Hello HN! Palate Pal is a next-generation natural sweetener that not only sweetens foods, but also enhances flavor. It doesn't have any bitter/"chemical" aftertaste like all other alternative sweeteners and also a single serving will last you 30-60 minutes REGARDLESS of how much food you eat with it.
It is made from miracle fruit. This fruit has been used for centuries by tribes in Western Africa to make their food more delicious. It contains a protein that safely and temporarily binds to your tastebuds to make sour foods taste sweet as well as remove unpleasant bitter and tart flavors. For instance, bite into a lemon and it will taste like lemonade. It allows you to discover flavors previously masked by those unpleasant tastes. A strawberry tastes even more "strawberry" and a plain greek yogurt now tastes much more creamy.
It is the first miracle fruit product that is convenient for daily use. Whereas competing products take 5-10 minutes to dissolve, mine takes 10 seconds to dissolve and contains only NATURAL ingredients. I believe miracle fruit has the potential to take willpower out of the equation of a healthy diet by making nutritious foods taste as indulgent as the junk foods that are otherwise killing us. No one has the patience to wait 5 minutes in the morning while they are rushing to school or work, so I knew this is what needed to be changed in order for miracle berry to go mainstream.
Please check out my website for more information and demos. Use the code "HN" at checkout for 10% off.
I've heard about miracle fruit. Specifically, I've heard that the reason it's not already commercialized is, as you say, that it converts sour flavors to sweet -- leading people to overconsume acid (the cause of sourness) and take physical damage from the acid exposure. Miracle fruit can make you believe drinking a bottle of vinegar is a good idea, but it won't make it actually a good idea.
Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? This sounds like willpower would still be an issue, but if you mess up you scar your throat / dissolve your teeth instead of gaining weight.
Hmm although I wouldn't recommend eating an entire lemon, lots of the foods that work well with miracle fruit you would already consume regularly - berries, greek yogurt, coffee, sauces, cocktails, etc. I use it everyday with greek yogurt mixed in with almond butter...very healthy but tastes sinfully like Reese's.
The main reason it hasn't been commercialized is that the fruit itself is very finicky. It took me a whole year to work out a procedure and formulation. Another company is working on bioengineering the active protein, and raised $6.9M 3 weeks ago so I wouldn't say all hope is lost in miracle fruit.
There is actually a really interesting conspiracy theory of how GD Searle broke into the offices and sabotaged the original company commercializing miracle fruit back in the 70's. You are right, they tried telling the FDA that miracle fruit would make kids drink battery acid, but that was all corporate BS because they were afraid of the competition it would bring - kids were enjoying miracle fruit sweetened popsicles more than regular popsicles.
Would greatly appreciate your feedback on my product! If it doesn't last more than 5 minutes I'll venmo you your money back.
We source our product from the native soil where this berry grows. As you may know with wine, coffee, and tea, the soil and climate matters a lot. Moreover, our farmers take care to not overcrowd the trees to ensure each plant gets plenty of sunlight and nutrients. I've tried every product out there that exists, doesn't come close to our quality. Prove me wrong and I'll refund you.
Does it? My experience tasting it, seemed more like a sour inhibitor. The sweet you tasted was what was left when the sour was removed. Turns out lemons are indeed sweet.
But that was merely my non-scientific, anecdotal impression.
I've spoken with the leading expert and it does indeed create the perception of sweetness where there once was not. The enhanced sweetness, however does inhibit the bitterness and enhances flavor. That is why you begin to pick up flavors you previously did not in something like a strawberry, tea, or IPA.
You say that it doesn't have an aftertaste, but sound proud that it will impact your sense of taste for 30-60 minutes. That's worse, IMO. I like sour, tart and bitter flavors, and would be quite annoyed by this.
Also, many toxic products contain Bitrex as a safety measure. Brush it off now, but if your product ends up in foods marketed to kids, get ready for a shitstorm.
Lots of people don't like stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, etc because of its aftertaste. Due to the unique mechanism of the miracle fruit (indirectly activating your tastebuds instead of directly), it does not have a weird taste. The fact that it is as close to tasting like sugar without having calories is a game changer for many.
The product is not for everyone. It definitely has that novelty feel of "oh shit I can't believe how this lemon tastes" but not everyone is going to use it constantly. Everyone has their preferences and while you may like sour, others might gag at the taste of greek yogurt. If this can make people eat healthy foods they otherwise wouldn't eat, I'd be overjoyed.
