Since launching the website a few months ago with our first range of products, our main aim was to build some exposure and to prove there was a market for a chilled tempeh based snack.
As a nutritionist I put my love for healthy food and cooking to good use and experimented with different flavour options to see what could work with the 'tempiii' concept. After a lot of trial and error (and a lot of feeding friends and family samples) I decided on the dream trio of Sweet Soy, Tandoori & Fajita- something for every taste palate!
Despite feeling pretty pleased with what I had come up with, I knew there would be room for improvement (considering I had just made these recipes up myself with little background in this type of thing).
Outside of friends and family, and feedback from a couple of local markets, I thought it was time to be brave and put these little packets of flavoured tempeh to the true taste test. I nervously entered TOTW, thinking it would be great to get some non-biased product feedback, which would later help in tweaking or changing recipes if needed. The thought of winning an award was pretty far fetch to me considering I had just rustled these products up myself.
With absolutely no culinary background and so early on in my product's journey, you can image my shock when I found out Taste of the West had awarded us GOLD for all 3 flavours! Alongside this, the feedback received was a huge confidence boost and majorly supported my endevor for proof of market.
"These tempiii had a nice flavour. There was a good blend of aromatic spices and some umami flavour which created a well balanced product."
"The tandoori flavoured tempiii had a pleasant slightly spicy aroma that evoked wonderful thoughts of Indian cuisine, they were incredibly appealing.”
"The flavour was delightfully a good balance of spice/sweetness with a little hint of warmth. Again, the judges liked that they were plant based which meant that not only were they delicious but a healthy alternative too."
"Good sized pieces – perfect “bite size” – and a nice, natural colour to them.”
Bringing a contemporary product to market that little people recognise has certainly had its challenges so far- but these little gold stickers really help to give credibility, confidence and trust in us as a brand and product.
Thank you to Taste of the West for helping us open more doors, break down barriers and enhance engagement with our contemporary snack range! (And for making me realise my hidden talents within flavour development).
