Hacker News Reader

Comment by thelazydogsback | Hacker News Reader

I really thought the site was some kind of joke -- it was hard to tell what the message was. What I really don't understand is that healthy food already tastes good -- I'm not sure what foods they are trying to "modify" with their product.

As far as I can tell, Xylitol is just about perfect -- no aftertaste, and actually good for your teeth! (Erythritol is even less caloric and pretty good too.) Unfortunately, there aren't that many sodas, etc., that use it. Monk Fruit and Stevia are "natural" and super-sweet, but have a strong after-taste.

View on HN

Yeah sorry I'm not great at design. 1 man team here. I am looking to rebrand with an agency when I have the funds to do so. This is just an MVP, but I appreciate your feedback and will iterate on the messaging.

Touched on my point in the last sentence - lots of sweeters don't taste quite right. The point you make on xylitol is interesting, but still there are other benefits to the product that are unique 1)the flavor enhancing 2)the time saved by not stirring and the fact that it works on your taste buds rather than the food.

Everyone has their preferences, but your taste is malleable. A lot of people are used to eating lots of sugar so what you may find sweet is not enough for them. This is a healthy way to make those foods appealing to them. There's a really crazy statistic: while 63% of Americans say they try to eat healthy most or all of the time, 85% admit they give in to over half of their cravings for indulgent foods. Imagine what could happen to obesity if people could feed their temptations with healthy food by using miracle fruit.

Thanks for the reply.

> healthy way to make those foods appealing to them

I still don't get it though -- what are examples of "those foods" that are unappealing that you will make palatable?

My nephew for instance refuses to eat vegetables and greek yogurt/kefir makes him gag. My sister struggles to get him to eat anything but pasta and chicken nuggets. They used my product and now he eats yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, fish, soup, etc. Best way to understand is to see it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLmeCbotvYI&feature=youtu.be

Interesting how kids' taste buds work -- sweet-tasting or even tasteless broccoli would probably make me gag if I ate it.

I thought there was usually a big color and texture component to that stage as well though.

It is strange. Miracle fruit only works on acidic foods but for some foods it still changes the taste. I wouldn't say the broccoli taste sweet or tasteless, just less bitter. I shouldn't be promoting alcohol, but it makes cheap liquor taste smoother than the top shelf stuff too. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgLc-UlIDm/

The tastebuds of children, turns out, are different than those of an adult. They have not only more sweet buds, they are larger too.

You are absolutely right on the last point. I talked to a taste therapist that works with picky eaters and those are very big factors.

But does he still have to use your product? Although it’s better for him to have a more varied diet I thought kids mostly grew out of this fussiness. It would be terrible if he became dependent on your product into adulthood.

Hard to extrapolate here since I don't have too much data, I hear you though. But yes, I am shocked that he still uses the product 6 months later (product-market fit?). As bad as it would be to reliant on my product, I'd rather have him eating greek yogurt and vegetables than sugary shit so not a bad sacrifice.

When it comes down to it, is it a dependency or brand loyalty? Think of all the brands we are "dependent" on and how it is normalized to buy an iphone every few years or a pint of ice cream every week, for instance.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com