Tastehead, 186 Dawes Road, London (2026)

15/11/2023

Tired of tasteless vegan butter loaded with processed ingredients? Meet , the innovative brand changing the face of dairy-free butter in the UK! 🧈

Back in 2019, Mairi, a Ballymaloe-trained chef, walked through our doors with a bold mission: to create the tastiest vegan butter out there. As a passionate chef, she understood the pivotal role butter played in crafting and enhancing truly delicious meals. Faced with growing demands for vegan and dairy-free options from her clients, Mairi embarked on a quest to create her own, raising the bar both in taste and sustainability.

It wasn't just about creating another vegan butter; it was about crafting an exceptional alternative that stood tall even alongside traditional dairy butter.

Having worked through many iterations of a vegan butter recipe, our brief was to build on the great recipe work that Mairi had already done and to achieve the best possible balance between taste, texture, colour, stability and price. The benchmark was real dairy butter – Mairi did not want consumers to have to compromise.

Mergulo butter is now available in 3 flavours – Original, Garlic and Herb and Dark Salt – and is available in Whole Foods, Holland and Barrett, Planet Organic and an extensive variety of independent delis and grocers. We are hugely proud to see Mergulo grow from strength to strength and very excited to see where the brand goes next!

Stay tuned next week for a special feature on Mergulo in the Brand New Taste Podcast, where we dive deeper into the brand's fascinating story and its exciting future!

18/08/2022

📢 Our podcast has launched! 🚀

Brand New Taste is a podcast for BRANDs in the food and beverage industry, focussing on NEW innovation, and how understanding TASTE is vital for commercial success.

Micah and Brandt have talked about launching a podcast for many years, but wanted to wait until the time was right, and when they felt they could do it justice and post regular episodes…hopefully the time is now!

We really hope you give it a listen next week and become one of our first listeners. We’d love your feedback and help in shaping the podcast to be as useful and informative as possible! 🙌🏻

Episode one is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts 👍🏻

29/07/2022

How do you develop the best tasting non-alcoholic wine? 🤔

The answer is…not easily! Here’s a little background on our recent project for Wednesday's Domaine 🔎🍷

Luke came to us in 2021 with a simple, yet ambitious brief: develop the best tasting non-alcoholic white and red wine on the market.

We had developed low/no alcohol beer, cocktails and spirit products previously, so we were delighted to get the opportunity to finally work on a wine project.

Especially given that Micah’s background (and main passion in life, alongside fine food of course) is in the wine industry. His WSET Diploma and vast experience in wine tastings was certainly going to come in use for this project.

Volatile compounds, stereoisomers, trigeminal effects, fruity notes, floral notes, earthy notes, fermentation notes, woody notes, acidity, bitterness, sweetness, weight and body - all of these are delicately combined in a highly complex way in the very best wines, so we needed a strategic approach to building each of these elements in to the development recipes.

We’re afraid we can’t share too many recipe insights from this point onwards 🤫 but what we will say is that the precision required for developing these recipes was on another level. Even Micah declared that these were the most complex and precise beverage recipes he had ever worked on, requiring him and the team to find new ways of dosing and tweaking flavours with such precision.

The recipe development spanned across the development kitchen and in to the factory, making any necessary tweaks right up until the first batch of liquid being sealed in to the bottles.

We’re now delighted to hear the fantastic feedback that the first bottles sold are receiving 🙌🏻 It’s been a pleasure working with Luke on this project, his passion and drive for having a great tasting product is something we deeply respect, and we’re excited to see the success he is no doubt going to have with the brand!

29/07/2022

How do you develop the best tasting non-alcoholic wine? 🤔

The answer is…not easily! Here’s a little background on our recent project for 🔎🍷

Luke came to us in 2021 with a simple, yet ambitious brief: develop the best tasting non-alcoholic white and red wine on the market.

We had developed low/no alcohol beer, cocktails and spirit products previously, so we were delighted to get the opportunity to finally work on a wine project.

Especially given that Micah’s background (and main passion in life, alongside fine food of course) is in the wine industry. His WSET Diploma and vast experience in wine tastings was certainly going to come in use for this project.

