🤖 Every big player in food is jumping on AI. Here is how.

^{VITAMIN C ® is a newsletter exploring topics in food, climate and everything in between.}

Read time: 3 minutes 40 seconds

Hi friend👋,

Ever since ChatGPT showed up in 2022, it’s been all about AI reshaping our world. AI is impacting how we research, how we work and how we communicate - essentially revolutionizing most of our human experiences.

So in this issue we will explore the role AI plays for food – today and in the years to come.

Let’s dive in:

1. [Insights]: 🤖 Every big player in food is jumping on AI. Here is how.

2. Fast Snacks:

   [Good News Food]: 🥩 Steak lovers wanted

   [Good News Climate]: ☀️ Solar-powered cemetery

   [Fun]: 😊 Dinner plans and climate policies  

3. [Community Space]: 🙌 Climate tech marketing and art visualizing food challenges

1. [Insights]: Every big player in food is jumping on AI. Here is how.

Back in 2021, food giant Unilever released a salt-free bouillon cube for its Knorr brand.

This doesn’t sound that innovative, but it is actually quite challenging because salt is the key ingredient in bouillon. And if you take it out, the soup will taste more like dirty carrots.

AI was the key to helping Unilever develop the right formula for this salt-free product. Through testing thousands of different ingredient combinations and concentration and mapping them against data points on consumer preferences with an AI model, they managed to produce a formula that worked from a technical point of view and was accepted well by consumers.

Unilever's embrace of AI didn't stop there. By using AI, they decreased the time needed for product development from months to just a few days.

AI even helped Unilever pivot after Russia invaded Ukraine and the company had to quickly configure alternative formulations for ingredients that became difficult to procure, including sunflower oil.

Another big food giant that is leaning heavily on AI is Mars.

The makers of M&Ms, Twix, Bounty and Snickers teamed up with Microsoft to open an AI lab that aims to redefine how we predict and develop what's next in snacks. The lab is supposed to open this summer.

Mars’ vision for the AI lab is to create a facility where anyone from within the company can walk in with an idea and walk out with a plan of action.

Sounds exciting.

We see, the opportunities for AI applications in food are omni-present:

• AI can help scale product R&D and address current challenges in the out-of-home market, such as the shortage of skilled workers, increased costs, and evolving consumer habits and needs.

• AI often addresses staffing gaps in food production and service, especially by automating or simplifying tasks such as ingredient procurement and production planning. In doing so, AI is not eliminating jobs, but rather transforming and enriching them.

• AI enhances sustainability in the food sector by improving inventory management, leading to reduced food waste and a more efficient supply chain.

Since I don’t only have a heart for food innovation, but also for entrepreneurship, let’s also have a look at the startups active in the AI x food space.

Some exciting startups leveraging AI for a more efficient and sustainable food system include:

• NotCo: developed an AI-based model called “Giuseppe“ that can accelerate product development at rocket speed. Kraft Heinz is using “Giuseppe“ to scale up its plant-based product portfolio.

• Foodforecast offers cutting-edge AI-driven insights for the food industry, focusing on precise demand forecasting to optimise inventory and reduce waste, enhancing both profitability and sustainability.

• Delicious Data offers AI-based demand forecasts for catering businesses to optimize procurement and increase sustainability.

• Stop Fake Food provides solutions to stop food counterfeiting. The startup uses AI with Raman spectroscopy for on-site food authenticity and quality testing.

There you have it. AI's not just changing the game; it's making the entire food industry smarter, more sustainable, and yes, even tastier.

Stay tuned, and let’s keep eating our way into the future.

2. Today’s fast snacks

• [Good News Food]: 🥩 If steak is one of your favourite foods, but you are trying to cut back on meat for ethical or environmental reasons, then Planted got you covered. The Swiss startup just released their plant-based steak, which looks amazing.

  Overall, Planted is one of my favourite plant-based meat brands. Their products have super clean ingredients list and are just truly delicious. I actually just ordered the Planted vegan chicken last week on a long train ride to Zürich. Read more here.

• [Good News Climate]: ☀️ A French town is installing a canopy of solar panels over its cemetery that will distribute energy to local residents. Read more here.

  

  Source: St Joachim township

• [Fun]: 😊 This text message is a classic example of decision-making procrastination - something most governments know too well when it comes to climate policies.

  

  Source: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

3. [Community space]: 🙌

• Eva reached out from EDERA LAB, a marketing agency focused on startups and innovators from food and climate tech. Super cool what they do!

• Amanda Lin has spent years working as a technologist in food waste and gave herself the challenge of painting one of her insights every day for a month. The results are a beautiful art pieces that visualize our food’s impact on our climate. Check out the paintings here.

Happy Easter! 🐣

Cheers, Lia

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