25 November - Stop Picking "Safe" Flavours That Don't Work

November 25, 2025

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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:

Why "safe" popular flavours often clash with functional and plant-based products
The funnel strategy: lots of one-time buyers vs. fewer loyal repeat customers
Why taste is the #1 reason for repeat purchase (not trends or marketing)
How to choose a flavour profile that actually works with your product
A real example of why vanilla and strawberry were my biggest nightmare

Stop guessing. Start choosing flavours that actually fit your product.

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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.

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Episode Transcript

[00:00.1]
If you're a food and drink brand and your product isn't performing the way it should, maybe the sales have slowed down or the review. Keep mentioning that the taste is not that great. I have created something to help you. It's called the Flavor Blueprint. It's a free guide that based on the process I use with my clients to fix their underperforming products.

[00:18.4]
If you're tired of guessing and you want clarity before another batch, download your free flavor blueprint. If you want to create food or drink products that actually taste amazing, get the repeat purchases and see your sales go up.

[00:33.8]
You need the flavor strategy. I'm Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavor expert. And in this podcast I share what I've learned from helping food and drink brands create new products from scratch. Choose the right flavor direction or fix the flavors that are not working. Welcome to another episode of my 30 day podcast challenge.

[00:53.3]
Today we are going to tackle a big, big myth in the food industry which is that you have to pick the most popular, also called safe flavor that everyone like to be in retailer and to succeed. Let's start with the elephant in the room.

[01:11.5]
If you ask consumers what flavor they will pick on paper, the answer will always be the same. It will always be chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and caramel. Sorry, I always have to go back to the sweet side for savory.

[01:28.7]
AC will be chili, chicken, etc etc. But if you have developed a plant based or a functional food or drink product, chances are it tastes earthy, fishy, mushroomy or bitter. And this so called safe flavor may completely clash with your product.

[01:48.8]
But you give them anyway because this is what people want. And this is where you're wrong. People just want something that tastes nice. If your food or drink product has the most popular flavors but it doesn't taste really good, you are going to lose customers and potentially lose your spot in retail shelves.

[02:11.0]
Okay, thank you Manon. But what should I do now if I don't pick the most popular flavors? Okay, the first thing is I really invite you to think about your business strategy and ask yourself what is the most important for my brand? Having a lot of people buying your product once or less People buying my product again and again and again.

[02:34.8]
You have to think about it as a funnel. You are at the top of the funnel. You will have loads of people buying your product only once because they don't really like the taste of it. Or if you're in the middle or the end of the tunnel, this is where you will have maybe less people but you will have your most loyal customers, the one that are gonna buy again and again and again your product.

[03:01.5]
They may engage with your brand. They may follow you on Instagram or other social media platform. They won't buy any anything else. None of the competitors because they love your product and your brand so much. If repeat purchase is one of the KPI that is part of your business strategy and it should be in my opinion, then you need to focus on taste.

[03:25.9]
Because taste is the number one reason why people buy again and again. The product, the research keep on showing exactly the same result year after year after year. And it has nothing to do with selling, selecting the most popular or the safe flavor or even the trendy flavors.

[03:46.1]
The flavor you choose for your food and drink product shouldn't be selected based on marketing or trends. The flavor must fit and complement your product, not fighting it. And the mistakes always come this belief that the most popular flavor will work despite the product.

[04:06.9]
And trust me when I say that that can't be further from the truth. I worked with one of my clients on fixing one of their product range that didn't perform well on the market anymore. And of course it was because of flavors and among all of the flavours we worked on I think it was about seven.

[04:27.9]
The most challenging was this bloody vanilla and strawberry. I almost lost my mind. I can't remember how many trials I had to do. And finally we had to find a compromise that it would never taste amazing because they have selected the wrong flavor to start with but they didn't want to remove them from their range. So be it.

[04:56.7]
So rather than being in that situation and select the wrong flavor and down the line having to fix what all of these flavors that literally don't go well with your product. You have to select the flavors and the flavor profile that fit your product, that fit your target consumers and your brand image.

[05:20.5]
And most importantly listen to your consumer's feedback and tweak the recipe. This is how you can guarantee your food and drink business succeed and stays on retailers shelf. As always, I hope this episode was helpful.

[05:36.0]
You can find all of my tips around tasting flavors and product development in my newsletter. So don't forget to subscribe and I will see you tomorrow for another episode. Bye.

25 November - Stop Picking "Safe" Flavours That Don't Work

Download The Flavour Blueprint