---
id: "concept-taste-training-reformulation"
type: "concept"
source_timestamps: ["¶132", "¶133", "¶134", "¶135", "¶136"]
tags: ["product-development", "consumer-behavior", "health"]
related: ["concept-performance-with-purpose", "entity-org-pepsico"]
speakers: ["Indra Nooyi"]
definition: "Gradually altering the nutritional profile of legacy products through scientific engineering (e.g., smaller salt crystals) and imperceptible, phased reductions (e.g., sugar) to retrain consumer palates without backlash."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/10/innovating-at-the-core-and-for-the-future"
source_title: "Innovating at the Core—and for the Future"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-cl-91-innovating-core-and-future"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/10/innovating-at-the-core-and-for-the-future"
sourceTitle: "Innovating at the Core—and for the Future"
---
# Taste Training Reformulation

The scientific and psychological process of altering legacy consumer products (sodas, salty snacks) to be healthier *without* triggering consumer backlash — a concrete expression of [[concept-performance-with-purpose]] at [[entity-org-pepsico]].

- **Salty snacks:** because salt sits on the *surface* of a chip (unlike bread, where salt is embedded for leavening), PepsiCo scientists engineered **smaller salt crystals** that deliver the same salty mouthfeel while cutting overall sodium by **10% to 20%**.
- **Sugary drinks:** sugar reduction is a *training* issue. You cannot cut sugar by **3–4%** at once; it must be stepped down in imperceptibly small increments **every three to four months**, letting the consumer's palate gradually adjust to the new taste profile.

**Enrichment note.** The surface-salt / crystal-size mechanism is documented in food science and CPG sodium-reduction practice, and gradual reformulation to avoid taste backlash is standard industry disclosure. The exact percentages and cadence are proprietary PepsiCo figures shared by Nooyi in this conversation but are consistent with published sensory science.