Current and potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) is surging across industries as leaders envision new ways this rapidly evolving technology can improve operations in various contexts and boost the bottom line. This has been especially true since the introduction of generative AI (GenAI) a few years ago — creating a whole new ball game for those willing to step up to the plate.
As with any new technology, there are both benefits and risks. However, early adopters seem willing to deal with the latter in order to capitalize on the former, and the food and beverage industry is no exception.
Citing Ethan Soloviev, chief innovation officer of HowGood — a “sustainability intelligence platform that works across the food system” — a recent Fortune article captures these dynamics within its first line: “Within three years, 90% of the food we eat will be touched by artificial intelligence.”
“The lowest-hanging fruit for AI is how it will improve the food and agricultural supply chain with rapid increases in efficiency and productivity,” Soloviev reportedly said. “AI can do the math for us.”
Here, we’ll take a look at recent research about GenAI’s impact on the food and beverage industry, examples of three big companies in the industry that are embracing the use of AI, and new AI offerings from one company focused on how it can specifically optimize the food supply chain.
Report: GenAI for the Food & Beverage Industry
In early February, Info-Tech Research Group — “one of the world’s leading information technology research and advisory firms” — announced the release of its new research report, Generative AI Use Case Library for the Food & Beverage Manufacturing Industry.
“Food and beverage manufacturers are navigating a challenging landscape, from managing expansive and complex supply chains to meeting the need for product localization without a complete overhaul,” the company said in its introduction to the report. “Amid these challenges, Generative AI (Gen AI) technology emerges as a pivotal solution, offering innovative ways to enhance operational efficiency, ignite creativity, and foster sustainability within the industry.”
Info-Tech says the resource includes a use case library that “illustrates the leading Gen AI use case opportunities that can significantly impact specific functional areas within the food and beverage manufacturing industry,” which include:
- Supply Chain Optimization: “Implementing Gen AI into supply chain management can generate more accurate forecasts, identify supplier risks, recognize unusual behavioral patterns, optimize pricing and transportation plans, determine inventory levels, and provide detailed financial analysis. By leveraging a finely tuned supply-chain-specific AI model or training a model with supply chain data, IT leaders can significantly optimize supply chain operations.”
- Product and Material Design: “Gen AI can provide insights into potential market gaps and opportunities, enabling organizations to design and potentially localize products effectively. It can also expedite the discovery of materials or combinations with the required physical properties for product development or redevelopment.”
- New Product Introduction: “Using insights from market trends, customer needs, organizational consensus, and go-to-market strategies, Gen AI can help in generating tailored product concepts. Organizations can also use Gen AI tools to create product renders from text prompts or instructions and simple 2D images, facilitating a strategic approach to product introduction.”
- Flavor and Recipe Formulation: “By drawing on broad market research and consumer preferences, Gen AI can formulate curated flavors, recipes, and even fragrances for the food and beverage and fast-moving consumer goods sectors. The technology can recommend ingredient blends that align with brand identity, specific product categories, target demographics, geography, and competitor presence.”
- Enhanced Market Research: “Gen AI tools can streamline and expand the scope of market research, enhancing productivity and facilitating precise decision-making. They can also provide insights into new or untapped markets, identify potential target demographics, and analyze existing customer data to predict customer responses to new products or services.”
Despite the “immense potential” of GenAI to address various challenges for this industry, Info-Tech says its resource acknowledges that “several adoption barriers exist,” including:
- A solutions ecosystem that is “developing and unfamiliar”
- Uncertainty regarding costs
- Complex dynamics related to choosing the “right vendor partnerships” and “implementation strategies”
“Gen AI is a game changer – a powerful tool and partner in innovation that can amplify human capabilities and free us from mundane tasks,” says Shreyas Shukla, Principal Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group. “In the Food & Beverage sector, we are beginning to see organizations use Generative AI to not only streamline supply chains, improve regulatory compliance, and transform ingredient sourcing, but also enable innovative recipe development and personalized, differentiated consumer experiences while aligning with global sustainability goals.”
To learn more, please view the full report.
Examples of food & beverage leaders announcing new AI initiatives
In 2024, several leading companies in the food & beverage industry — including retailers that sell their products — have demonstrated their belief in the vast potential of AI by announcing new initiatives related to the technology.
Dollar General
According to a January 2024 announcement, Dollar General has formed a partnership with AI tech company Shelf Engine: To “provide convenient access to fresh affordable foods, Dollar General is joining forces with Shelf Engine for a national rollout of its automated AI ordering technology for produce. By the end of fiscal year 2023, this collaboration will see Shelf Engine’s cutting-edge AI technology implemented in approximately 3,000 stores, reaffirming Dollar General’s commitment to addressing food insecurity across the country.”
Launched in 2016, the Seattle-based Shelf Engine says it is “transforming the food supply chain by helping grocery stores drastically reduce food waste while increasing profits.” With the use of its own AI, the company “provides grocers with accurate orders for every SKU for highly perishable foods, eliminating loss of inventory and out-of-stocks.” Shelf Engine says its “unique business model handles the entire ordering process from vendor management to shelf optimization” and that it manages orders for “leading grocers at thousands of locations nationwide.”
Coca-Cola
According to an April 2024 announcement, Microsoft Corp. and The Coca-Cola Company have formed a “five-year strategic partnership to align Coca-Cola’s core technology strategy systemwide; enable the adoption of leading-edge technology; and foster innovation and productivity globally.”
Part of the partnership includes a $1.1 billion commitment from Coca-Cola to the Microsoft Cloud and its “generative AI capabilities.” Together, the companies say they will “jointly experiment with groundbreaking new technology like Azure OpenAI Service to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions,” including testing “how Copilot for Microsoft 365 could help improve workplace productivity.”
