Alana and Lisa MacFarlane are the dynamic twins behind ‘The Gut Stuff’, the award-winning brand bringing gut health into the mainstream and educating us about the importance of our body’s 'second brain'. Emerging from their Scottish roots, with (self admittedly) less-than-ideal dietary habits, the sisters have gone on to become champions for the power of gut health, redefining what it means to eat well. Their journey began with a landmark twin study in the UK, supervised by none other ...
Apr 18, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Segun Akinwoleola, the brain (and muscles) behind The Gym Kitchen, joins Brandt and Micah to spill the beans on crafting meals that pack a tasty and protein-filled punch. Segun is on a mission to reinvent the face of British ready meals, providing consumers with first and foremost a delicious and convenient meal, that is *actually* nutritious and filling. From the early days of the brand concept and trademarking to the strategic manoeuvres that landed The Gym Kitchen in the nation’s major retail...
Feb 26, 2024•48 min
A cookie to die for? Certainly a project to die for! Fortunately, no one was ACTUALLY harmed in the making or consuming of these Squid Game Dalgona cookies, as Brandt and the Tastehead team talk us through one of the most exciting, and challenging development projects yet. As the biggest trending show on Netflix of 2023, you can imagine the excitement in the team opening the email brief - to develop and make the actual dalgona cookies to be used in the biggest reality game show ever made, Squid ...
Feb 15, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 18
William Kendall, the mastermind behind some of Britain's most iconic household food and beverage brands (New Covent Garden Soup Company, Green & Black's, Cawston Press) has a talent for turning small beginnings into remarkable success stories. Starting out on his family farm in Suffolk, through to studying law, qualifying as a barrister, moving into investment banking then completing an MBA in France, he surprisingly found himself ‘rather unemployable’. Discovering this, he went fu...
Feb 01, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 17
While a product's taste may be amazing, if its packaging doesn't grab its target audience, it risks staying unnoticed on the shelf. So, how can you ensure that your packaging is as enticing to the eyes as your product is to the taste buds? The challenge lies in effectively translating the taste and narrative of a product into its visual identity, and often, this connection is overlooked, resulting in lacklustre packaging not speaking to its target consumer. To address this, we're ...
Jan 18, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 16
When approaching a rebrand, understanding your core values and how to communicate them to your consumer is vital. For Isle of Wight Tomatoes, all the amazing work they were doing from pioneering the growth of new, taste-driven tomato varieties to their inherent sustainability credentials was being overlooked. They worked with B&B Studios to look inwards and evolve the former ‘Tomato Stall’ brand to the new ‘Isle of Wight Tomatoes’, in doing so becoming recognisable as an iconic British produ...
Jan 11, 2024•6 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Mark Palmer has an incredibly impressive CV in food & beverage, heading up the marketing teams at Burger King, Pret, Green & Black’s and now Cawston Press. His journey through the food and beverage industry is a masterclass in adaptability and innovation. From his tenure at the globally renowned quick-service café, Pret A Manger, to founding the UK's fastest-growing ambient juice brand, Cawston Press, and now as an investor nurturing start-up concepts, Mark has accumulated a wealth ...
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 15
With such an iconic name, it’s no surprise that James Cadbury is obsessed with chocolate. As you have probably guessed, James’ great-great-Grandfather was one of the brothers that founded the now illustrious Cadbury’s brand. Growing up just down the road from the legendary Bournville site, James had an early fascination with chocolate from a young age. Despite beginning his journey in finance after university, he soon realized that his heart was elsewhere—immersed in the world of chocolate. With...
Dec 21, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Starting a new food or beverage brand can be a daunting task, especially if you have limited experience in the industry. For Zara, founder of Pukpip, this was very much the case, with a background in marketing, she had to quickly pivot into sales to get Pukpip through the door of some of the UK's iconic high street retailers. In this clip, Zara talks us through why actually, knowing what she does now, she sees her then narrow insight as a good thing. If you enjoy this best bite, please cons...
Dec 14, 2023•5 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Transforming a commodity food item into a thriving brand is no easy feat, so to see the success that Isle of Wight Tomatoes has had starting from their humble beginnings is all the more impressive 🍅 The UK’s island paradise is headed by Paul Thomas, Co-founder and Managing Director. Starting in the food industry cooking up a storm in Australia, upon returning home, he found himself at London’s iconic Borough Market flogging his tomatoes to the public, surprised to discover tomatoes came in any ...
Dec 05, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this Best Bite, Mairi and Eliza from Mergulo, plant-based butter, talk us through their journey of getting listed in to Whole Foods, Planet Organic and over 400 Holland & Barrett stores. The share anecdotes and tips from their experience and learning of going from farmers markets in to these retailer chains. If you enjoy this best bite, please consider listening to the full episode. If you have any suggestions for future episode topics, please email them to [email protected] Follow Bran...
Nov 30, 2023•4 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Creating a vegan butter that actually tastes amazing is no small feat, especially when you're committed to using natural whole food ingredients. But guess what? Mairi Hilleary of Mergulo has cracked the code! Now, with listings on the high street at the likes of Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Holland and Barrett, and a host of independent grocers and delis, Mergulo Butter is proving that putting taste first in food product development is the secret sauce to winning over both consumers and sto...
