#20 9 Food and Drink Trends from Expo West 2026

#25 Why staying on shelf is HARDER than getting listed (the one metric that decides it)

Most food and drink founders are pouring everything into finding new customers. New listings, new stockists, new ads. And on the surface, it looks like growth. But underneath that, there is a question most of them are not asking. Are the people who bought last month actually coming back? In this episode I share a real client story that changed the way they saw their entire business, break down the maths that make the case for retention over acquisition, and explain the one number that tells you more about the health of your food brand than anything else. 🎯 Not sure if your product's flavour is holding back your repeat purchase rate? Start with The Flavour MOT. It gives you a full expert audit of your product's taste performance, aligned with your target consumer feedback, so you know exactly what to fix and how.👉 https://www.epicsi.co.uk/flavour-MOT ▶️ WATCH NEXT: #24 76% of new food products FAIL (and nobody tells you the real reason why) 📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/ #foodbusiness #foodfounder #repeatpurchase #FMCG #customerretention 👋 If this is your first time here, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry. I created The Food Lab Podcast to have honest conversations about what it actually takes for food and drink brands in the UK to succeed on retailers' shelves. On this channel you will find:▪️ Solo episodes where I break down the metrics, strategies and flavour science that food founders need to know▪️ Behind the scenes looks at real product challenges and how they get solved▪️ Practical frameworks you can apply to your brand right now Subscribe and let's build products consumers actually want to buy again.

#24 76% of new food products FAIL (and nobody tells you the real reason why)

Every year, more than 1,300 new food and drink products are launched on UK retail shelves. And 76% of them quietly disappear. To be honest, I do not think this is talked about enough, because the reason why is so fixable. In this episode, I explain the one metric that retailers like Tesco actually use to decide who stays on shelf and who gets delisted, why your sales figures are not telling you the full story, and what the data consistently shows drives repeat purchase across every single food and drink category. 🎯 Not sure if your product's flavour is holding back your repeat purchase rate? Start with the Flavour MOT. It gives you a full expert audit of your product's taste performance, aligned with your target consumer feedback, so you know exactly what to fix and how.👉 https://www.epicsi.co.uk/flavour-MOT 📱 STAY CONNECTED ▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk ▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/ 👋 If this is your first time here, I am Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert with over 10 years in the food industry. I created The Food Lab Podcast to have honest conversations about what it actually takes for food and drink brands in the UK to succeed on retailers' shelves. On this channel you will find: ▪️ Solo episodes where I break down the metrics, strategies and flavour science that food founders need to know ▪️ Behind-the-scenes looks at real product challenges and how they get solved ▪️ Practical frameworks you can apply to your brand right now Subscribe — and let's build products consumers actually want to buy again.

#23 Gen Z's palate is MORE complex than you think (the 5 flavour trends food and drink brands need in 2026)

Most food and drink brands spend thousands making their product look TikTokable for Gen Z. But they forget one thing: Gen-Z palate is far more complex than you think. In this episode, I walk you through the 5 Gen Z flavour trends that matter right now, the 3 mistakes that are getting products delisted, and how to build a flavour strategy that actually speaks to this generation. In this episode: ▪️ Why your safe flavours are costing you Gen Z consumers ▪️ Who Gen Z really are as food and drink consumers ▪️ Trend 1: Asian flavours 3.0 and comfort-led fusion ▪️ Trend 2: Complex spice (sweet heat, salty heat, zingy heat) ▪️ Trend 3: Street food energy in packaged products ▪️ Trend 4: Unexpected combinations that just work ▪️ Trend 5: The big shift happening in drinks right now ▪️ The 3 mistakes that will get your product delisted ▪️ How to build your Gen Z flavour brief from scratch 🎯 If you are developing a food or drink product for Gen Z and want to work through your flavour strategy, drop a comment below or head to my website to find out how we can work together. 👉 www.epicsi.co.uk ▶️ Companion episode to watch next: How to research your target consumer's palate → #22 📱 STAY CONNECTED▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/ 👋 If this is your first time here, I'm Manon Galizzi, food and drink flavour consultant and founder of EPICSI. My mission is to help food and drink founders develop products that taste great, sell well and stay on retailer shelves. On this podcast you will find: ▪️ Practical flavour strategy for food and drink founders ▪️ Behind the scenes of real product development ▪️ Honest conversations about what it really takes to build a food or drink brand Follow the Food Lab Podcast for weekly episodes! The Food Lab is the go-to podcast for food and drink founders who want to develop products with a clear flavour strategy, understand their target consumer's palate, and build brands that achieve repeat purchase and grow market share. Whether you are just starting out, scaling up or reformulating an existing product, this is the place to get honest, practical and expert guidance on all things flavour.

