The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2024
Knorr made a stock cube that removes the bitter-taste gene curse
The Supercube filters bitterness so the 1 in 4 with TAS2R38 can eat vegetables; 30K gene strips went in a week.
Knorr (Unilever)
the move
One in four people are born with the TAS2R38 'supertaster' gene, which makes vegetables like broccoli, kale and cabbage taste intensely bitter. The default marketing answer was to tell them to eat healthy anyway.
Knorr and Weber Shandwick instead renamed those people 'supertasters' — not 'picky' — and built a stock cube, the Supercube, engineered with flavour science to filter out the bitter note so a quarter of the population can enjoy a veg-packed meal.
Pre-launch they made the science shareable with a Knorr-branded gene-test kit, had influencers post their results, and opened a restaurant for supertasters where they happily ate the foods they normally hate.
why it works
- A stock cube is a cheap everyday object, so the fix is credible and low-commitment.
- Framing 'fussy' as genetic removes blame and turns the buyer into a protagonist.
- The gene test makes a product claim demonstrable rather than asserted.
- It positions Knorr as an inclusive innovator, not a nagging health brand.
what transfers
Name the biological cause behind 'fussy' eating, then solve the cause with a product instead of a message.
what came after
Over 30,000 gene-test strips were requested in one week and stock ran out. 70% of campaign viewers said they would buy the Supercube, 80% now saw Knorr as inclusive and 85% as more innovative. It won a Gold (Innovation, early-stage tech) and a Silver (PR, social and cultural insight) at Eurobest 2024; Knorr aimed to bring it to market in 2025. Because it remains a concept product, its real-world sales effect is unproven — the win is demonstrated demand and repositioning.
references
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