I see what you mean by the bitter compound Bitrex. It is something for me to think about on how to ensure kids don't abuse it. The upside for parents of picky eaters is huge though. My nephew used to only eat noodles and chicken nuggets but now with my product he eats greek yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, soup, fish, fruit, etc. It is no longer a chore for my sister to get him to eat his food. All he says is "I'll only have it with Palate Pal" :)
No offense toward your product (good luck!), but one of my pet peeves is marketing “NATURAL ingredients” like it’s automatically good for you. A lot of natural ingredients can kill you or make you very sick. I mean, tobacco is a NATURAL ingredient, too.
Fair. I think the main thing I'm trying to emphasize here is that this crazy thing is found in nature not some chemical shit made in a lab. Also a lot of my competitors put chemicals in their products for flavor and consistency and I tried really hard to keep it natural.
I'd like to try more exotic fruits. Passionfruit is absolutely addictive with Palate Pal. I did a taste test with a friend and she was chowing down on it like popcorn.
Good suggestion! It is safe and, in fact, Coca Cola ran a toxicology test less than a year ago and said there are no possible long-term side effects. Moreover, a study in 1974 fed rats 30,000x what a human would normally eat daily and found no side effects across multiple generations!!!
It is approved in Europe and Asia. In the US, however, due to dirty sabotage in the 70's by sugar and aspartame companies, the FDA decided to approve it as a food additive and not food. One company is working on that approval now though.
Even though it's based on the Miracle Fruit, the name/domain "Miracle Nutrition made me immediately and strongly suspect this was a scam.
The Wordpress site with a fairly mediocre design and then the shop having the text "This is where you can add new products to your store." doesn't help either.
Yeah haha it is an MVP (classic YC move). I just got an investor and we're rebranding but all my stickers are miracle-nutrition. Hopefully it will look more professional and trustworthy when the pros take the reins here.
I graduated summa cum laude from Duke University in 2019 with a BS in Neuroscience. I was pre-med and planning on medical school but the more I got a taste for entrepreneurship the more I knew becoming a physician wasn't for me. Why spend your day helping 10 patients when you can reach across the globe and make a positive impact on the habits of millions of people through a product.
If this product is everything you say, is there a reason you are selling this directly to consumers for $20 a pop instead of talking to the PepsiCos and Kraft Foods of the world?
They would never take me seriously with 0 sales. I plan to apply to PepsiCo's accelerator but they only look at companies with $1M+ sales. Help me get to the scale where I can!
As a matter of fact, my competitor which is making GMO miraculin just raised $6.9M from Kraft 3 weeks ago. Me thinks there be potential here....
Looks like a cool product. Do you offer samples? I think I’ll buy to try if not. Also just want to say your website needs a bit of work and this is after all Hackernews so pm me if you need a developer ;).
How does it compare in aftertaste and smell to Erythritol and Sucralose?
What is the GI value of this?
What are the temperature limits for consumption without messing up with flavors and your health?
I've been using Sucralose for years and I'm quite happy with it and it's cheap, sweet and taste great enough for me to consider changing sweetener in my keto diet. Why do you think I should change it to this product?
1) No aftertaste! Prove me wrong and I'll venmo you back
2) There's hardly any sugar in this product because it is so potent. GI basically 0. Some research shows that it may even improve your insulin response.
3)The protein is fairly heat stable. I'd say that whatever food you put in your mouth without scorching it is safe enough for the protein so you should be safe enough. I ran an experiment at 60°C for an hour and a half and it still worked.
4)Sooooo many reasons. This is a next-generation sweetener. It is summarized on my benefits page but to put it here:
• 1 serving lasts your 30-60 minutes regardless of how much food you eat. It actually saves me time in the morning because isntead of putting and stirring honey into my tea and yogurt, I just consume Palate Pal and in 10 seconds I'm good to go
•This doesn't just sweeten, it enhances flavor. You literally pick up on flavors that you before couldn't notice. The cream and vanilla in yogurt, intense flavor in an otherwise bland "dud" strawberry, the floral notes of an IPA.
•There is a lot of concerning research on artificial sweeteners like sucralose. You've heard the BS on cancer but the really scary thing is that it changes the bacteria in your gut to upregulate pathways that promote obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
•And yeah, maybe you don't mind the taste but lots of people seem to. If I haven't convinced you to give it a try by now, then sorry :(
As someone who recently had a kidney stone, my doctor recommended that I drink half a cup of lemon juice every day (as part of a kidney stone prevention diet).