#22 Why Trying to Please Everyone With Your Flavour Will DESTROY Your Brand

If you've ever said "we want to appeal to everyone" about your food or drink product, this episode is going to hit home. Because trying to please everyone with your flavour strategy is one of the most common mistakes I see food and drink founders make. And it's also the fastest way to end up with a product that resonates with no one and gets pulled from shelf. In this episode, I share real examples from my time at McVities, a brilliant case study from Condimentum's next generation mustard, and what happened when a marine collagen client assumed they knew what their target consumers wanted. Spoiler: they didn't. ▪️ Why you cannot please boomers AND Gen Z with the same product ▪️ The Condimentum mustard story (and what they got brilliantly right) ▪️ The familiarity principle and why your brain thinks kimchi is dangerous ▪️ How to actually research your target consumer's palate ▪️ Why you must understand your product base BEFORE your consumer ▪️ The 4 flavour mistakes that are costing food brands their shelf space 🎯 Want to stop guessing and start making smarter flavour decisions for your food or drink brand? Head to my website to explore how I help founders develop products their target consumers actually want to buy again. 👉 https://www.epicsi.co.uk/ 📱 STAY CONNECTED ▪️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicsi.uk ▪️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manon-galizzi-94700666/ 👋 If this is your first time here, I'm Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavour expert and the founder of EPICSI. My mission is simple: to help food and drink founders create products that taste incredible and keep consumers coming back for more. The Food Lab is the podcast for food and drink founders who want to make smarter flavour decisions, avoid costly product development mistakes, and launch products that actually sell. Whether you are developing your first product or reformulating an existing one, I'll give you the food science knowledge you need in a way that actually makes sense. No jargon, no overwhelm. Just practical, honest advice from someone who has worked with food and drink brands of all sizes. Subscribe and hit the bell so you never miss a new episode! 🔔

#21 The BRUTAL truth about clean label product development (and why 186 trials is actually okay)

186 trials. That is what it took to develop this plant-based barista drink from scratch. A clean label brief, no allergens, no seed oils, no stabilisers, and a client who knew exactly what she wanted. In this episode, I am pulling back the curtain on the entire journey. The technical challenges, the mistakes I made, the partners who completely let us down, and the intellectual property lesson every food founder needs to know before signing anything with a contract manufacturer. If you are thinking about developing a drink product right now, or you are already in the process, this episode could save you months of work and a lot of money. In this episode: ▪️ Why 186 trials is actually okay ▪️ The brief: clean label, no allergens, no stabilisers ▪️ Tasting 12 plant-based barista drinks in a London coffee shop ▪️ The flavour pairing challenge (and why buttery was an immediate no-go) ▪️ The foam disaster (it looked like a bubble bath) ▪️ How to stop your proteins curdling in coffee ▪️ The MOQ mistake that cost me 6 months of work ▪️ The pilot plant that turned out to be a complete scam ▪️ Why additives are NOT always the solution (a food science myth) ▪️ The intellectual property trap: what I have seen happen to food founders ▪️The 4 questions you must ask your contract manufacturer before signing anything 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠Book your Flavour MOT today⁠⁠ [https://www.epicsi.co.uk/flavour-MOT]⁠ If you found this episode helpful, leave me a comment and follow The Food Lab Podcast!💌 ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Subscribe to my newsletter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [https://www.epicsi.co.uk/newsletter]to receive every week directly in your inbox the biggest challenges in food and drink product development and how to solve them. 👋 Connect with me directly on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram (@⁠epicsi.uk) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn (Manon Galizzi)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or via my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ I'm Manon Galizzi, a flavour expert and food scientist with 10+ years in the industry, including training at a flavour house and working with iconic brands like McVitie's, Yeo Valley, Burger King, and Jacob's. I founded EPICSI to help UK food and drink brands nail their flavour strategy and choose the best flavour profile, especially for challenging formulations. If your sales are declining due to taste complaints, I diagnose what's wrong and rebuild your flavour profile. If you're launching functional or plant-based products struggling with bitter, fishy, or earthy notes from marine collagen, plant proteins, or adaptogens, I help you choose flavours that actually mask or complement those notes. I specialise in clean-label, additives-free, plant-based, and functional food product development. Research shows flavour is the #1 driver of repeat purchase. Get it right, customers return. Get it wrong, they don't.