While some leaders in the AI space have warned of the potential negative consequences of widespread adoption of the technology, Swiss flavor maker Givaudan is optimistic. The company believes its newly launched platform will give food companies the key to predicting the biggest food trends at least a decade from now.
With a new “future-proof” Customer Foresight platform for food and beverage applications, ingredient companies aim to blend artificial and human intelligence to get closer to trends before they happen. In a press release, the company said the technology is designed to help “plan and respond to disruptive shifts in consumer desires, guide strategic planning and lead co-creative opportunities.” rice field.
Givaudan said its technology can identify imminent shifts in consumer desires by synthesizing pools of data on taste and expectations to help co-create food and beverage products.
The platform was first launched a year ago and uses data points to predict consumer wants and needs. In a press release, Givaudan said it expects the platform to become smarter as it accumulates more information.
The company’s communications director, Jeff Peppetto, told Fooddive that the company collects data about consumer tastes and ingredient preferences through internal sources, and that the company’s AI technology searches the data to identify “weak signals.” categorized as a pattern. Company experts then use those patterns to plan product concepts, he said.
Developed at its Paris headquarters, the platform will help answer big questions like how climate change and nutritional needs evolve and how they affect food, Givaudan says. Customer visionary Nandita Prabhu said in a statement to Food magazine. drive. The ultimate goal, she said, is “sustainable, disruptive and transformative innovation.”
“Givaudan’s internal research is a treasure trove of data and insights generated daily across categories, geographies, functions and through interactions with customers and partners,” Prabh said.
To mimic consumers’ underlying thoughts and behaviors, Givaudan has developed avatars to represent different target consumers within the program, Prabhu said. The program has used consumer data to create flavor and product ideas that meet sustainability and health needs for Gen Z consumers, she said.
Until recently, the Customer Foresight platform was limited to pilot testing in select markets. Givaudan said it has seen success in the beverage and plant-based dairy sectors with customers using the platform.
The launch follows FlavorFinders, another platform Givaudan launched in 2021 to help develop products by focusing on specific flavors consumers find appealing. Designed.
As companies around the world adopt AI more aggressively, multiple players in the food and tech sectors are experimenting with the technology to extend the capabilities of product development. Technology giant IBM’s Hypertaste technology aims to help companies innovate their product lines by detecting flavors and providing suggestions for flavor and ingredient adjustments.
