The power of partnerships to exponentially speed product development from an out-of-the box idea to a tangible product with a verified proof of concept was on full display at Future Food-Tech Chicago, where carbon-based fat producer Savor, whipped dairy supplier Alamance and applied neuroscience research company Thimus revealed a first-of-its-kind whipped topping created in just three weeks and which taste testers preferred over conventional alternatives.
For years, Alamance toyed with the idea of creating a more sustainable whipped topping – knowing a subset of consumers, especially Gen Z, want products that they perceive as better for them and better for the planet, including dairy- and palm-free alternatives, said Alamance Foods Executive VP Mohan Valluri. But, he added, he also knew that consumers would not compromise on taste or texture.
He explained that the company struggled to replace the mouthfeel, texture and taste they expected from dairy fats or the popular plant-based alternative palm – both of which have an environmental cost.
“We tried many iterations, I want to say up to 90 at this point in time, but we could never get the right level, because the missing piece in whipped cream is fat. And so, you can have the best alt-protein, but if you don’t have fat, then it is a moot point,” he said, adding, “That is what I was chasing.”
He found the answer when he met Savor, which recently emerged from stealth mode. Savor Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Pierre Coeurdeuil describes the startup as a climate company that makes fats from “from scratch, using carbon, hydrogen and oxygen” in a way that is scalable, sustainable and versatile – meaning customizable in terms of performance and nutrition.
Coeurdeiul added that Savor spent a year creating a milk fat alternative that is sustainable, functional and delicious. Knowing the work that went into that process, he added, he was surprised at the speed at which the team developed a non-dairy whipped topping that replaced palm oil with Savor’s fat.
But would it meet consumers’ taste expectations? To find out, Thimus used its cutting-edge sensory evaluation technology to save time by literally reading consumers’ minds.
“Our approach is based on what is called sensory neuroscience,” and it uses a device that goes around a person’s head and picks up signals from their brain, said Mario Ubiali, founder and CEO of Thimus.
By directly tracking brainwaves, the company can decode consumers’ responses to prototypes without the “noise” that naturally comes with more conventional interviews in which a subject might feel pressured to answer a certain way or not know how to verbalize their response, for example.
Three partners, two models and one successful solution
The trio attribute their fast success in part to two collaborative models: Thimus’ “House of Humans” scheme, which merges multidisciplinary approaches and skills, and the Fast, Fresh and Focused Framework favored by Alamance at Afi Labs. Both of which are replicable and can help other companies speed innovation and more efficiently and effectively gather and measure consumer feedback to better ensure if a product goes to market it will succeed.
Afi Labs’ Fast, Fresh, Focused framework includes four pillars: data intelligence, sensory science, brand alignment and execution agility.
House of Humans is a complementary framework that brings together people with different skill sets, perspectives and abilities to “make something magic happen,” said Ubiali.
Through these approaches, the trio achieved in three weeks what normally takes months or upwards of a year. And while the whipped topping they showcased at Future Food-Tech is not quite market-ready, they are continuing to finetune it and expect the project to reach the next phase in six months.
More important than the whipped topping, however, was the partnership and proof of concept of a business model the three developed, according to the trio.
“It was really incredible to be able to see that in three weeks we were able to develop a new product,” and “we can have a successful partnership in record time,” said Coeurdeiul.