Volatile compounds, stereoisomers, trigeminal effects, fruity notes, floral notes, earthy notes, fermentation notes, woody notes, acidity, bitterness, sweetness, weight and body - all of these are delicately combined in a highly complex way in the very best wines, so we needed a strategic approach to building each of these elements in to the development recipes.

We’re afraid we can’t share too many recipe insights from this point onwards 🤫 but what we will say is that the precision required for developing these recipes was on another level. Even Micah declared that these were the most complex and precise beverage recipes he had ever worked on, requiring him and the team to find new ways of dosing and tweaking flavours with such precision.

The recipe development spanned across the development kitchen and in to the factory, making any necessary tweaks right up until the first batch of liquid being sealed in to the bottles.

We’re now delighted to hear the fantastic feedback that the first bottles sold are receiving 🙌🏻 It’s been a pleasure working with Luke on this project, his passion and drive for having a great tasting product is something we deeply respect, and we’re excited to see the success he is no doubt going to have with the brand!

08/07/2022

What’s the difference between taste and flavour? 🤔

Does it even matter? 🤷🏻‍♂️ (swipe to find out)

We find ourselves answering these questions a lot at Tastehead. And put simply, we would say that the relationship between taste and flavour is one of the fundamentals to developing food and drink products that taste delicious.

Im our experience, too many people get caught up in ‘flavour’. If something isn’t tasting great, they’ll often just throw in more herbs, spices, extracts or oils hoping that will fix any issues and suddenly transform the recipe in to something delicious.

Sure, having the right blend of zesty, fruity and pithy notes in your Sicilian lemon oil is important to give the final product a natural, appealing flavour, but without the correct amount of acidity and sweetness to balance, it’s unlikely to be delicious and could even be quite unpleasant.

One of the best examples that most people can relate to is flat cola. Once a bottle has been open for a few hours, the carbonic acid starts to break down and dissipate. Without the bitterness and bite of the carbonic acid to balance the sweetness and caramel notes, the drink is sickly and unsatisfying. Very little has changed with the flavour.

Obviously plenty of other things go in to making a food or beverage product delicious, but we’ll save those for another post. 😁

Happy Friday, hope you have a great weekend!

01/07/2022

Finally, a range of mixers, purposefully developed for rum! 🙌🏻

Fed up of having cola with your rum? Like the idea of trying rum, but never knew what to pair it with? Well, this new range of sparkling mixers are for you 👉🏻🍹

Katie and Dan approached us in 2020 with a clear vision: to develop a range of lightly sparkling mixers, that are low in sugar, and not only work well with rum, but actually enhance the complex flavours of a good quality rum 👌🏻

As a mixologist, Katie knows a thing or two about creating the perfect drink. However, for her there was one big issue...she is allergic to all spirits, apart from rum!

With rum as her only option at a bar, she quickly grew bored of the limited options she had from rum and cola or a dark and stormy. With this in mind, herself and Dan came up with the idea to create for rum, what tonic is for gin. A perfectly blended range of mixers, in a variety of flavours that are expertly crafted to compliment the flavours of different rums for an easy cocktail-quality tipple.

We leaned on classic flavours that have a natural affinity with the various styles of rum…

🌹The rose and succulent blackberry tones of the Hedgerow mixer compliment the herbal notes found in a rhum agricole.

🍋The Citrus mixer compliments lighter, fruitier rums for a more refreshing beverage.

🍍The pineapple and coocnut flavours of the Tropical mixer are a perfect match to the same classic flavours of an 'estery' rum from Jamaica.

🔥 Whilst the warmth of ginger and cinnamon of the Spiced mixer enhance the oak cask character of a well-matured rum.

Everyone is delighted with the results, and we're excited to see the success the brand is already having! 🎉

15/04/2021

A particularly ‘tasty’ project to share with you today!

🎉 - Vegan gummy sweets that are bursting with flavour and personality.

Co-founders, Joe and Nick had ambitious targets of developing a range of plant-based gummy sweets that not only ‘did good’, but also tasted amazing.

We had many hurdles to overcome during the product development to achieve a soft, juicy texture with flavours that are genuinely delicious, natural and moreish.

We are super proud and happy with the end result and would put them up against any other gummy product out there…and we tasted lots during this development project!

