What's in a Name? More Than You Think.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned in product development had nothing to do with the recipe.

It was the name.

As chefs, we love using the proper names for ingredients. We know the difference between cassis and blackberry, crème anglaise and vanilla sauce, pâte sucrée and pie crust. We spend years learning the language of food, so naturally we want to use it.

The problem is, consumers don't.

Years ago, I developed a dessert called Cassis Lime Cheesecake Tart.

From a culinary perspective, the name made perfect sense. Cassis, or blackcurrant, has this incredible balance of tartness and sweetness that paired beautifully with lime. The dessert was even topped with fresh blackberries, so visually customers had a pretty good idea of where the flavor profile was headed.

It didn't matter.

People would walk up to the case, read the name, hesitate for a second, and move on.

I heard the same question over and over.

"What's cassis?"

And that's exactly where we lost them.

Not because they didn't like cassis.

Because they didn't know what cassis was.

Consumers make decisions in seconds. If they have to stop and think, you've already introduced friction into the buying process. Most people aren't standing in front of a bakery case hoping to discover a fruit they've never heard of. They're looking for something they know they're going to enjoy.

So we changed the name.

The cheesecake became Blackberry Lime Cheesecake Tart.

Nothing else changed.

Same recipe.

Same garnish.

Same flavor.

We literally just changed the words on the menu.

It flew off the shelves.

That experience completely changed how I think about naming products.

As chefs, we tend to think flavor sells.

It doesn't.

Expectation sells.

People don't buy what they don't understand.

That's why you'll see menus describe something as "brown sugar" instead of muscovado, "vanilla bean" instead of Tahitian vanilla, or "berry" instead of aronia. Is it technically less precise? Sometimes.

Is it better for the customer?

Usually.

I'm not saying we should dumb things down. I love introducing people to new flavors and ingredients. But there's a difference between educating someone after they've taken the first bite and asking them to make a purchasing decision based on a word they've never seen before.

Product names should create excitement, not homework.

When I'm developing products today, I always ask myself one question.

If someone has never tasted this before, would they still know what they're about to eat?

If the answer is no, I start thinking about how I can tell the same story in a more approachable way.

Because a great product isn't just about formulation.

It isn't just about texture.

It isn't just about flavor.

People have to order it first.

And sometimes the difference between an average seller and a bestseller isn't what's inside the dessert.

It's what you decide to call it.