Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Your product launched a few years ago with all the "safe" flavours: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel. It did well at first. But now sales are slipping, competitors are catching up, and you're thinking... these are popular flavours. They should be working. What's going on?
If you're a food and drink brand experiencing declining sales and you've already tried going back to your flavour house (back and forth, more samples, nothing's making a difference), this case study is for you.
I recently worked with a plant-based protein brand facing exactly this situation. It took 150 trials across their six flavours to fix it, but we got it right. And what we discovered completely changed how they think about flavours.
Here's the thing: they were asking the wrong question. Instead of "which flavours are most popular?" they should have been asking "which flavour profile will actually work with my base?"
In this episode, I walk you through:
You don't need luck. You need a proper flavour strategy.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
If you found this episode helpful, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on whatever platform you're listening to this podcast. Your review genuinely helps this podcast grow and makes it more visible to other food and drink brands who are struggling with the same challenges you might be facing. 🙏
_____________________________________________________________
👋 Hi, I'm Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
If your food or drink product sales are dropping, reviews keep saying the taste isn't right, or you're launching something plant-based or functional but can't figure out which flavours will actually work, you are not alone! I see this all the time with the brands I work with.
That's why I help established food and drink brands create products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix flavours that just aren't performing.
And here's the thing: unlike most flavour houses or co-man that just throw samples at you and disappear, I actually guide you through the entire process. I stay with you, tweak on the day, and help you understand what's really happening in your product.
Because here's the truth research keeps showing year after year: flavour is the number one driver of repeat purchase.
Get it right, and your customers keep coming back. Get it wrong, and they buy once and never return.
In each episode, I share what I've learned from helping food and drink brands like yours, turning confused tastings into confident decisions, and underperforming products into ones that actually sell.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
We made it! This is the final episode of my 30-day podcast challenge, and I'm doing something different today, answering YOUR questions about product development, flavours, and everything in between.
If you're a food and drink brand struggling with product development decisions, wondering how to choose the right flavours, or curious about what's coming next in the industry, this episode is packed with answers.
I've been getting so many messages from listeners asking about my services, about flavour trends, about the biggest mistakes brands make, so let's tackle them all in one place.
Honestly, these are the questions I wish more brands would ask before they waste time and money going in the wrong direction.
In this Q&A episode, I cover:
Thank you for following along this entire challenge. Your support means everything 🙏.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Someone on your team just tasted your product and said, "It doesn't taste like strawberry. but I don't have a good palate anyway".
Sound familiar? I've been there, in fact, it happened just last week with a client. And honestly, when your team can't describe what they're tasting, product development becomes impossible. You can't brief suppliers, you can't make clear decisions, and you're stuck going in circles.
If you're a food and drink brand struggling with confused tasting sessions, whether you're developing new products, choosing the right flavour profile, or fixing flavours that aren't working, this episode will change everything.
The problem isn't about having a "good palate" or a "bad palate." It's about your brain trying to match what you're tasting to your personal memory of what strawberry (or any flavour) should taste like. And when it doesn't match? Your brain just says "it is not a strawberry."
In this episode, I'll share:
Stop judging. Start describing.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
"I have a terrible palate. I can't taste anything properly."
I hear this all the time from food and drink brands, and honestly? It's complete rubbish. You absolutely CAN learn how to taste better and if you're running a food or drink business, you need to.
Whether you're developing plant-based products, launching functional foods, or trying to improve your flavour profile, knowing how to properly taste and describe what's in front of you is essential. And it's a skill your whole team can learn.
I've been there, working with brands who felt intimidated by tasting sessions or didn't know how to articulate what they were experiencing. But once they understood how their brain actually works, everything changed.
In this episode, I'll cover:
Stop saying you have a bad palate. Start training your brain instead.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
"How long do you think this will take?"
It's the question I get asked most often by food and drink brands. And honestly? The answer is almost always longer than they expect. But here's the truth, if you want to create an amazing product that stays on retail shelves, it takes time.
I've been there, watching timelines stretch because we discovered something in scale-up, or because finding the right flavour profile took more trials than expected. And that's completely normal in product development.
