The Food Lab

Can you make a clean label, gluten-free cake mix with no emulsifiers or refined sugar that people actually crave? Andrea Kazan, founder of Good Mess, shares how she developed her recipes, fixed the one product that split every tasting and won over buyers at Whole Foods and Planet Organic.In this episode of The Food Lab, I sit down with Andrea to explore food product development from the founder's side. Andrea had no food industry background. She tested her recipes at home for a year, ran her own in-store tastings and learnt to scale up with a contract manufacturer without losing the integrity of her whole food ingredients. As a food scientist, I find this story so inspiring, because clean label formulation without additives is something many in our industry still say is "not possible". We also talk about how consumers now turn the pack around to read the ingredients, why buyer relationships matter so much, and how sensory feedback can shape your flavour profile and texture before you commit to production.Where to find Good Mess: • Website: https://www.eatgoodmess.com/• Instagram: @eatgoodmess👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.Join our community of food and drink founders building products that taste exceptional and earn their place on the shelf.📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.ukRelated Topics: Food Industry Trends, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Food Startup Strategy, EPICSI, Food Product Development, Food Formulation, Clean Label, Gluten-Free Baking, Flavour Profile, Food and Drink Founder, Food Brands, Retail Buyers, Contract Manufacturer, FMCG, Food Consultant UK

Going to a flavour supplier with a taste problem is the right move, but only if you arrive with a flavour strategy first. Without one, you lose months in samples that never quite land.I trained inside a flavour company, so I have seen this from both sides. In this episode I explain what your supplier is genuinely set up to do, the strategic work they will never do for you, and the one thing I fix with every brand before flavour is even on the table.👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves. Subscribe so you never miss an episode!📩 Working on a challenging base? Book your free discovery call here: https://www.epicsi.co.uk/quote📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.uk🔍 Related Topics: Food Industry Trends, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Food Startup Strategy, EPICSI, flavour strategy, flavour supplier, food and drink founder, food formulation, flavour profile, functional ingredients, clean label, food consultant UK, FMCG

There is a difference between a flavour people like and a flavour people remember, and it gets decided before your consumer has even opened the pack. In this episode I break down the flavour memory science behind why a technically perfect recipe still gets "it doesn't taste like strawberry" from your target consumer.👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.Join our community of food and drink founders who are building products consumers come back for.📩 Want a flavour strategy that starts from your consumer's world rather than yours? Book a free discovery call here: https://www.epicsi.co.uk/quote📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.uk🔍 Related Topics: Food Industry Trends, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Food Startup Strategy, EPICSI, food and drink founder, food product development, drink formulation, beverage formulation, flavour profile, consumer palate, sensory testing, taste memory, FMCG, food consultant UK

Is your flavour name actually earning repeat purchase, or quietly losing customers you'll never get back? This episode breaks down one of the most overlooked reasons food and drink brands see their sales slow down: the gap between what your packaging promises and what your product really tastes like.Most food and drink founders treat flavour naming as a marketing decision, and that makes sense, because you want something exciting that stands out on shelf. But when the name creates an expectation the product can't meet, consumers buy once and walk away without a complaint, without a review, and without ever telling you why. In this episode, I share a simple, structured taste session you can run with 10 to 15 of your own consumers to find out whether your flavour naming is working for your brand or working against it. I also walk you through a clear framework to decide whether to close the gap by adjusting the flavour or adjusting the name, so you stop losing repeat purchase to something you didn't even know was happening. 🔗 WATCH MOREWatch the previous episode here: [Link to Ep34] 👋 NEW HERE?I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food and drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.If you want to stop guessing and start making decisions that drive repeat purchase, join our community of food founders staying ahead of the curve. 📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.uk 🔍 RELATED TOPICSFood and Drink Founder, Flavour Naming Strategy, Repeat Purchase, Food Product Development, Food Formulation, Flavour Profile, Consumer Taste Testing, FMCG, Food Consultant UK, Food Brands UK, EPICSI

The flavour is always the last thing food brands think about when they reformulate. And it is almost always the reason their most loyal customers quietly stop buying.In this episode, I am breaking down the part of reformulation that nobody warns you about: what happens to your flavour profile when everything else in the recipe changes.• Why more food and drink brands are reformulating right now than ever before, from HFSS legislation landing in Scotland this October, to ingredient cost pressure, to over 80 million Yuka users scanning your label• Why the sweetener fix that worked 10 years ago is now creating a brand new problem• The taste drift trap: why being too close to your own product makes it almost impossible to be objective• What your most loyal customers actually do when they notice the flavour has changed (and why they never tell you)• What went wrong for Hershey when they had to publicly reverse their cocoa reduction across the Reese's portfolio• What went right when I worked with VivoLife to relaunch their Perform range with flavour at the very centre of the reformulation• The three things I always recommend to protect your flavour profile and repeat purchase through any recipe changeMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE🔬 Book your free Flavour MOT here: https://www.epicsi.co.uk/flavour-MOT👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food and drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.Join our community of food founders staying ahead of the curve and subscribe so you never miss an episode.📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.ukRelated Topics: Food Formulation, Drink Formulation, Flavour Profile, Food Product Development, Repeat Purchase, FMCG, Food Brands, Drink Brands, Food and Drink Founder, Beverage Reformulation, Clean Label, Plant-Based, HFSS, Food Industry Trends, Product Development, EPICSI