We’re delighted to see the product already listed in WH Smiths and Holland & Barrett from launch, as well as some TV coverage to boot!

Find out more details of the project in our latest case study on our website - link in bio!

Not bad for a start-up brand launch during these challenging times 👏🏻

06/04/2021

We are delighted to be able to share another team member in our meet the team series…

Please say hello 👋🏻 to Lulu, our Project Researcher.

Lulu first joined the team as a product development intern back in the summer of 2020. After some time out to dedicate to her studies she returned this year a fully-fledged member of the team. Lulu is currently in her last year of a Nutrition Science degree which is particularly handy with some of the work that she carries out here at Tastehead. With most of our projects there is an incredible amount of research that feeds into the development process; from regulatory and commercial viability to nutritional composition and market insights. Lulu works closely with the Development Team and our Project Manager to understand the most efficient development plan in order to deliver the best outcome for the product and the client.

Lulu has a personal interest in our many plant-based projects. Following a vegan diet herself, she is excited by the volume of innovative projects that come our way in this category and the important role that nutrition plays in delivering the best end results.

The best part(s) about working at Tastehead for Lulu? “I love working as part of the Tastehead team, even though we are laughing every day, everyone in the office is really dedicated to their work and committed to producing the best outcomes for our clients. It’s so great to meet such a variety of people that come to us and hear the amazing stories behind their brands.”

01/04/2021

Our latest, highly-innovative NPD project has launched today!🚀
Working closely with the teams at and our development team worked night and day, determined to find a way of combining two of the nation’s favourite, iconic products...

Smoothie + soup = Smoup! 💡🙌🏻

*mic drop* 🎤🕺🏻

29/03/2021

We are delighted to share another case study with you…

Savyll Beverage Company, a range of premium, alcohol-free cocktails, ready to serve.

On the brink of fatherhood, Avnish was driven to achieve a healthier lifestyle, and an integral part of this was moderating alcohol consumption. He approached Tastehead in January 2019 to help refine and commercialise a range of products from 9 alcohol-free drink concepts that he had started to develop in his kitchen.

With ambitious goals in terms of taste, we knew from the start that ‘balance’ was going to be a key focus of this project, across taste, flavours and mouthfeel.

We’re all very proud of the final results, with Savyll picking up several awards already for the range of drinks:

Moscow Mule
Bellini
Gin & Tonic
Mojito
Old Cuban
Spiced Rum and Coke

To read the full case study please see the link in the comments below.

25/03/2021

Last night Brandt co-hosted an exclusive tasting event to launch the brand-new intensity scale that Tastehead proudly worked on for the brand. A special thank you to .hemsley; co-host, Green & Black’s Tastemaker and all round organic and sustainability evangelist. It was a pleasure to work with such a passionate brand ambassador!

It was a fantastic event to be part of, and we took enormous pride in developing each of the drinks used for the pairings. Some of the carefully considered pairings included bespoke cocktails, mocktails and cold brew infusions. A couple of the audience favourites were the Pink Peppercorn Gin and the Cacao Negroni, where we infused cacao nibs in to the gin using a heat controlled water bath.
Brandt took guests through the ‘bean to bar’ journey of how Green & Black’s chocolate is made. Given the current circumstances and in an attempt to make the event as experiential and interactive as possible through a screen, we included hessian bags filled with cocoa ingredients to help bring the experience to life. The whole Tastehead team took great pleasure in arranging the boxes and showcasing the products in all their splendour before wrapping up each one and arranging safe carriage to their lucky recipients across the UK... and we say lucky, as that box of delights came with a secret compartment underneath filled with full sized bars of Green & Black’s favourites!

A special mention to and , the founders of Green & Black’s and all-round champions of the brand and all it stands for. They shared a little bit of the G&B’s story and the journey they have been on - it’s always so inspiring to hear them speak.
And of course, in the year of Zoom, we want to say a huge thank you to our tech support wizard, Jonathan of who somehow made a virtual tasting event as seamless and as collaborative possible.
Thanks again to all involved, we look forward to being able to host these events in the ‘real world’ soon! 🍫🥃🍷

Tastehead

15/11/2023

18/08/2022

29/07/2022

29/07/2022

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01/07/2022

15/04/2021

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