I have been making lemonade every day, but none of the artificial sweeteners taste good, so I have been using sugar. I'm curious how well this miracle berry would work if it was used to sweeten lemonade?
Very interesting. Sorry to hear about that. What is very interesting about lemon juice is that even though it is acidic, when your body processes it it becomes basic.
Lemon juice is literally the ideal example. Check out all my demos starting at #2. You can eat the lemons straight up and they taste like the best lemonade you've ever had.
No health risks besides maybe consuming too much acid in one sitting (but seems like that is doctor's orders for you). Coca Cola ran a study in November 2019 and showed no long term side effects neither to your taste buds nor to your body.
I agree. There are milder examples though that you eat anyways such as coffee, straw/blue/raspberries, greek yogurt, and dark chocolate. Miracle fruit works with all these foods too, not just extremely sour ones. In fact, the flavor enhancing is most prominent in these mildly acidic foods.
I can not thank you enough for mentioning this. I think these are the exact early adopters I needed. I spoke with a physician at Duke and indeed there seems to be a dire pain point: you either drink very unpleasant sour lemonade, eat a bunch of sugar which has caloric and dental implications, or eat artificial sweeteners which taste bad.
FYI I'm doing a domain transfer so the website is currently down. I can email you when it is back up in the case you have not purchased yet.
Suppose for the sake of argument that it really does taste the same as sugar, and with no aftertaste. Hasn't there been research showing that something that tastes sweet causes an insulin reaction the same as sugar does?
You are correct, tricking your mind doesn't trick your insulin...normally.
There are several studies showing that miracle fruit can actually improve blood glucose levels. Thus it could be more beneficial to diabetics than using any other sweetener that, as you said, may strain their condition even worse.
"You are correct, tricking your mind doesn't trick your insulin...normally"
If you thought I was correct you should have written: "You are correct, tricking the mind often tricks insulin response also."
I wish you well with this endeavor; it will be a win-win for all involved if it tastes good and is healthy from a metabolic standpoint. But in my view it remains to be seen.
Yes correct. That's why I'm not pushing that research until there is a real clinical trial. I think incentivizing eating healthy is a good start nonetheless.
I really thought the site was some kind of joke -- it was hard to tell what the message was.
What I really don't understand is that healthy food already tastes good -- I'm not sure what foods they are trying to "modify" with their product.
As far as I can tell, Xylitol is just about perfect -- no aftertaste, and actually good for your teeth! (Erythritol is even less caloric and pretty good too.)
Unfortunately, there aren't that many sodas, etc., that use it. Monk Fruit and Stevia are "natural" and super-sweet, but have a strong after-taste.
Yeah sorry I'm not great at design. 1 man team here. I am looking to rebrand with an agency when I have the funds to do so. This is just an MVP, but I appreciate your feedback and will iterate on the messaging.
Touched on my point in the last sentence - lots of sweeters don't taste quite right. The point you make on xylitol is interesting, but still there are other benefits to the product that are unique 1)the flavor enhancing 2)the time saved by not stirring and the fact that it works on your taste buds rather than the food.
Everyone has their preferences, but your taste is malleable. A lot of people are used to eating lots of sugar so what you may find sweet is not enough for them. This is a healthy way to make those foods appealing to them. There's a really crazy statistic: while 63% of Americans say they try to eat healthy most or all of the time, 85% admit they give in to over half of their cravings for indulgent foods. Imagine what could happen to obesity if people could feed their temptations with healthy food by using miracle fruit.
My nephew for instance refuses to eat vegetables and greek yogurt/kefir makes him gag. My sister struggles to get him to eat anything but pasta and chicken nuggets. They used my product and now he eats yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, fish, soup, etc. Best way to understand is to see it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLmeCbotvYI&feature=youtu.be
It is strange. Miracle fruit only works on acidic foods but for some foods it still changes the taste. I wouldn't say the broccoli taste sweet or tasteless, just less bitter. I shouldn't be promoting alcohol, but it makes cheap liquor taste smoother than the top shelf stuff too. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgLc-UlIDm/
The tastebuds of children, turns out, are different than those of an adult. They have not only more sweet buds, they are larger too.
You are absolutely right on the last point. I talked to a taste therapist that works with picky eaters and those are very big factors.
But does he still have to use your product? Although it’s better for him to have a more varied diet I thought kids mostly grew out of this fussiness. It would be terrible if he became dependent on your product into adulthood.
