You know your functional product has a taste challenge. The earthy notes, the bitterness, that lingering fishy aftertaste that just will not go away. You know it. But you are not quite sure where to start, or what a proper process even looks like. In this episode, I am taking you behind the scenes of exactly what happens when a functional food or drink brand brings me their product and says, this doesn't taste great, can you help? From the moment I open the product and taste the raw base, to the flavour workshop, to the full day of trials with my client, this is what the process actually looks like, the unglamorous, spreadsheet-heavy, nose-wrinkling reality of it. In this episode: What I am actually doing when I taste a product for the first time, and why that first tasting tells me everythingThe difference between "I don't like it" and feedback that actually moves your product forwardWhy I do up to 200 trials per project, and what I am looking for in each oneWhat a flavour workshop really looks like, and how it gets your whole team alignedThe moment in every project when the energy in the room completely shifts If you already know your product has a taste problem and you want to understand what a structured process looks like, this one is for you. 🔗 Book your Flavour MOT (25% off with code MOT26 (only few spots left!) If you found this episode helpful, leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on whatever platform you're listening to this podcast! 💌 Subscribe to my newsletter to receive every week directly in your inbox the biggest challenges in food and drink product development and how to solve them. 👋 Connect with me directly on Instagram , LinkedIn, YouTube or via my website. I'm Manon Galizzi, a flavour expert and food scientist with 10+ years in the industry, including training at a flavour house and working with iconic brands like McVitie's, Yeo Valley, Burger King, and Jacob's. I founded EPICSI to help UK food and drink brands nail their flavour strategy and choose the best flavour profile, especially for challenging formulations. If your sales are declining due to taste complaints, I diagnose what's wrong and rebuild your flavour profile. If you're launching functional or plant-based products struggling with bitter, fishy, or earthy notes from marine collagen, plant proteins, or adaptogens, I help you choose flavours that actually mask or complement those notes. I specialise in clean-label, additives-free, plant-based, and functional food product development. Research shows flavour is the #1 driver of repeat purchase. Get it right, customers return. Get it wrong, they don't.
