From Kitchen Feedback to Shelf Innovation as One Love Planet Reinvents the Plant-Based Dip

In a market the size of New Zealand, every new product launch is effectively a conversation with consumers. For artisan food producer Janin de Conti, founder of One Love Planet, that conversation led directly to a complete rethink of one of the company's products.

What began as a cultured plant-based spread called Créma has now been transformed into Fancy Dips, a new family of premium cultured, dairy-free dips developed after customers made one message unmistakably clear: they wanted more dips and spreads. Rather than simply adjusting the recipe, the business revisited the product's name, packaging, positioning and flavour range, recognising that even a good product can struggle if shoppers don't immediately understand what it is.

The result is a trio of artisan cultured dips combining soy and almond milks for a creamier texture and increased protein content. The range includes The Classic Kiwi (Onion & Chive), The Crowd Pleaser (Caramelised Onion & Roasted Garlic) and The Ooh La La (Black Truffle & Cracked Pepper). Designed to work equally well on grazing boards, sandwiches, baked potatoes or straight from the tub, the products reflect a growing trend towards versatile plant-based foods that appeal well beyond the traditional plant-based consumer.

For Janin de Conti, however, the launch represents far more than three new flavours.

Behind every tub sits months of recipe refinement, packaging decisions, ingredient sourcing, branding revisions and the reality of running a small food business where the founder often becomes product developer, marketer, salesperson and logistics manager all at once. The rebrand also acknowledges something many food startups eventually discover,

that consumers often buy the clarity of the idea before they buy the product itself.

The launch illustrates how New Zealand's smaller food companies can often move faster than larger competitors. Rather than relying on lengthy market research cycles, they can listen directly to customers, adapt quickly and bring revised products to market in months rather than years.

Janin De Conti is already planning additional flavours and believes Fancy Dips could become New Zealand and Australia's first dedicated range of cultured plant-based "cheesy" dips, extending well beyond the hummus category currently dominating supermarket shelves.

Like many emerging food businesses, the next challenge is no longer product development but scale. Having proven the concept, the focus now shifts towards building production capacity, expanding retail distribution and securing the capital needed to introduce the range to a much wider audience, potentially through crowdfunding.

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