From Kitchens to Code: Gregory Willis on Flavor, Innovation & Food Tech
In this episode, I sit down with Gregory Willis — founder and president of SenSpire, the company behind Flavor Studio, an operating system powering innovation in the food and ingredient industry. Gregory’s journey is anything but linear: from earning four-star reviews as a chef in the competitive San Francisco dining scene, to leading CPG innovation at Chef’s Best, to building patent-backed food tech solutions at Treasure8, and now creating software that unifies formulation, sensory testing, CRM, and R&D for some of the world’s leading food companies.
He’s also the author of The Language of Flavor, a book unpacking the creative science of taste, and co-runs a boutique letterpress company with his wife. His career weaves together food, technology, design, and relentless curiosity.
We cover:
- How lessons from fine dining — work ethic, customer service, discipline — shaped his approach to startups
- The creation of Flavor Studio: from flavor-predicting algorithms to a full R&D suite replacing Excel in food labs
- Why most food companies still rely on spreadsheets (and how Flavor Studio solves this problem)
- Scaling Chef’s Best into a nationally trusted label and what it taught him about consumer psychology
- Behind the scenes of food innovation trends: tinned fish, Dubai chocolate, protein-everything, pickle-flavored snacks, and zero-proof drinks
- Misconceptions about taste: why aroma is central and the “tongue map” is a myth
- The role of memory, design, and emotion in shaping flavor experiences
- The grind of patents and why sustainable food innovation is both slow and necessary
- Advice for young founders entering food/CPG: curiosity, communication, and building resilience against failure
🎯 Key Takeaways:
- Curiosity is the throughline: failure is just a “first attempt in learning.”
- Food innovation is equal parts artistry and analytics — spreadsheets won’t cut it anymore.
- Consumer trust is built through rigor and transparency (Chef’s Best proved this at scale).
- Emotion and memory are inseparable from taste — scent triggers flavor as much as the palate.
- Trends come and go (protein on everything, pickle popcorn), but consumer behavior drives what lasts.
- Entrepreneurship requires both creativity and discipline — the chef’s work ethic applies directly to startups.
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