When did you last taste your product like a complete stranger would? No brand story. No knowledge of the ingredients. No attachment. Just: does it actually taste good?
This question has been with me since speaking at the Nourish Conference hosted by the Tastebuds Collective. One room, packed with founders, researchers and food professionals. And the conversations I had there kept circling back to the same uncomfortable truth.
The market is growing. So is the competition.
Food and nutrition consultant Haley Bell painted a sharp picture of where the industry is heading. Functional drinks are the biggest area of growth right now, driven by Gen Z. Fermented drinks are rising alongside them. Protein has moved well beyond sports nutrition into women's health and healthy ageing. The GLP-1 consumer is making highly deliberate choices: protein, fibre, genuine nutritional value. And low and no alcohol has long since moved past Dry January into a year-round premium category.
The opportunity is real. But so is the pressure. More brands are competing for the same shelf space, the same customer, the same repeat purchase.
Packaging gets the first sale. Flavour gets the second.
This line came from James Smith of Condimentum, who has spent years strategically reinventing mustard for a new generation of consumers. He studied the data, refined the flavour profiles, reduced pungency and developed new directions like hot honey and smoked barbecue. He did not guess. He did the work.
And what he said is something I want every food and drink founder to sit with: "Packaging gets the interest, flavour gets the repeat purchase."
Your branding might be the strongest thing on that shelf. But if the flavour does not deliver, they will not come back. In a market this crowded, you cannot afford to lose that second chance.
The problem nobody warns you abut at scale
Jeni Bloom, founder of Nocrudo, spoke honestly about the challenge of protecting product integrity through scale-up. Finding the right co-manufacturer, managing delicate functional ingredients, extending shelf life, all while holding onto the very thing that makes your product worth buying.
What works in development does not always survive production. And the shift, when it happens, almost always shows up first in the flavour.
What makes it especially hard is that most founders are too close to their own product to catch it. Your palate adapts. You compensate without realising. The new customer tastes what is actually there, not what you intended.
So, where does your flavour stand right now?
If something feels off but you cannot pinpoint what, if consumer feedback keeps mentioning taste, if you want certainty before you go to market, the Flavour MOT gives you exactly that.
Send me your product and your consumer feedback. Within one week, you receive a detailed professional tasting report, a traffic light breakdown of what is working and what needs to change, and a personalised video walkthrough with clear next steps.
No guesswork. Just clarity. Book your Flavour MOT here. And if you are a Tastebuds member you can get 25% off your Flavour MOT by clicking on the offer link in your portal.
