You’re not as palatably inclined as you think buddy; let’s just get that straight right away. Dr. Nicola Nice, founder of Pomp & Whimsy, discovered that women and men taste certain flavors differently. This research is an advantage for anyone in the business of taste in order to stay ahead of the curve.
“The first thing that we know about women is that, on average, they can smell more than men. Ask anyone who’s been pregnant. In 2014, there was a study published that was looking at men’s and women’s brains post-mortem, and they found that women’s brains had 43 percent more cells and 50 percent more neurons in their olfactory sensors than male brains do,” shared Nice with Muse.
Ten years ago, Nice was developing brand strategies for spirit companies like Bacardi and Campari before branching on her own. According to Nice, meetings were a constant deliberation on how women didn’t consume anything aside from wine or was what bought for them by men. (Yuck!) As a brand development strategist, she knew the facts were spirits and women were in almost equal numbers to men. Nice reacted to the opportunity by traveling the country asking women about their relationship and connection with spirits brands and products and improvements. Thus, her label Pomp & Whisky was born.
“We know taste and smell are connected, so if we can differentiate more smells, perhaps we can differentiate more tastes, too. We know that 35 percent of women, as compared to 15 percent of men, are what scientists call ‘supertasters,’ which means that they have a higher density of taste buds. It also means there are certain flavors that, to these people, are perceived much more intensely than they are to non-supertasters,” said Nice.
If you’re in the business of taste, restaurateur, chef or the later, and you’re a man, then your creations, whatever they may be, may have yet to actually peak in flavor. Remember that women have 43 percent more cells and 50 percent more neurons in their olfactory sensor than men. So if you’re a woman in the taste business like Nicola Nice, then you’re technically winning the race.
