It's every day that we hear about a new superfood on the shelves of our local store, a miracle plant touted by Dr Oz, or some new crop that is saving (or destroying) communities on the other side of the world. Is this a new phenomenon? Is the coming and going of plant products a by-product of our recently globalized society, or a fundamental driver of the forces that have shaped human trade, culture, and even our biochemistry for millennia? Drawing on my diverse experience living in the Amazon, building supply chains for new ingredients, and designing food and beverage products for some of the largest CPG companies in the world, I elucidate common features of how plant products have shaped the human experience throughout the ages. I trace the history of 3 plants (coffee, coca and cotton) that have dramatically shaped wars, modern social structures and the rise of industrialism itself. I offer my 4 Keys that all successful new products must have to gain widespread cultural acceptance, using chia, kombucha and acai as clear modern examples of this framework I created:
Memorable Mythos (the legendary Mexican runners using chia, the ancient cave monks with their kombucha cultures, etc.)
On-Trend Functionality (caffeine in the industrial age, kombucha in the age of digestive ails, acai at the peak of antioxidant madness, quinoa during the rise of plant-based protein etc.)
Theatricality: could be color, texture, or taste but some element that distinctively captures the senses (the “alien brain” texture of chia, the brilliant purple of acai, the slime of kombucha)
Identity Icon: Products that become a symbol of a consumer’s values and cultural affiliation (kombucha for yogis, acai for surfers, chia for runners)