Bowling ball maker finds sweet smell of success

updated 11:15 a.m. ET March 14, 2005

MILWAUKEE - Odors associated with bowling traditionally include smelly feet, cigarette smoke and beer. But what about grape, amaretto and cherry?

One bowling ball manufacturer — Storm Products Inc. — is putting fruit and other popular scents into its mid- to high-end bowling balls, resulting in a steady increase in sales.

More than half the bowlers on the Professional Bowlers Association tour last year used them, including four-time PBA champion Ryan Shafer.

Shafer, who has a contract with Storm, said he may have won a match two years ago in Kansas City because an opponent was distracted by his black licorice-scented ball.

“He asked me if I had to use that ball and I said, ’Yes, this ball is working’ ... and I think that is why I won,” he said.

Storm Products’ first scented balls — green apple and citrus — came out in the spring of 2000. Since then, the company has produced about 40 scents. The current scents are black cherry, chocolate, lemonade, plum, blueberry, grape, banana, cinnamon, orange, amaretto and cherry.

“It’s just a real good feature of our equipment that gets the average consumer really hooked on our stuff,” said Steve Kloempken, technical director for Storm Products Inc.

These aren’t balls you currently find in your corner bowling alley, but they’re often in the bags of professional or league bowlers.

Most scents can’t be smelled until they are within two or three inches of your nose, although some have stronger odors.

Brigham City, Utah-based Storm, the fourth-largest bowling ball manufacturer, has a patent pending on the scented balls, which cost $150 to $250. Storm’s president and chief executive officer, Bill Chrisman, used to work with cleaners and knew that people associated scents with particular cleaners, so he decided to try it on bowling balls.

The more popular fragrances, which are added in the liquid used to create the ball’s 1- to 1½-inch shell, include cherry, citrus and chocolate.

“We haven’t found one yet that has lost its scent,” Kloempken said.

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