Ablation: is Qloo load-bearing?
The same screen, four ways: the full model; the same LLM ranking the same universe from general knowledge alone; Qloo without the cross-domain metric; and Qloo with one-way affinity only. If Simpatico worked the same without Qloo, it would be the wrong product.
Last run 2026-10-27 13:14 UTC · LLM: claude-opus-5-5
Shortlist rankings, four ways
| Variant | Kendall τ vs Full | Top-5 overlap | Verdict flips | Fame bias ρ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Full (Qloo, six metrics) Poppi › Chobani › Celsius › Partake Foods › Oatly | 1.00 | 5/5 | none | -0.35 |
No Qloo (LLM-only ranking) Ranked on audience and taste overlap with Pepsi's portfolio. Mainstream-crossover beverages scored highest because they match Pepsi's soda, energy and hydration consumers: better-for-you soda, energy drinks and electrolytes (Gatorade adjacency). Next came salty snacks and bars that fit Doritos/Frito-Lay and Quaker shoppers, including Siete tortilla chips and breakfast and snack bars. Niche functional beverages and alcohol-adjacent drinks followed. Dairy, refrigerated, baking, confectionery and fresh-protein brands ranked lowest because their audiences and shopping channels overlap least. This ranking reflects general knowledge only; a few candidates already have parent companies, so actual deal availability should be checked separately. Poppi › Celsius › Siete Family Foods › Liquid Death › Banza | -0.06 | 2/5 | none | -0.38 |
Qloo minus cross-domain (m3) m3 weight set to 0; the others renormalise. Poppi › Chobani › Celsius › Partake Foods › Oatly | 0.94 | 5/5 | Poppi: WATCH→PASS; Chobani: WATCH→PASS | -0.38 |
Qloo minus two-way (forward affinity only) m1 = forward affinity a; AUDIENCE_ONE_SIDED cannot fire. Poppi › Chobani › Celsius › Partake Foods › Oatly | 1.00 | 5/5 | none | -0.35 |
Fame bias = Spearman correlation between a ranking and Qloo popularity (1 = ranked purely by how famous the brand is). The LLM-only variant uses the same model with no Qloo data; it can’t give white space, demographics or momentum and can’t check its own claims.
Whole universe (29 brands): Qloo vs LLM-only
Kendall τ 0.04 · top-5 overlap 0/5 · fame bias: Qloo 0.17, LLM-only -0.07
Qloo forward affinity
- Chobani
- Bai
- Kind Snacks
- Dave's Killer Bread
- Liquid Death
- Califia Farms
- Celsius
- LILY's Sweets
- Partake Foods
- Poppi
LLM-only (general knowledge)
- Poppi(Qloo #10)
- Celsius(Qloo #7)
- Siete Family Foods(Qloo #20)
- Olipop(Qloo #26)
- Liquid I.V.(Qloo #23)
- Kind Snacks(Qloo #3)
- RX Bar(Qloo #11)
- Bai(Qloo #2)
- Spindrift Sparkling Water(Qloo #28)
- Zevia(Qloo #14)