appetising shop. For retailers and brands, it’s a new way to bring products to life, backed by sales data rather than guesswork.”

Liam’s idea is one of three winning ventures in the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s annual competition, which supports students, staff, innovators, and researchers turn promising ideas into businesses.

While Liam is exploring the commercial potential of smell, Auckland Bioengineering Institute research assistant and doctoral candidate Andreia Valente and her team are tackling a problem familiar to many couples: snoring. 

“Growing up, my dad’s snoring had a huge impact on my mum’s sleep and health,” says Andreia.

“I thought snoring was an older person’s problem, but now my friends are experiencing the same thing, with some even breaking up over it. So really, I’m trying to save my friends’ relationships.”

Sleep affects every aspect of our health, she says, yet many couples resort to sleeping separately because of snoring, often at the expense of intimacy.

“We want to help couples sleep better while staying in the same bed.”

Unlike products that focus solely on the snorer, Tango uses two small nose pads, one for each partner. The partner’s pad detects when snoring becomes disruptive and triggers a gentle vibration in the snorer’s pad, encouraging them to roll over before their partner wakes.

“It’s all about optimising two colliding sleep patterns!”

Tango’s team also includes Valter Santos and Alireza Nia (ABI). They were advised by Nickola Overall (Science) and Dr Nicola Ludin (FMHS).

The third winning venture, Automated Breast MRI Reporting, aims to help women at high risk of breast cancer receive scan results sooner.

Developed by a team of researchers from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, the software helps radiologists read breast scans faster.

Dr Thiranja Prasad Babarenda Gamage, a senior research fellow at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, says the software could help women at high risk of breast cancer get answers sooner.

“Our software will draft the report, with each finding measured on a digital twin of each woman's breast and compared with last year's scan. No breast MRI product we reviewed automates this.”

The team behind the venture also includes Anthony Doyle (Medical and Health Sciences), Martyn Nash (ABI, Engineering and Design), Poul Nielsen (ABI), Gonzalo Maso Talou (ABI), Ralph Highnam and Tim Wu.

The awards evening featured keynote speaker Matty Blomfield (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahungunu), CEO and founder of Hectre. Hectre integrates AI technology into fruit grading and packing worldwide.

A fourth-time founder, Matty has grown the company into an award-winning business, recognised as Agritech Company of the Year and Te Ao Māori Company of the Year at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards.

He says successful entrepreneurship isn't only about having a clever idea - it's about being curious, getting out and talking to people, understanding the problem you're trying to solve, and being willing to challenge assumptions.

CIE’s director Darsel Keane said Matty's message resonated with the 2026 Velocity $100k celebration.

“That entrepreneurial mindset, one led by curiosity and creativity, is what we want to nurture through Velocity, and I'm excited to see where these teams take their ideas next.

“What excites me about this year's winners is the breadth of talent and ideas, from undergraduate students taking their first steps into entrepreneurship to postgraduate researchers and staff applying their expertise in new ways. It's a wonderful reminder that great ideas can come from anywhere within our university.”