“Through our long-term partnership, we’ve made significant progress to accelerate systemwide AI transformation across The Coca-Cola Company and its network of independent bottlers worldwide,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Microsoft. “We’re proud to support Coca-Cola as it continues to embrace the era of AI and looks to solutions like Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot to drive innovation across every area of its business.”
Unilever
A May 2024 Food Dive article, “How Unilever is embracing artificial intelligence to revolutionize food development,” provides a look at how the CPG company increasingly relies on AI to meet multiple needs.
“As artificial intelligence becomes a more important part of doing business in the food and beverage space, few companies have turned to the once-futuristic technology more than Unilever,” writes Food Dive’s Christopher Doering.
Noting that the company is “incorporating the technology across all facets of its business,” he says AI helps Unilever “assess shelf life, texture and taste while predicting how the product will perform on factory lines during production,” as well as helping to “forecast flavor profiles,” better “understand consumer preferences,” and “boost food portfolio analytics.”
The article details the outlet’s interview with Manfred Aben, the head of science and technology for Unilever Nutrition and Ice Cream research and development, who discussed various ways AI is being leveraged.
When asked how important AI is for the company, Aben said it’s become integral to its work.
“The company has evolved with technology so to imagine doing what we’re doing without use of the technology is impossible almost,” he said. “We’ve been able to develop solutions because of those technologies that we otherwise might not have been able to develop, either at all or practically because it’s just too time consuming. I think it’s really permeating in all parts of the business.”
Although Unilever is using AI extensively to meet multiple needs, Aben said he believes there will always be the need for the human touch.
“Even being originally trained in AI myself many years ago in the 90s, I’m a very big optimist about where the technology is going to bring us but I’m very, very confident as well that human judgment and human creativity is hard to replace by data-driven models,” he explained.
For the complete interview, please access the Food Dive article.
GrubMarket’s AI offerings
In an April 2, 2024 press release GrubMarket describes its history and unique offerings like this: “Founded in 2014, CA-based GrubMarket is the AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food tech companies globally. As a first mover in the tech-enabled B2B food eCommerce space and a pioneer offering cutting-edge, AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions, GrubMarket uses AI-powered technology to fundamentally transform the American and global food supply chain.”
Noting that it has been named to the “prestigious CNBC Disruptor 50 list,” the company says it operates in all 50 U.S. States, as well as in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Spain, with plans to expand further across the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, and “other parts of the world.”
GrubMarket has been on a roll since that time, announcing the release of several new AI offerings for the food supply chain.
GrubAssist
In the April 2, 2024 press release referenced previously, GrubMarket announced the release of GrubAssist, “the first enterprise AI software solution built specifically for the food supply chain.”
“GrubAssist, powered by GrubMarket AI, is an intuitive and powerful suite of AI-powered virtual assistants that instantaneously deliver real-time business insights and analysis through an easy-to-use conversational interface and also generate downloadable reports with contextual data,” the company explained. “With the introduction of the Business Analyst module, which provides business performance and operational insights, and the Inventory Analyst module, which provides stock level, supplier, and restocking analysis, GrubAssist makes a significant leap forward in applying artificial intelligence to revolutionize how food wholesalers, distributors, and shippers manage their operations and make critical business decisions.”
For more details, please see the press release.
AI Orders
In a June 3 press release, GrubMarket announced the release of AI Orders, “an AI-powered, automated order processing module designed to transform how food wholesalers and distributors receive incoming orders from their customers.” The company said the new product will be offered “as part of GrubAssist, GrubMarket’s groundbreaking suite of enterprise AI assistants that empower food supply chain businesses with deep insights, intelligent analysis, and smart, automated workflows.”
For more details, please see the press release.
iOS and Android mobile apps for GrubAssist
In a July 22 press release, GrubMarket announced the release of its “native iOS and Android mobile apps for GrubAssist …”
“This launch marks a pivotal milestone in GrubMarket’s ongoing efforts to revolutionize the food supply chain industry through transformative, intuitive, and easy-to-use technologies,” the company said. “Since the release of GrubAssist, business owners, managers, and employees have frequently been using the AI-powered virtual assistant on the go. Now, with the new native mobile apps, GrubAssist will offer truly unparalleled access to real-time operational information and business KPIs anytime, anywhere.”
For further details, please see the press release.
AI Chatbot
In an August 19, 2024 press release, GrubMarket announced the release of AI Chatbot, “an advanced AI-powered tool designed to revolutionize customer, vendor, and employee support for companies in the food supply chain industry.”
“This innovative solution leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence to deliver personalized, contextually relevant assistance tailored to the specific needs of food industry businesses,” the company said. “Once initialized with relevant data, AI Chatbot provides world-class support, providing high quality answers to questions on demand, 24/7/365.”
For more details, please see the press release.
GrubAssist Charts
In a September 16, 2024 press release, GrubMarket announced the release of GrubAssist Charts, “a powerful new AI-powered data visualization tool designed to bring real-time business insights to users across the food industry.”
“This latest addition to GrubAssist … allows users to transform complex data into dynamic, easy-to-understand charts and graphs using natural language commands,” the company said. “The GrubAssist Charts feature empowers businesses to visualize key performance indicators (KPIs) graphically, making it easier for decision-makers to interpret large volumes of data. … Available on GrubAssist for both desktop and mobile, this new feature is ideal for business leaders, analysts, sales teams, and anyone who needs a more effective way to understand their business and operational data at a glance.”
For more details, please see the press release.