The GLP-1 shift is not about making your product smaller. It is about making it better. Here is what UK food and drink brands need to understand right now to stay relevant on shelf.In this episode I cover:- What the research actually says about GLP-1 users and their relationship with food — and why it is more complicated than "they eat less"- The £780 million reduction in UK grocery bills and the 17% rise in premium chocolate sales among GLP-1 users in 2025- What MMR research, Circana data, and a survey of over 11,500 British households tell us about where consumer attention is going- What these consumers actually want to eat and what they are reading on your label- What all of this means for your flavour strategy, texture, and product development- Why the food and drink brands asking the right questions today will have a real advantage in the next 12 to 18 months👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food and drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves. Join our community of food founders staying ahead of the curve.📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.ukRelated Topics: Food Industry Trends, GLP-1 and Food Brands, Beverage Innovation, Food Product Development, Drink Formulation, Food Founder Strategy, FMCG UK, Flavour Profile, Food Consultant UK, EPICSI

186 trials. That is what it actually takes to develop a clean label, allergen-free, plant-based barista drink from scratch. If you are in the middle of product development right now, this episode will save you months of work and possibly thousands of pounds.In this episode, I walk you through the entire development journey of a plant-based barista drink: the formulation challenges, the flavour pairing, the foam quality issues, the protein curdling problem, and the supplier and pilot plant mistakes that cost us time and money. I share what I got wrong, what I had to compromise on, and what I wish I had known from day one. From finding the right acidity regulator to discovering that additives are not always the solution, this is the honest, unfiltered version of what product development in the food and drink industry really looks like.👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.If this episode helped you, share it with a founder who is about to start their product development journey. It might save them six months and a lot of money.Join our community of food founders staying ahead of the curve and subscribe so you never miss an episode.📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.uk🔍 Related Topics: Food Industry Trends, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Plant-Based Product Development, Clean Label Formulation, Contract Manufacturing, Food Startup Strategy, Food Founders, Barista Drink Development, EPICSI

Stop looking at your overall sales figures and thinking your Food or drink product is doing fine. In this episode of The Food Lab Podcast, I break down why 76% of new food and drink products launched in UK retail every year quietly disappear, and why it almost always comes down to one number. Drawing on data from Nielsen, Kantar, McKinsey, and a real Tesco case study, I explain what the number is, how retailers use it to make delisting decisions, and what the research consistently shows is the number one driver of whether consumers come back. If you are a food or drink founder tracking stockists and distribution numbers, this episode is for you.In this episode: - Why 76% of food products fail on shelf- Getting listed is just the starting point- First purchase vs repeat purchase: what is the difference- What is the repeat purchase rate?- The Tesco Project Reset and what it revealed- Why taste is the number one driver of repeat purchase- Your challenge this weekWatch the previous episode here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/epicsi/episodes/30-59-of-consumers-judge-your-functional-drink-on-taste--not-its-health-benefits-e3l11vr👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food and drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves.Join the community of food founders staying ahead of the curve and never miss an episode.📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.ukRelated Topics: Food Industry Trends, Repeat Purchase Rate, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Food Startup Strategy, FMCG, Retail Strategy, Food Brand Growth, Consumer Behaviour, EPICSI

59% of consumers say taste is the most influential factor when evaluating a health drink. Not the ingredient. Not the health claim. Not the price. Taste. If your adaptogen product is relying on functionality to carry a flavour that isn't working, this episode will change how you develop.The global adaptogen market is worth nearly $11 billion and is one of the fastest growing categories in food and drink right now. But pick up almost any adaptogen drink on a UK shelf today and there is a very good chance it tastes earthy, musty, or flat. In this episode, I walk through the four main adaptogen ingredients I work with most, two real client stories from brands I have worked with, and the three mistakes I keep coming back to in this category. I also cover the food legislation piece that most founders do not realise is working against them, and what you actually need to do to build a functional product that consumers genuinely come back to.👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves. Join our community of food founders staying ahead of the curve.📱 STAY CONNECTED ▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk ▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.uk🔍 Related Topics: Food Industry Trends, Product Development, Beverage Innovation, Food Startup Strategy, EPICSI, Adaptogen Drinks, Functional Food, Flavour Strategy, Repeat Purchase Rate, Food Legislation UK

Your new flavour is not moving off the shelf and the problem started long before packaging, pricing, or marketing. It started in your flavour brief.In this episode, I break down why most food and drink founders base their flavour direction on what they want the product to represent rather than what their target consumers actually need from it. And that gap is exactly why 76% of new product launches in the UK fail in their first year. Drawing on over 10 years in the food industry, flavour house training, and work with brands from McVitie's to functional start-ups, I walk you through real case studies including marine collagen, vegan omega-3, and a pre-workout brand that found a genuine gap in the market by going against category norms. This episode will help you build a flavour strategy that is grounded in real consumer insight, not assumption.👋 If you are new here, I am Manon Galizzi, food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food and drink industry. The Food Lab is the podcast for food & drink founders who want to build brands that actually last on retailer shelves. Subscribe so you never miss an episode!📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/▪️ Website: epicsi.co.ukRelated Topics: Food Industry Trends, Flavour Brief, Product Development, Consumer Insight, Sensory Science, Food Start-up Strategy, Repeat Purchase, Functional Ingredients, FMCG, EPICSI