Design for Flavor, First

Make Products People Want, not Make People Want Products

The true measure of a food product's success transcends technological sophistication, investment size, or marketing buzz. It rests in the realm of consumer experience.

In education, "Backwards Design" dictates that desired learning outcomes shape the development process. This seemingly unconventional yet effective principle is ripe for revolutionizing food product development, and when fused with the empathetic and iterative processes of Design Thinking, it becomes a powerful tool to challenge the food industry's conventional wisdom.

The fusion isn't merely academic; it's a resolute call to action. It questions the industry’s focus: "Are we designing food products that truly cater to consumer needs, or are we caught up in impressing with technological feats and marketing ploys?" By integrating Backwards Design with Design Thinking, we prioritize end-user experience (not a pre-determined solution) over mere 'innovation' or marketing-driven agendas.

Consider the plant-based meat sector and the wider food industry, awash with products more marketed than mastered. The initial failures in plant-based meats weren't just about taste and texture; they symbolized what happens when consumer experience and needs are an afterthought, overshadowed by the allure of technology or marketing campaigns. This integrated approach mandates that each ingredient, each process, must enhance the consumer's experience, not just serve as a technological or marketing gimmick.

This perspective is unapologetically consumer-centric, challenging the prevailing "what can be made" attitude with a more thoughtful "what should be made" approach. It's a direct confrontation with the multitude of unremarkable products that populate shelves, driven more by marketing narratives than genuine culinary excellence - contributing to the 84% failure rate of CPG products.

Navigating this approach is challenging, balancing market pressures and cost constraints. However, true innovation often emerges from such complexities. The food industry's most notable successes have been products that transcended technical metrics to win over consumer hearts and palates. At Chew, we have embraced this mentality for over a decade and continue to fight for what is meaningful.

It's time the industry as a whole shifts focus to creating products that are not only technologically advanced or well-marketed but are intelligently designed for the ultimate judge & jury – the consumer. Let’s commit to a future where every new food product is a testament to this philosophy, where flavor, experience, and consumer satisfaction lead the way in design decisions.