Dgetman

They would never take me seriously with 0 sales. I plan to apply to PepsiCo's accelerator but they only look at companies with $1M+ sales. Help me get to the scale where I can!

As a matter of fact, my competitor which is making GMO miraculin just raised $6.9M from Kraft 3 weeks ago. Me thinks there be potential here....

Yes!!!

Would greatly appreciate your feedback on my product! If it doesn't last more than 5 minutes I'll venmo you your money back.

We source our product from the native soil where this berry grows. As you may know with wine, coffee, and tea, the soil and climate matters a lot. Moreover, our farmers take care to not overcrowd the trees to ensure each plant gets plenty of sunlight and nutrients. I've tried every product out there that exists, doesn't come close to our quality. Prove me wrong and I'll refund you.

I've spoken with the leading expert and it does indeed create the perception of sweetness where there once was not. The enhanced sweetness, however does inhibit the bitterness and enhances flavor. That is why you begin to pick up flavors you previously did not in something like a strawberry, tea, or IPA.

Lots of people don't like stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, etc because of its aftertaste. Due to the unique mechanism of the miracle fruit (indirectly activating your tastebuds instead of directly), it does not have a weird taste. The fact that it is as close to tasting like sugar without having calories is a game changer for many.

The product is not for everyone. It definitely has that novelty feel of "oh shit I can't believe how this lemon tastes" but not everyone is going to use it constantly. Everyone has their preferences and while you may like sour, others might gag at the taste of greek yogurt. If this can make people eat healthy foods they otherwise wouldn't eat, I'd be overjoyed.

I see what you mean by the bitter compound Bitrex. It is something for me to think about on how to ensure kids don't abuse it. The upside for parents of picky eaters is huge though. My nephew used to only eat noodles and chicken nuggets but now with my product he eats greek yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, soup, fish, fruit, etc. It is no longer a chore for my sister to get him to eat his food. All he says is "I'll only have it with Palate Pal" :)

Fair. I think the main thing I'm trying to emphasize here is that this crazy thing is found in nature not some chemical shit made in a lab. Also a lot of my competitors put chemicals in their products for flavor and consistency and I tried really hard to keep it natural.

Hmm although I wouldn't recommend eating an entire lemon, lots of the foods that work well with miracle fruit you would already consume regularly - berries, greek yogurt, coffee, sauces, cocktails, etc. I use it everyday with greek yogurt mixed in with almond butter...very healthy but tastes sinfully like Reese's.

The main reason it hasn't been commercialized is that the fruit itself is very finicky. It took me a whole year to work out a procedure and formulation. Another company is working on bioengineering the active protein, and raised $6.9M 3 weeks ago so I wouldn't say all hope is lost in miracle fruit.

There is actually a really interesting conspiracy theory of how GD Searle broke into the offices and sabotaged the original company commercializing miracle fruit back in the 70's. You are right, they tried telling the FDA that miracle fruit would make kids drink battery acid, but that was all corporate BS because they were afraid of the competition it would bring - kids were enjoying miracle fruit sweetened popsicles more than regular popsicles.

Hello HN! Palate Pal is a next-generation natural sweetener that not only sweetens foods, but also enhances flavor. It doesn't have any bitter/"chemical" aftertaste like all other alternative sweeteners and also a single serving will last you 30-60 minutes REGARDLESS of how much food you eat with it.

It is made from miracle fruit. This fruit has been used for centuries by tribes in Western Africa to make their food more delicious. It contains a protein that safely and temporarily binds to your tastebuds to make sour foods taste sweet as well as remove unpleasant bitter and tart flavors. For instance, bite into a lemon and it will taste like lemonade. It allows you to discover flavors previously masked by those unpleasant tastes. A strawberry tastes even more "strawberry" and a plain greek yogurt now tastes much more creamy.

It is the first miracle fruit product that is convenient for daily use. Whereas competing products take 5-10 minutes to dissolve, mine takes 10 seconds to dissolve and contains only NATURAL ingredients. I believe miracle fruit has the potential to take willpower out of the equation of a healthy diet by making nutritious foods taste as indulgent as the junk foods that are otherwise killing us. No one has the patience to wait 5 minutes in the morning while they are rushing to school or work, so I knew this is what needed to be changed in order for miracle berry to go mainstream.

Please check out my website for more information and demos. Use the code "HN" at checkout for 10% off.

Feel free to ask me anything!

TLDR: I think I have a simple, natural, and cost-effective solution to create lasting behavioral change towards a healthier future. I’m looking into ways to test that hypothesis and use my time productively in spite of Coronavirus. Cold calling dietitians and pediatricians sucks (but what can you do?). Can anyone make some suggestions for ways to efficiently test PMF while we still have no clue how long Coronavirus will last?

Ahh ok. So let's say the HN gods don't bless my post with a hyperlink, what's the best way to do it? Should I put it in the comments?

Main reason I avoided the comments strategy was I felt it'd get lost in the sea and then people wouldn't know what the author's post is all about.

Excellent question! This is what my whole business is about!