If you're a food and drink brand planning your next launch (or trying to fix an existing product), this episode will give you realistic expectations for your timeline, from concept to shelf.
Whether you're working on plant-based products, functional foods, or trying to improve your flavouring, understanding the real timeline is crucial.
In this episode, I'll break down:
Stop rushing. Start planning properly.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Today's episode is a bit different. I'm pulling back the curtain on my journey from corporate food scientist to consultant, and honestly, it's been one hell of a ride.
If you're a food and drink brand wondering who you're really working with when you hire a product development partner, this episode is for you. Because the way I work, the boundaries I set, and the clients I choose to work with, it all comes from what I've learned about myself on this journey.
I used to say yes to everything. I'd take on any client, any project, even when it wasn't the right fit. But I've learned that the best work happens when there's alignment, when we're both working towards products that taste amazing, use clean-label ingredients, and are good for people and the planet.
In this episode, I share:
This is who I am. This is why I do what I do. And this is who I want to work with.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Chocolate. Strawberry. Vanilla. Caramel. These are the flavours everyone says they want, right? So you add them to your food or drink product, launch it, and... nobody buys it twice. Sales drop. Reviews complain about the taste. And you're left wondering what went wrong.
I've been there, actually, I nearly lost my mind trying to fix vanilla and strawberry for a client because they were the wrong flavours to begin with. And honestly, this is one of the biggest mistakes I see food and drink brands make.
If you're developing plant-based or functional food or drink products that taste earthy, bitter, or fishy, this episode will challenge everything you thought you knew about "safe" flavours.
Because picking popular flavours doesn't guarantee success, especially when they clash with your product base.
Your flavouring needs to fit and complement your product base, not fight against it. That's how you build repeat customers, not one-time buyers.
In this episode, we'll cover:
Stop guessing. Start choosing flavours that actually fit your product.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
You've spent weeks perfecting your lab sample. The flavour profile is spot-on, the balance is beautiful, everyone loves it.
Then you get the scaled-up version from your co-manufacturer and... it's completely different. Too sweet. Flavours have disappeared. The whole thing feels off.
Sound familiar?
I've been there more times than I can count, and honestly, it's one of the most frustrating parts of food product development.
If you're a food and drink brand working with a contract manufacturer or doing the production in-house, this episode will save you time, money, and a lot of stress.
Understanding why scaling up changes everything and how to plan for it is crucial for any FMCG.
Your lab sample isn't just a recipe you can copy-paste at scale. It's a delicate equilibrium. And when you disrupt that balance through different equipment, processes, and ingredient interactions, your flavour profile changes too.
In this episode, we'll cover:
Don't panic, plan ahead instead.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Ever wondered why your flavouring tastes completely different in one recipe versus another? You're using the same amount, the same brand but somehow it just doesn't work the same way.
If you're a food and drink brand developing products and struggling to get your flavour profile right, this episode will be a game-changer.
If you are doing product development in-house, understanding how your ingredients affect flavouring is absolutely essential.
Your recipe isn't just a list of ingredients. It's an equilibrium. And tiny changes in moisture, fat, sweetness, or saltiness completely transform how your flavours come through and how your consumers experience them.
In this episode, we'll cover:
Stop guessing. Start understanding your product from the inside out.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Ever sat in a food or drink product tasting where no one says a word? Or worse, one loud voice drowns everyone else out and suddenly you're second-guessing everything? I've been there and honestly, it's one of the most frustrating parts of food product development.
If you're a food and drink brand struggling to make confident decisions during tastings, this episode is for you.
Whether you're fixing a failing product, choosing the right flavour profile for a new launch, or just trying to get constructive feedback you need a tasting culture that actually works.
As an F&B development consultant, I've seen how bad tastings lead to delayed launches, wasted batches, and products that miss the mark. But it doesn't have to be this way.
In this episode, we'll cover:
Let's fix your tastings so you can move faster and launch with confidence.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Got this question on Instagram: "My functional food product isn't selling. What should I do?"
