Uncomplicated Marketing
"Marketing Uncomplicate - It" is your ultimate podcast destination for entrepreneurs and industry experts supporting small businesses. Join us as we explore the world of marketing, especially for businesses just launching or facing challenges. Hosted by Sacha Awwa, this podcast serves as a beacon for the resilience of entrepreneurs and business owners navigating their industries. Our guests share hard-fought battles, invaluable lessons, and innovative strategies that have reshaped businesses. With a blend of humor and insightful wisdom, we challenge conventional approaches and offer out-of-the-box marketing strategies. Tune in for behind-the-scenes insights into the entrepreneurial journey, filled with laughter and transformative discussions. Welcome to "Marketing Uncomplicate - It," where we simplify marketing for your success.
Uncomplicated Marketing
#70 - From Fine Dining to Tech: A Chef's Journey
From Kitchens to Code: Gregory Willis on Flavor, Innovation & Food Tech
In this episode, I sit down with Gregory Willis — founder and president of SenSpire, the company behind Flavor Studio, an operating system powering innovation in the food and ingredient industry. Gregory’s journey is anything but linear: from earning four-star reviews as a chef in the competitive San Francisco dining scene, to leading CPG innovation at Chef’s Best, to building patent-backed food tech solutions at Treasure8, and now creating software that unifies formulation, sensory testing, CRM, and R&D for some of the world’s leading food companies.
He’s also the author of The Language of Flavor, a book unpacking the creative science of taste, and co-runs a boutique letterpress company with his wife. His career weaves together food, technology, design, and relentless curiosity.
We cover:
- How lessons from fine dining — work ethic, customer service, discipline — shaped his approach to startups
- The creation of Flavor Studio: from flavor-predicting algorithms to a full R&D suite replacing Excel in food labs
- Why most food companies still rely on spreadsheets (and how Flavor Studio solves this problem)
- Scaling Chef’s Best into a nationally trusted label and what it taught him about consumer psychology
- Behind the scenes of food innovation trends: tinned fish, Dubai chocolate, protein-everything, pickle-flavored snacks, and zero-proof drinks
- Misconceptions about taste: why aroma is central and the “tongue map” is a myth
- The role of memory, design, and emotion in shaping flavor experiences
- The grind of patents and why sustainable food innovation is both slow and necessary
- Advice for young founders entering food/CPG: curiosity, communication, and building resilience against failure
🎯 Key Takeaways:
- Curiosity is the throughline: failure is just a “first attempt in learning.”
- Food innovation is equal parts artistry and analytics — spreadsheets won’t cut it anymore.
- Consumer trust is built through rigor and transparency (Chef’s Best proved this at scale).
- Emotion and memory are inseparable from taste — scent triggers flavor as much as the palate.
- Trends come and go (protein on everything, pickle popcorn), but consumer behavior drives what lasts.
- Entrepreneurship requires both creativity and discipline — the chef’s work ethic applies directly to startups.
🔗 Connect with Gregory:
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