Actor Kareena Kapoor completes her seduction act in a newly released TV spot as she slithers to the chocolate aroma of a soap in an invasion of Western tastes over Indian senses.

"Actually, I think Indians are really waking up to the chocolate phenomenon," US-based John Rego, who is importing chocolate potpourri and aromatics from India for a new bath and body range in chocolate, told.

A potpourri is a melange of dried herbs, flowers and leaves loosely packed in a muslin-like bag that gives off a fragrance when placed in a room or a cupboard. Rego has perfected the technique of packing chocolate shavings in resin and placing them in the potpourri to give off a chocolate aroma.

First you smell the chocolate, and then it sinks into your senses, allowing the other components - the sharp or mild spice of the other ingredients for example - to be revealed in all their perfumed intensity.

The actual ingredient, while critical, is not the sole important issue when it comes to the overall sensory experience. The method of incorporation is the key. Unlike the principle governing flavour, which itself radiates throughout the chocolate when we eat it, ingredient selection and blending promises a genuinely sensory experience that can be characterized as "a procession of signals in scents".

Rego firmly believes that chocolate aromatics will catch on in India too.

"All over the world, the aromatic market is undergoing a revolution with chocolate hair scents, bath scents and oils," said Rego.

He attributes the infatuation and experience with chocolate to a fortuitous patronage and the tastes and choices of consumers. "They knew first-hand the intoxication that chocolate - and we mean excellent chocolate - can have on the senses," he maintained.

In Delhi to find cherry and woody blends of a chocolate potpourri, Rego said aroma becomes both critical and crucial when drawing on the original strong points of old-world chocolate by highlighting its strengths and pure aroma, while appealing to an increasingly discerning buying public and catering to industry demand for authenticity.

"The chocolate industry in aromatics is just beginning in India and experimental efforts have delivered some astonishingly memorable chocolate sensations, not to mention some remarkably satisfied chocoholics.

"We are looking for an entire product line that is underscored by the recurring theme of the art of skilful combinations. Thus, carefully selected natural ingredients are mixed directly with medium-quality chocolate," he explained.