Here's the truth: if people bought your product once or twice and then stopped buying, the number one reason is ALWAYS taste and flavour. Nothing else.
Not your branding, not your packaging, focus on the taste of your product.
People want healthier and more functional products with tons of health benefits, but if your product doesn't taste good, they won't buy it again.
Remember: you're not selling medicine. You can't get away with bad taste. You're selling a food or drink product, and people buy them for enjoyment, to fulfil an emotion, as a pick-me-up, or to give as gifts (Christmas is coming soon!).
In this episode, you'll discover:
🌟 The real reason functional products fail: one of my clients sold plant-based, clean label sports nutrition for 10+ years with great sales, until the market got saturated and health benefits alone weren't enough anymore
🌟 Why having health benefits at the centre of your messaging is not enough for repeat purchases
🌟 The three most common flavour problems killing functional products
🌟 My process for fixing your product
If you're a functional food or drink brand struggling with sales and repeat purchases, this episode will show you exactly how to fix your product and why flavour can never be secondary to health benefits.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
"Just take the emotion out of your product", I know, easier said than done, right? This is your baby. Maybe it's your grandma's recipe, a family heirloom passed down through generations, or you've spotted a massive gap in the UK market with a trend from another country.
There's always going to be emotional attachment, and that's completely normal. But here's the reality: if you want to succeed in the UK, you may have to adapt to the British palate, and that means compromise.
I've spoken with SO many food and drink founders who brought their culture into the products they wanted to sell in the UK: Sri Lankan, Jamaican, North African, and more. They all started with family recipes, and they all told me the same thing: they realised very quickly they needed to adapt to reach a wider audience.
In this episode, you'll discover:
🌟 Why you can't completely remove emotion (and the frustration that comes with product development), but you MUST stay objective
🌟 The brilliant strategy one Jamaican drink business owner used to target both audiences
🌟 How to be crystal clear on who your target consumers are (not your family, not your friends, not yourself)
🌟 Why you need to ask your target consumers directly for their opinion, and here's the hard part, actually LISTEN to their feedback
🌟 The compromises you might have to make on flavours that are very familiar to you (but unfamiliar to your UK consumers)
If you're bringing a family recipe or a trend from another country to the UK market, this episode will show you how to keep your target consumers front and centre and adapt your product so thousands of loyal customers keep buying it again and again.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
I still remember that massive tasting at the flavour house when vegan became popular, sweet and savoury products everywhere.
And at the end? We all had the same conversation: every single product was trying to copy something that already existed. Vegan steak, vegan ham, vegan chicken, vegan pudding - all trying to replicate the exact same taste and texture.
And guess what? They all failed. The texture was wrong, the flavours were wrong, it was just very unpleasant.
And it's EXACTLY the same problem with non-HFSS products.
And here's the kicker: these are treat products! They're pick-me-ups, they fulfil an emotional and mental need. But these reformulated versions just leave you with an unsatisfying taste compared to the original.
In this episode, you'll discover:
🌟Why trying to replicate existing products with vegan or non-HFSS versions is scientifically impossible
🌟 The shocking truth about some plant-based products that everyone thought were "healthy", were full of additives, fat, and sugar just to make them palatable
🌟 Why big food brands lost MILLIONS on non-HFSS products
🌟 The real reason consumers are going back to eating meat after giving up on plant-based substitutes
🌟 What you should be doing instead: creating something NEW, nutritious, and interesting rather than a disappointing copy
If you're a food and drink business struggling with non-HFSS or if you're a plant-based brand trying to mimic meat or dairy, this episode will show you why that strategy is setting you up to fail, and what to do instead to actually succeed.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
"Can you send me a few vanilla flavours?" If this is how you're briefing your flavour house, you're doing it wrong, and I'm telling you from experience because I've worked on both sides of this mess.
I've seen this exact problem again and again: when I worked in a flavour house, in the corporate food industry and now with my own clients.
Food and drink businesses ask for generic flavours with some iterations, but there's NO indication of flavour profile.
They let all the responsibility fall on the flavour house to decide which flavour profile is best for their product. And guess what? It doesn't work.
