The Growth Score.

A Growth score is reflective of trends within a company regarding product quality, product offerings, environmental impact, consumer support and other performance indicators. 

Growth scores are collected to act as a clear metric for companies’ performance and improvement over time, as well as their commitment to better performance via present initiatives with future goals. Growth will also reflect trends within cost-inflation and the proportional increase or decrease in product quality.

A company with an above average Growth score will likely improve between generations of releases, while maintaining infrastructure designed to keep legacy offerings relevant. They will also likely be actively pursuing and improving their environmental impact through greener manufacturing processes, increasing product longevity and enhancing accessibility to repair and support processes.

A company with a below average Growth score will likely fail to improve between generations of releases, with minimal to no integration of legacy products into present strategies or market frameworks. They will likely be failing to meet peer standards for product quality, environmental impact or product lifespan. Their retail prices will likely inflate at a greater rate than product performance, with little focus corporately on product quality rather than attempting to maintain market share.

Some metrics we consider include baseline product quality, particularly in products with clear generational history, environmental impact of individual product manufacture, frequency of releases in relation to improvement, and more. Many of our most simple commendations or demerits will come as a result of improvement or lack thereof on competitor or legacy releases.

Tastemaker scores Growth using a proprietary method where true neutral cannot be achieved. Some commendable or demerit worthy actions are listed below in separate sections, though other criteria are considered and may not be publicly disclosed. 

All score adjustments are subject to internal audit at any time if additional information or attenuating circumstances can be found.

Commendable Actions

  • Quantifiable improvements in performance when compared to previous or competitor offerings will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Quantifiable improvements in the environmental impact of production or distribution processes will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Quantifiable improvements in the longevity of products even at the cost of repeat or maintenance-type purchases will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Quantifiable improvements in support for present or legacy products, whether through warranty support, customer privileges or other environmental enhancement will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Clear steps to enhance compatibility with outside products or services to enhance the consumer experience, regardless of impact on market share will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Consolidation of multiple offerings into singular products or services will be seen as worthy of commendation.

  • Operation of SaaS products factored into the cost of a one-time purchase, if necessary to core operations or most functionality, will be seen as worthy of commendation.

Demerit Worthy Actions

  • Quantifiable decreases in performance when compared to previous or competitor offerings will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Quantifiable decreases in longevity when compared to previous or competitor offerings will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Quantifiable decreases in the environmental impact of production or distribution processes will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Quantifiable inflation of price versus offerings disproportionate with standard economic inflation will be seen as extremely worthy of demerit.

  • Deliberately decreased compatibility with products from outside manufacturers that may provide greater functionality to releases, particularly implemented proprietary protections not relevant to security or liability will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Decreased support for legacy products or cessation of services crucial to full operation of previous releases will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Decreased right to repair privileges for consumers or third-party service providers will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Year-to-year decrease in production costs greater than inflation rates where retail prices are still benchmarked to inflation will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Addition of SaaS products as crucial functions of legacy product lines without substantial improvement to functionality will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Separation of product elements deemed crucial to function from retail bundles where standard use case would require all pieces will be seen as demerit worthy.

  • Acquisition of peer or competitor business or products with greater performance without noted improvement based on acquired technology will be seen as extremely worthy of demerit.

Appeals to scoring can be conducted by reaching out to an established Point-of-Contact with Tastemaker, or by request including any attenuating information from a company domain to compliance@tastemaker.online. Appeals may be subject to costs associated with verification if attenuating information is not deemed satisfactory. The appeal process will be conducted on a timeline and cost basis determined to be appropriate by Tastemaker and agreed upon by the entity appealing.