Sweet Earth: building an idea four years before its market

The challenge: being right four years too early

Being right about a trend is not enough in a large organisation. You also have to be convincing, and timing-proof. In 2017 the flexitarian boom hadn't arrived and internal scepticism about plant-based jerky was high.

So the job wasn't just a great prototype. It was a business case solid enough to survive deprioritisation, budget shifts and market timing, and still be usable when the moment came.

My approach: blue-sky exploration, then a “conviction MVP”

We mapped the future of portable protein and looked for the white space where plant-based could credibly compete. The insight was precise: people wanted the chew, the savoury intensity and the on-the-go format of jerky, without the meat. Seitan offered the right functional base.

1. Build to convince, not to launch. Instead of a market-ready recipe, I focused on a prototype designed to prove the business case to internal stakeholders.
2. Prioritise 2–3 proof points. Texture, a teriyaki flavour profile and protein content: the sensory evidence that would make the concept undeniable.
3. Document for the future. When the project was deprioritised in the US, I supported a structured knowledge transfer to China. When it went dormant again, the documentation stayed intact, and it was still the reference in 2021.

“The hardest part of innovation isn't building the product. It's building the conviction that survives budget cuts, leadership changes and market timing. A well-documented MVP isn't just a prototype: it's organisational memory.”Amandine Devergies