It creates hundreds of back and forth emails until you either give up, pick a flavour just because you have to, or completely cancel the product because you can't get the flavour right.
In this episode, you'll discover:
What a flavour house actually is (and why flavourings are your friends)
🌟 Why you lose SO much flavour through processing
🌟 The real problem: when I worked in a flavour house, I'd receive requests for "strawberry flavour" and have to choose from hundreds of options in the flavour library - and that decision should NOT have been mine to make
🌟 Why letting the flavour house decide your flavour profile is setting your product up to fail
🌟 The exact information you need to give your flavour house to stop the endless back and forth (I'll tell you what to include in your spreadsheet)
🌟 How this connects to my CREATE, CHOOSE, and FIX packages and why taking ownership of your flavour profile is non-negotiable
If you're working with flavour houses or contract manufacturers and getting nowhere with your product development, this episode will show you exactly how to brief them properly and take control of your flavour strategy.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Got an Instagram question: "I'm creating a vegan product using rice protein and pea protein, which flavour do you think will work best?"
Perfect! Because this is exactly what I help my clients with in my CHOOSE package, and I'm sharing the process with you today.
Here's the thing: most plant-based products using pea and rice protein have nutty, earthy, roasted, and beany notes (and I'm not talking about lovely vanilla bean - I mean kidney beans, black beans... not exactly pleasant).
So if you just throw in trendy flavours without understanding your product base first, you're going to end up with something that tastes like play doh. Yep, I said it.
In this episode, you'll discover:
🌟 Why you need to understand your product's flavour profile WITHOUT any flavours first (this is the game-changer most brands skip)
🌟 Which flavour notes you want to enhance vs. mask in pea and rice protein products
🌟 The specific flavours that work brilliantly with plant-based proteins (and the ones you should avoid at any cost - berries and vanilla, I'm looking at you)
🌟 Why "caramel" or "chocolate" is never enough - you need to go deeper into the flavour profile (milky and buttery vs. dark and bitter makes ALL the difference)
🌟 How to get creative by mixing flavours together to create unique profiles for your product
🌟 The questions you need to ask about your target consumers before making your final decision (are they Gen Z adventurous or boomers wanting nostalgia?)
If you're developing plant-based products and struggling to find the right flavour direction, this episode will show you exactly how to choose flavours that complement your base, mask the unpleasant notes, and create something your target consumers will actually want to buy again and again.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, it really help developing the podcast, and share with a fellow food or drink founder that will benefit from it! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Should your CEO or founder have the final say on your food or drink product? Absolutely not.
I've seen projects in big corporate food companies where a dozen multi-skilled people work for a year, do expensive consumer testing that gets approved, the product is ready to launch - and then the CEO tries it, doesn't like it, and boom - straight into the bin. Back to square one.
In this episode, I'm sharing why one person should never approve your final product, no matter their title.
You have to focus on objectives, not personal preferences. I know it's difficult when it's your baby, maybe it's a family recipe from your grandma - but you have to remove the emotional attachment and be analytical.
I'll walk you through how to actually validate your product before launch by relying on data and facts: Is the taste balanced and rounded? Does the flavour profile suit your product base (not just what's trendy)? Does it fit your target consumers' preferences?
You need to understand everything about them - what they eat, what social media they use, where they travel in London, what their breakfast looks like.
Because if you're not listening to your team and your consumers, your product and potentially your business are going to fail.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If this podcast hits home, don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, and share it with a fellow food or drink founder! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Why is it so hard to describe what you're tasting?
When you try a product, your brain instantly jumps to "I like it" or "I don't like it" instead of actually describing what you taste - and that's completely normal. Your brain is focused on survival only: is it safe to eat?
None of us are equipped to describe flavours precisely without training.
In this episode, I'm sharing why training your brain to taste properly is crucial for your food and drink business, and how to actually do it.
I'll explain how I use bespoke flavour lexicons with my clients (whether we're creating products from scratch, choosing flavours, or fixing underperforming products) so we all speak the same neutral language and remove personal bias.