Hard to extrapolate here since I don't have too much data, I hear you though. But yes, I am shocked that he still uses the product 6 months later (product-market fit?). As bad as it would be to reliant on my product, I'd rather have him eating greek yogurt and vegetables than sugary shit so not a bad sacrifice.
When it comes down to it, is it a dependency or brand loyalty? Think of all the brands we are "dependent" on and how it is normalized to buy an iphone every few years or a pint of ice cream every week, for instance.
Hey guys thanks for the insane response! I'll ship out the orders ASAP but please be aware it will take around 5-10 business days to arrive due to Covid.
51 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 98.1 ms ] threadIt is made from miracle fruit. This fruit has been used for centuries by tribes in Western Africa to make their food more delicious. It contains a protein that safely and temporarily binds to your tastebuds to make sour foods taste sweet as well as remove unpleasant bitter and tart flavors. For instance, bite into a lemon and it will taste like lemonade. It allows you to discover flavors previously masked by those unpleasant tastes. A strawberry tastes even more "strawberry" and a plain greek yogurt now tastes much more creamy.
It is the first miracle fruit product that is convenient for daily use. Whereas competing products take 5-10 minutes to dissolve, mine takes 10 seconds to dissolve and contains only NATURAL ingredients. I believe miracle fruit has the potential to take willpower out of the equation of a healthy diet by making nutritious foods taste as indulgent as the junk foods that are otherwise killing us. No one has the patience to wait 5 minutes in the morning while they are rushing to school or work, so I knew this is what needed to be changed in order for miracle berry to go mainstream.
Please check out my website for more information and demos. Use the code "HN" at checkout for 10% off.
Feel free to ask me anything!
Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? This sounds like willpower would still be an issue, but if you mess up you scar your throat / dissolve your teeth instead of gaining weight.
The main reason it hasn't been commercialized is that the fruit itself is very finicky. It took me a whole year to work out a procedure and formulation. Another company is working on bioengineering the active protein, and raised $6.9M 3 weeks ago so I wouldn't say all hope is lost in miracle fruit.
There is actually a really interesting conspiracy theory of how GD Searle broke into the offices and sabotaged the original company commercializing miracle fruit back in the 70's. You are right, they tried telling the FDA that miracle fruit would make kids drink battery acid, but that was all corporate BS because they were afraid of the competition it would bring - kids were enjoying miracle fruit sweetened popsicles more than regular popsicles.
That's cute that someone pushed it to a further commercialized product, but it doesn't last for an hour, or close to five.
We source our product from the native soil where this berry grows. As you may know with wine, coffee, and tea, the soil and climate matters a lot. Moreover, our farmers take care to not overcrowd the trees to ensure each plant gets plenty of sunlight and nutrients. I've tried every product out there that exists, doesn't come close to our quality. Prove me wrong and I'll refund you.
Does it? My experience tasting it, seemed more like a sour inhibitor. The sweet you tasted was what was left when the sour was removed. Turns out lemons are indeed sweet.
But that was merely my non-scientific, anecdotal impression.
Also, many toxic products contain Bitrex as a safety measure. Brush it off now, but if your product ends up in foods marketed to kids, get ready for a shitstorm.
The product is not for everyone. It definitely has that novelty feel of "oh shit I can't believe how this lemon tastes" but not everyone is going to use it constantly. Everyone has their preferences and while you may like sour, others might gag at the taste of greek yogurt. If this can make people eat healthy foods they otherwise wouldn't eat, I'd be overjoyed.
I see what you mean by the bitter compound Bitrex. It is something for me to think about on how to ensure kids don't abuse it. The upside for parents of picky eaters is huge though. My nephew used to only eat noodles and chicken nuggets but now with my product he eats greek yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli, soup, fish, fruit, etc. It is no longer a chore for my sister to get him to eat his food. All he says is "I'll only have it with Palate Pal" :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum
I'd like to try more exotic fruits. Passionfruit is absolutely addictive with Palate Pal. I did a taste test with a friend and she was chowing down on it like popcorn.
It is approved in Europe and Asia. In the US, however, due to dirty sabotage in the 70's by sugar and aspartame companies, the FDA decided to approve it as a food additive and not food. One company is working on that approval now though.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02786....
The Wordpress site with a fairly mediocre design and then the shop having the text "This is where you can add new products to your store." doesn't help either.