Nov 23, 2023•41 min
The government imposed Sugar Levy that came into effect in 2018 changed the face of the sugar-sweetened soft drinks dramatically. Drinks that used added sugar and hit a sugar content of 5% or over would have to pay 18p per litre of drink, and 24p if they surmounted 8%. Listen to Micah talk about how how most brand responded to this, and the reason Cawston Press chose the route that they did. If you enjoy this best bite, please consider listening to the full episode. If you have any suggestions f...
Nov 16, 2023•6 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode the guys are spilling the beans (and a little sauce) on the most common mistakes that they see time and again from new food and drinks brands entering the industry. Brandt and Micah have seen it all – from the good, the bad, to the downright bizarre – and they're here to share their stories and wisdom from the front lines of product development and brand building. Whether you're grappling with the intricacies of new ingredient legislation, refining your product concept,...
Nov 09, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In today's episode, we're catching up with Zara Godfrey, the powerhouse behind Pupkip. In the few short months since its launch, Pupkip's chocolate-dipped frozen bananas have turned into a must-have, so much so that they've got a dedicated following. A single weekend had 14,000 people lining up outside Whole Foods just for a taste. Not content with just conquering the UK, Pupkip is already making a splash in Dubai too. The Tastehead team had the pleasure of working on the pro...
Oct 26, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In a special role reversal, Micah Carr-Hill, normally a co-host of the podcast, joins Brandt as a guest to discuss his role as Head of Taste at Cawston Press. This episode also marks a milestone as it's the first to include video recording, with Micah serving as the guinea pig to test the recording setup (thanks, Micah) which can now be found on our YouTube channel, linked below. We'd love for you to check it out and leave a comment on the video! Micah shares his journey from his early...
Oct 12, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This episode is an interview with Joe Woolf, co-founder of the vegan gummy brand, Tasty Mates. Joe and Nick were early clients at Tastehead, back in 2019, when they reached out to Brandt and Micah for help in developing a new range of gummies that were plant-based, naturally delicious, and part of a brand that existed to make a positive impact in the world and the idea of us all looking after our mates. The brand is now listed across the UK, USA, Canada and Australia by the end of the year, sell...
May 25, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode is an interview with Biff, the co-founder of Biff's Plant Shack. Biff and Brandt have been friends since their days spent flipping burgers at McDonald's as teenagers. Now, over 20 years later, they discuss how those formative years have shaped their careers, especially the plant-based entrepreneurial journey that Biff has been on since. Whilst still obsessed with fast food, he's now the Co-founder (alongside his wife, Christa) and namesake of the successful vegan junk...
Mar 09, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In a lighter episode, inspired by Brandt's recent trip to California, Micah and Brandt compare some of the current trends and attitudes towards food and drink in the US and UK. Brandt discusses how the coffee culture in the US has evolved along with some of the innovations that are currently emerging. They delve into the hot trend of nootropics and adaptogens, examining the validity of their claimed benefits and exploring the scientific evidence supporting their use. Attitudes to sugar and ...
Feb 22, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This episode is an interview with Pritesh Mody. As the founder of Europe's leading pre-batch and bottled cocktail company, World of Zing, and a regular presenter on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, Pritesh is renowned as one of the UK’s leading drinks experts. Pritesh launched World of Zing in 2014 to bring exciting moments of mixology and cocktail innovation to a wider audience. The Zing team is now responsible for designing and producing cocktails for some of UK’s most famous venues, inclu...
Dec 14, 2022•53 min•Ep. 5
Micah and Brandt discuss all things gut health, and the increasing focus and attention it is receiving in food and beverage products. The conversation covers an introduction to gut health, why it's so important in modern times, new studies and scientific data, current products targeting gut health and what the future holds. Disclaimer: none of the content in this episode is medical advice. Brandt and Micah share their own experiences, views and opinions without having any medical qualificat...
Dec 01, 2022•49 min•Ep. 4
This episode is an interview with Jo Fairley, one of the UK's leading female entrepreneurs, most famously known as the Co-Founder of the premium chocolate brand, Green & Blacks. In this episode, Brandt interviews Jo on the early days of Green & Black’s, the role that innovation played in the business, how to grow a premium brand in a recession, and Jo’s top 5 tips for entrepreneurs starting a new brand in 2022. Here are some links for the content mentioned in this episode: Jo's...
Aug 24, 2022•39 min•Ep. 3
How do you go about choosing the best flavours for products? When should you stick with the classics, and when should you be a little more creative? Do you even need to add a flavour? Brandt and Micah discuss these questions and more, along with insights in to the surprising best-selling flavour at Cawston Press, some Green & Black’s flavours that never made the shelves, and how the matcha flavour trend is evolving. If you enjoy this episode, please consider subscribing. If you have any sugg...
Aug 19, 2022•26 min•Ep. 2
Considering that taste is one of the most important factors for any food or beverage product, it’s often surprising how little training the decision makers at F&B brands have in this area. In our first episode, Micah and Brandt discuss the difference between taste vs flavour, not-so-supertasters, trigeminal effects and how (and how not) to approach a tasting session. If you enjoy this episode, please consider subscribing. If you have any suggestions for future episode topics, please email th...
Aug 17, 2022•36 min•Ep. 1
