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07 · 08

Product & flavour philosophy.

Makhana is an unusual snack because its texture does most of the work. Everything else — the roasting, the flavour, the finish — is built for that.

07 · Product philosophy

Texture does the work.

Makhana is light, airy, almost hollow, so it carries seasoning differently to a chip or a nut. That is a constraint we treat as a feature: the flavour has to be built for a puffed, porous surface, not just dusted on like you would with a crisp.

The roasting, the flavour, the finish, all of it comes down to one question: does this taste worth the price on the first bite, no explanation needed? Everything else, the story, the packaging, the positioning, comes after that.

Non-negotiable 01

Air popped, never fried

Non-negotiable 02

Plant based

Non-negotiable 03

Gluten free

Non-negotiable 04

No palm oil. No artificial colours. No compromise ingredients

Non-negotiable 05

90mm × 90mm × 170mm square tin. Tight fit lid, matte finish with spot UV on the logo

08 · Flavour philosophy

Three flavours. Three cities. One logic.

Indian flavours, global moods. The city is not where the flavour is from, it is the mood the flavour puts you in. A truffle seasoning does not need to be French to get a European city, and a gochujang seasoning does not need to be eaten in Seoul to earn it. Each city is picked for the feeling that matches the flavour. Every city then becomes art on the pack, its own bit of visual storytelling.

Mumbai Masala, Seoul Heat and London Noir are the launch set, and the testing ground. They are how we learn what people actually reach for again. They will not be the last three.

FlavourCityWhy this city
Mumbai MasalaMumbaiThe anchor. Mumbai Masala proves where ATE comes from. Mumbai is the city the whole brand is rooted in, so the original flavour belongs there.
Seoul HeatSeoulGochujang is now on shelf at Tesco, Waitrose, Asda and Lidl. Over half of UK consumers say they would try Korean food soon, rising to around 72 to 75% among Gen Z, which lines up closely with who ATE is built for.
London NoirLondonTruffle is one of the fastest growing flavours in UK snacking, up around 46% year on year in tracked interest. London is where the brand actually lives, and where truffle already reads as familiar indulgence.
Deep dive
The three launch SKUs
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