While the efficacy is the same, the difference is in the timing. In my testing those pills take ~10 minutes to dissolve, maybe 5 minutes if you are rolling it around on your tongue...for the entire 5 minutes. As a novelty food, it does the trick, but when you're rushing to get your kids to school or in a hurry to get yourself to work you don't have those 5 minutes to get it dissolved before breakfast (assuming your child even has the patience!) You can check the full video in the description but my product takes 30 seconds - 1 minute to dissolve. That's a 10 fold difference. Not only is it convenient but it is also effortless to coat your entire tongue - the surface area does it on its own.

The pills also have a chalky texture and a raisiny taste that not everyone enjoys. While I am still working on the flavor, i have received great feedback saying that it "tastes like a healthy fruit roll-up".

In terms of the fresh fruit, it is highly perishable (rots in <24 hours). It is also very inconvenient. It has a very large pit and the flesh is hard to remove from it. Also you have the problem with variability in fruit size. My product is standardized so you always know what you're getting.

That's the one! It's really interesting, there was a company in the 70's trying to do what I am doing but aspartame was coming out at the same time. Searle found it so threatening, they did some dirty work to sabotage the company and get ahead.

N00b question but, why does my link not hyperlink :P Plz halp

I appreciate your skepticism. It certainly sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately I only had 2000 characters to get everything down but happy to clarify any questions you have.

Instead of a chemical that directly activates sweet receptors like other sweeteners, this protein binds to your sweet receptors for 30-60 minutes and activates it in the presence of acid.

I'd be happy to send you samples to see for yourself in the return for feedback on my MVP :)

Edit: I'm also backed by Pioneer so hope that makes it look a little more legit

https://pioneer.app/blog/meet-the-pioneers-take-4/

Miraculin. It naturally comes from the miracle berry and is proven to be safe by several studies. It's been used by Western African tribes for centuries to improve the flavor of their otherwise bland cuisine.

Check the video. A kid can't fake those reactions.

I started this discussion because I watched this podcast and one of the questions was "why we don't have enough founders in the world" which spurred the thought.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/10197011/breaking-down-common-...

I came to a realization to why there are not enough founders out there, and it's not because there's not enough $1B ideas out there. Loads of people get that AHA moment with an incredible idea one night that infects their mind. At some point, that particular excitement will die away. You will reach a period (3, 6, 12 months) where you will start to feel like a toddler toying with their food: confused, lost, stressed and under pressure from your parents and loved ones to get a fucking job already.

What Melissa Bernstein, the co-founder of the Melissa and Doug toy company, tells Duke students is essential to a successful founder's DNA is optimism and determination. Talk to enough people and you will eventually piece together a new AHA moment - the feasible plans of executing your idea. If you thought the feeling of euphoria from coming up with the next big thing was amazing, wait until you have the feeling of knowing not only the idea but the way to really bring it to the world. Most people give up way before this point due to the lack of physical resources, mental resources, or patience. This is the major bottleneck of the founding of new unicorns.

I'm too early to say for a fact that I've reached this end so check in with me again in a few years, but I want to leave you with this: If you're feeling down and unmotivated, as long as you continue to hustle you will eventually reach the end of the tunnel and into the wide expanses of opportunity. For those of you currently living on the high of your idea, just you wait because the next AHA will be 10x better.

Absolutely! This family actually brought up that concern so I made sure that my product only contains kosher, non-GMO, and organic ingredients :)

While the efficacy is the same, the difference is in the timing. In my testing those pills take ~10 minutes to dissolve, maybe 5 minutes if you are rolling it around on your tongue...for the entire 5 minutes. As a novelty food, it does the trick, but when you're rushing to get your kids to school or in a hurry to get yourself to work you don't have those 5 minutes to get it dissolved before breakfast (assuming your child even has the patience!) You can check the full video in the description but my product takes 30 seconds - 1 minute to dissolve. That's a 10 fold difference. Not only is it convenient but it is also effortless to coat your entire tongue - the surface area does it on its own.

The pills also have a chalky texture and a raisiny taste that not everyone enjoys. While I am still working on the flavor, i have received great feedback saying that it "tastes like a healthy fruit roll-up".

Spot on! The fruit has a natural protein which temporarily and harmlessly binds to your sweet receptors. Unlike other sweeteners which directly activate the receptor, this one indirectly activates the receptor only in the presence of acids.

This mechanism gives it loads of unique properties. One, the protein has no taste and doesn't have the same chemical/bitter aftertaste of the other sweeteners out there on the market. Furthermore, it serves as a food flavor enhancer just like any other herb or spice. You're not just sweetening the food, you're removing the unpleasant tartness and bitterness of foods that otherwise mask the taste of the food. Discover the hidden natural flavors of your food. Finally, since you're affecting your tongue instead of the food a single serving will last you 30-60 minutes, the entire length of a meal. You wouldn't need to add more like you would otherwise with other sweeteners if you were having a breakfast of coffee, yogurt parfait, and grapefruit.

Don't worry, it is not only natural but also completely safe. Coca Cola published a study on the protein in 2019 saying it has no potential long-term side effects. There is also another study published in 1974 where they gave rats 10,000 times the regular dose a human would take...every day...and found no side effects across several generations.

If this video reminds you of anyone, I'd be happy to send samples of my MVP to anyone in the US.

The strip is made of a natural fruit. The strip dissolves, but the effect stays there for the next 30-60 minutes so no matter how much you eat you won't need another strip ;)