From Microbes to Mixology: Crafting Bold Flavour Experiences at The Flavour Lab, the Good Craft Co
At The Flavour Lab in Bangalore, The Good Craft Co and the innervation of Diageo India teamed up with Kobo Fermentary to create an interactive, sensory playground designed by the brilliant minds of Busride that puts India’s craft spirits and fermentation traditions in the spotlight. Through the Living Wall of Flavours, The Fermentary, and Interactive Flavour Map, Kobo brought microbes to the forefront of the conversation, transforming indigenous ingredients into unforgettable experiences. It’s where science, tradition, and creativity come together for a proper microbe party.
The Challenge
India’s rich distillation history goes back 4,500 years, but how do you translate that depth into something visitors can touch, taste, and experience in a way that feels alive? The Good Craft Co wanted to create a space that didn’t just talk about spirits but invited people to truly feel the art and science of craft.
The Flavour Lab needed to:
- Celebrate India’s indigenous ingredients and distillation heritage.
- Offer visitors a hands-on journey that merged education, sensory exploration, and innovation.
- Create a space that fostered collaboration—between tradition and modernity, science and creativity, and startups and experts.
And to top it off? It all had to happen in a medical campus. Microbes thrive in the unexpected. So do we.
Kobo’s Approach
Kobo stepped in as co-creators, bringing our expertise in fermentation and flavour innovation to design spaces and tools that spoke to the heart of what makes craft spirits magical. The goal: make it bold, make it sensory, make it meaningful and make it local.
Here’s what we brewed up:
1. Living Wall of Flavours
Think of this as a living library of fermentation. Sixty-eight jars of wild, wonderful ferments—from Byadgi chilli and garlic to cardamom kombucha and banana wine—lined the wall, each with its own story to tell. Visitors could see, smell, and taste how microbes transform Indian ingredients into powerhouse flavours. And to make it interactive?
2. The Fermentary
A space that has been designed to be a lab and a kitchen to make microbial magic. Ferments that are made here are a collaboration between bacteria, yeast, and ingredients leads to surprising (and sometimes daring) results which end up on the living wall of flavours. Visitors learned how fermentation isn’t just about preservation—it’s about unlocking hidden flavours.
3. Interactive Flavour Tool
We charted Indian's incredible flavour ecosystem—from chatpata and masala to sour and sweet - that connected visitors to nose, secondary flavours and India's specific ingredients. It wasn’t just a tool; it was an invitation to explore, taste, and celebrate the diversity of “Grain to Glass” traditions. The flavour wheel helped provide vocabulary to decode taste profiles and is an invitation to explore taste and diversity of Indian traditions.
4. Celebrating Indigenous Ingredients
From aam kasundi to gondhoraj lime, we leaned into India’s native pantry to show how craft spirits and cocktails can be elevated by ingredients that are sustainable, local, and bursting with personality. It was about sourcing with intention and celebrating the flavours that connect us to our land.
5. Cocktail Alchemy
Mixologist Neil Alexander brings some of our ferments to life in a series of boundary-pushing cocktails.
The Solution
The Flavour Lab became more than a space; it became an experience, where visitors could taste the past, experiment with the present, and dream up the future. Kobo’s contributions made fermentation approachable, exciting, and endlessly creative through:
- The Living Wall of Flavours: A sensory experience that showcased the power of microbes in transforming everyday ingredients into culinary (and cocktail) gold.
- The Fermentary: A lab and kitchen that produce fermentation that go on the living wall of flavours.
- The Flavour Tools: A celebration of India’s indigenous spirits, flavours, ingredients and origins, blending storytelling with exploration. We even created a 3D interactive digital flavour map that participants could play with.
The Outcome
The Flavour Lab launched on 13 September 2024, and here’s what’s been cooking since:
- Visitors Left Curious and Inspired: Guests walked away understanding the art and science of fermentation, flavour and crafting good drinks.
- Indigenous Ingredients Took Centre Stage: From mustard to lime to feni, local flavours became stars in craft cocktails.
- Microbes Stole the Spotlight: Fermentation—a process often overlooked—was reframed as the beating heart of bold flavours and creativity. Think of this as a stunning library of fermentation.
At Kobo, we believe in the magic of microbes. In their ability to transform not just food and drink, but the way we experience flavour. This project was about more than designing spaces and tools—it was about celebrating what happens when bold ideas, indigenous ingredients, and creative minds come together. Fermentation isn’t just science; it’s a story. And we’re here to tell it, one flavour at a time.
Got bold ideas? Let’s make them real. Drop us a line and let’s get fermenting. Email us at hello@kobofermentary.com.