The Food Lab

Here's a question that might make you uncomfortable: does your product actually taste the way you think it does? If you're a food and drink brand developing products, you've probably tasted your own product hundreds, maybe thousands of times. You know every version, every tweak, every ingredient change. You know the recipe inside out. But here's what I keep noticing with food and drink brands I sp...

You've done the trials. The product is really good. But you're not launching. Because what if it could be better? What if it's not perfect yet? Here's the truth: it will never be perfect. And waiting for perfection is keeping your product off shelves while your competitors are building their customer base. In this episode: Real client story: When personal preference nearly killed a...

Your product was perfect. Then suddenly it doesn't taste the same anymore. What happened?   Nine times out of ten, someone in your supply chain switched suppliers without telling your R&D team. Because "it's the same ingredient on paper." Except it's not.   In this episode: - Real client story: How a cocoa powder switch undid 6 months of development work in weeks - Why &q...

That "free flavour development" from your flavour house or contract manufacturer? It might be the most expensive decision you make. After working inside a flavour house, I'm sharing what really happens when smaller brands rely on free development, and why it often ends up costing thousands in wasted time, delayed launches, and underperforming products. In this episode: - The 5 hidden...

We spent months perfecting a clean-label plant-based product. No additives. No seed oils. No compromises. Then we booked a pilot plant run with a food scientist who, within minutes, tried to convince my client to add everything we'd worked to avoid. This is the story of what happened when traditional food science thinking clashed with clean-label values, and why we proved them completely wrong...

Pineapple is flavour of the year. Gochujang is trending. Functional ingredients are everywhere. But should you jump on these trends? Maybe. But only if they fit YOUR product base, brand, and consumers. Because chasing trends without strategy is how brands waste thousands launching products that flop. In this episode: • 7 major flavour and consumer trends shaping 2026 (from fermented flavours to he...

2025 has been a year of incredible learning, challenging projects, and some hard-won lessons about what really works when it comes to flavour strategy. And if you're a food and drink brand launching something new in 2026 or struggling with a product that's not performing, these insights might just save you months of back and forth. This year, I worked on some of the most challenging projec...

I have created something special for you! If you are tired of doing endless back and forth with your supplier and still not understanding why your product isn't performing, Download The Flavour Blueprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , a free step-by-step guide based on the process I use with my clients. It shows you exactly what's wrong with your flavours and how to fix it, so you can stop guessi...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 we...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 i...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 yo...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 won...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 th...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 diff...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 dri...

⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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...

⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 spotte...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 th...

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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...

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 pac...

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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...

  ⁠⁠ 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 com...

  ⁠⁠ 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 ho...