As a matter of fact, my competitor which is making GMO miraculin just raised $6.9M from Kraft 3 weeks ago. Me thinks there be potential here....
shoot me an email daniel.getman@miracle-nutrition.com
What is the GI value of this?
What are the temperature limits for consumption without messing up with flavors and your health?
I've been using Sucralose for years and I'm quite happy with it and it's cheap, sweet and taste great enough for me to consider changing sweetener in my keto diet. Why do you think I should change it to this product?
2) There's hardly any sugar in this product because it is so potent. GI basically 0. Some research shows that it may even improve your insulin response.
3)The protein is fairly heat stable. I'd say that whatever food you put in your mouth without scorching it is safe enough for the protein so you should be safe enough. I ran an experiment at 60°C for an hour and a half and it still worked.
4)Sooooo many reasons. This is a next-generation sweetener. It is summarized on my benefits page but to put it here:
• 1 serving lasts your 30-60 minutes regardless of how much food you eat. It actually saves me time in the morning because isntead of putting and stirring honey into my tea and yogurt, I just consume Palate Pal and in 10 seconds I'm good to go
•This doesn't just sweeten, it enhances flavor. You literally pick up on flavors that you before couldn't notice. The cream and vanilla in yogurt, intense flavor in an otherwise bland "dud" strawberry, the floral notes of an IPA.
•There is a lot of concerning research on artificial sweeteners like sucralose. You've heard the BS on cancer but the really scary thing is that it changes the bacteria in your gut to upregulate pathways that promote obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
•And yeah, maybe you don't mind the taste but lots of people seem to. If I haven't convinced you to give it a try by now, then sorry :(
I have been making lemonade every day, but none of the artificial sweeteners taste good, so I have been using sugar. I'm curious how well this miracle berry would work if it was used to sweeten lemonade?
I'm also curious about the health risks?
Lemon juice is literally the ideal example. Check out all my demos starting at #2. You can eat the lemons straight up and they taste like the best lemonade you've ever had.
No health risks besides maybe consuming too much acid in one sitting (but seems like that is doctor's orders for you). Coca Cola ran a study in November 2019 and showed no long term side effects neither to your taste buds nor to your body.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02786....
This seems like an ideal use case I never knew about.
FYI I'm doing a domain transfer so the website is currently down. I can email you when it is back up in the case you have not purchased yet.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014832/
There are several studies showing that miracle fruit can actually improve blood glucose levels. Thus it could be more beneficial to diabetics than using any other sweetener that, as you said, may strain their condition even worse.
If you thought I was correct you should have written: "You are correct, tricking the mind often tricks insulin response also."
I wish you well with this endeavor; it will be a win-win for all involved if it tastes good and is healthy from a metabolic standpoint. But in my view it remains to be seen.
As far as I can tell, Xylitol is just about perfect -- no aftertaste, and actually good for your teeth! (Erythritol is even less caloric and pretty good too.) Unfortunately, there aren't that many sodas, etc., that use it. Monk Fruit and Stevia are "natural" and super-sweet, but have a strong after-taste.
Touched on my point in the last sentence - lots of sweeters don't taste quite right. The point you make on xylitol is interesting, but still there are other benefits to the product that are unique 1)the flavor enhancing 2)the time saved by not stirring and the fact that it works on your taste buds rather than the food.
Everyone has their preferences, but your taste is malleable. A lot of people are used to eating lots of sugar so what you may find sweet is not enough for them. This is a healthy way to make those foods appealing to them. There's a really crazy statistic: while 63% of Americans say they try to eat healthy most or all of the time, 85% admit they give in to over half of their cravings for indulgent foods. Imagine what could happen to obesity if people could feed their temptations with healthy food by using miracle fruit.
> healthy way to make those foods appealing to them
I still don't get it though -- what are examples of "those foods" that are unappealing that you will make palatable?
I thought there was usually a big color and texture component to that stage as well though.
The tastebuds of children, turns out, are different than those of an adult. They have not only more sweet buds, they are larger too.
You are absolutely right on the last point. I talked to a taste therapist that works with picky eaters and those are very big factors.
When it comes down to it, is it a dependency or brand loyalty? Think of all the brands we are "dependent" on and how it is normalized to buy an iphone every few years or a pint of ice cream every week, for instance.
Don't feel weird about asking that, not the first time I've read about it so I want to lean on yes????
Give it a try and email me your results! I'll Venmo you back if you're disappointed. Deal?
daniel.getman@miracle-nutrition.com