I'll also share practical tips for training your brain: being more mindful when you eat and drink, and even how to practice with your kids so they can appreciate flavours from an early age.
Because here's the truth: if you don't train your brain, your tastings will stay stuck at "I like it" or "I don't like it" - and that's useless for product development.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If this podcast hits home, don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, and share it with a fellow food or drink founder! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Think using a lemon extract or cucumber essence will make your product taste natural? You couldn't be more wrong.
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see food and drink brands make - they assume extracts and essences are the holy grail of flavourings because they're "natural."
But here's the truth: even the most natural flavourings can taste fake, artificial, cardboardy, or chemical in your product.
In this episode, I'm bursting a massive myth about extracts and essences.
For instance, a lemon extract will never taste like actual lemon juice or lemon zest. And once you add it to your product? There's no guarantee it'll taste anything like the real fruit after all the ingredient interactions, processing, and shelf life.
Plus, there's zero scientific evidence that non-natural flavourings damage your health, but extracts and essences? They absolutely damage the planet.
If you're choosing extracts just for marketing reasons to look "natural" on pack, but your product tastes rubbish - it's time to rethink your strategy.
Focus on making your product taste great first. Because repeat purchases come through taste and flavours, not through what looks good on your packaging.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If this podcast hits home, don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, and share it with a fellow food or drink founder! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Choosing a co-manufacturer for your food or drink product?
Wait before you sign anything, you need to ask these questions or you'll regret it later.
I've seen too many food and drink brands make expensive mistakes because they didn't know what to ask upfront.
In this episode, I'm sharing the six critical things you need to know before selecting a contract manufacturer.
First up: who actually owns the intellectual property of your recipe? I had a client who realized way too late that their recipe didn't belong to them anymore, sounds completely bonkers, right? But it happens more than you think.
I'll also walk you through the other essential questions: Can you use your own suppliers, or are you locked into theirs? What are the MOQs and do you have to pay upfront? How long are the lead times when they're busy with other clients? Can they stock your product in-house, or will you end up with pallets in your garage like one of my customers did? And finally, do they handle distribution to retailers, or is that on you too?
If you're a food or drink brand looking to scale up and work with a co-manufacturer, these questions will save you from nasty surprises and costly mistakes down the line.
Don't jump into manufacturing just because you want to get into retail, think it through first.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If this podcast hits home, don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, and share it with a fellow food or drink founder! 🙏
Click here to download The Flavour Blueprint, a free guide based on the process I use with my clients to fix underperforming food and drink products.
Are your product tastings a complete waste of time?
If your team's drinking coffee right before, not cleansing palates between samples, or saying ""I like it"" instead of actually describing what they're tasting - you're doing it wrong.
In this episode, I'm sharing six rules that will transform your tastings from useless guessing games into proper product development tools.
You'll learn why you should never hold tastings after lunch, how your personal sensitivity to liquorice or bitterness is messing with your feedback, and why cream crackers are your best friend.
I'll also share the story of a client who doesn't even like the product we developed together - but their consumers? They're giving it 4.9 out of 5 stars and the sales are through the roof!
Because here's the truth: the product isn't designed for you, it's designed for your target consumers.
Whether you're a food or drink brand doing internal tastings or working with a product development team, these six rules will help you stay objective, understand your palate, and build descriptions gradually so you actually get useful insights instead of just opinions.
Stop wasting time and batches and start doing tastings properly.
💌 Want to dive deeper?
Read the full transcript of this episode here.
📩 Get my free newsletter and join hundreds of founders and brand teams learning how to make their food & drink products taste better, scale smoother, and sell faster.
If you want to design food or drink products that taste perfect for your consumers, hit those repeat purchases, and see your sales go through the roof — there’s no luck or miracle involved. You need a flavour strategy.
👋 Hi, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry.
In each episode, I share what I’ve learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch, choose the right flavour direction, or fix products that just aren’t performing.
Because flavour isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the number one reason people buy.
👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram or LinkedIn.
If this podcast hits home, don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, and share it with a fellow food or drink founder! 🙏