A COUPLE are hoping to bring a breath of fresh air to the greeting card market.

David Rankin and Tanja Seitz have launched Scent With Love, a range of 12 scratch-and-sniff birthday cards. Aromas range from banana, liquorice and chocolate, to lavender and cheese.

Miss Seitz said: "It all started when we were looking for a greeting card one day and couldn't believe that, in the 21st Century, cards are still only offered in one aroma - cardboard."

The couple, who live in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, gave up their jobs in IT sales and hospitality 18 months ago, to set up the business.

The cards use technology that "glues" fragrance molecules to the cardboard. When lightly stroked, this releases the aroma.

"It works so well that, if you kept a card for a year, you could come back and stroke it and it would still smell as strong," said Mr Rankin.

They launched the range at the Spring Fair, an industry event held in Birmingham NEC.

Since then, they have supplied about 30 specialist card shops across Britain, including Simply Good Stuff, in Consett, County Durham.

They also have another 60 prototypes ready for production.

Mr Rankin said: "It has been a learning curve, but now is a very exciting time for us."

The UK has the highest per-head sales of greetings cards in the world, generating £1bn in annual sales.

"It is a very competitive market, but the rewards are there if you get the product right," he said.

"The trade seem to like our product, but the next big test is whether the public like it."