AI Drives New Era in Food and Beverage

From left to right: Ramesh Kollepara, Kellanova; Nora Khaldi, Nuritas; Justin Honaman, Amazon/Amazon Web Services; and Asch Harwood (moderator), ReFED.

Experts at Monday’s IFT FIRST keynote panel agreed that artificial intelligence is and will continue to be a transformative force reshaping the science of food industry. 
​Artificial intelligence (AI) is not merely a trendy term but a transformative force reshaping the food and beverage industry. This was the consensus at the Monday morning IFT FIRST keynote, where industry leaders shared compelling insights on the critical role AI plays in driving innovation and efficiency.

Accelerating Product Development
AI is the backbone of Nuritas, the company founded by CEO Nora Khaldi. “We use it [AI] to discover new ingredients for the food space in a fraction of the time,” explained Khaldi. “Both discriminative AI—so being able to recognize a molecule from another one or a function from another … or generative AI—these are the types of ingredients that the industry likes, how can we create something that’s better but like it.”

According to Khaldi, there is a dire need for new ingredients for the food and beverage industry. “The ingredients are very old,” she said. “They are built for taste and cost, and health is not even a part of the equation.” But consumers are looking for—and demanding—new and healthier options. “Nuritas started because we saw that trend and said okay, the thing that’s going to create new ingredients that are healthy, cost-effective, and actually address the consumers of today, is really by understanding human biology through an AI system and how that biology tracks with everyday ingredients and everyday foods.”
One of the two ingredients that Nuritas has launched in its first 10 years of operation is PeptiStrong to promote muscle health. “It’s an ingredient that would have taken 30 million years to discover through traditional ways,” said Khaldi. “Through AI we can shorten that down to two years.”

Enhancing Customer Engagement
Another area where AI is already making huge strides is around customer service and engagement. Kellanova is testing multiple proofs of concept in this area, one of which is Mr. P—the mascot of the well-known Pringles chips brand. Using first-party data, Mr. P’s AI-powered persona can engage with customers all over the world through the brand’s website. “Mr. P can actually answer any of the questions you may have,” explained Ramesh Kollepara, Kellanova’s vice president and global chief technology officer. “And by doing this we continue to engage our consumers.”

Kellanova is also working on several AI technologies to be able to monitor social media interactions, delivery platform interactions, online menus, and more, to consider “what is the next food that our customers could think of and actually be proactive in producing those products,” said Kollepara.

Improving Manufacturing Efficiency
Kollepara also shared how AI optimizes manufacturing processes through digital twins and simulations. “Digital twins replicate entire production lines in a virtual environment, allowing you to test and refine processes before implementation,” he explained. These simulations allow manufacturers to test and optimize workflows before actual implementation, leading to more efficient operations and reduced downtime.

Cautionary Advice
While AI’s possibilities to enhance multiple aspects of the science of food industry are immense, the keynote panel also shared some cautionary notes. AI systems can inherit and amplify human biases, making it crucial to monitor and address these issues. “Because it can almost mimic a human, it can actually bring bias,” said Kollepara. “We need to be conscious of the bias, and we need to monitor and tune generative AI differently.”

In addition, the effectiveness of AI heavily relies on the quality of data fed into it. Poor quality data can lead to inaccurate and unreliable outcomes. “Be obsessed with the quality of the data—garbage in, garbage out,” cautioned Kollepara. “AI and generative AI are going to really amplify any quality issues within the data you have.”
Finally, the expert panelists advised executives and leadership teams to think carefully about what they want to use AI to achieve. “AI should not be about the sake of doing AI,” said moderator Asch Harwood, vice president, data and insights at ReFED. “It should actually address why and what you're trying to achieve.

Source: Institute of Food Technologists