The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the food and beverage sector, turning abstract flavour concepts into tangible realities, however, "consumer trust in such technologies needs to continue to grow,” GlobalData has said.
Katrina Diamonon, principal consumer analyst at GlobalData, was commenting following the launch in Japan earlier this year of an innovative approach to food creation by NEC Corporation, Kimuraya Sohonten Co. and Abema TV, which leveraged AI technology to craft new bread flavours (pictured).
These new flavours include offerings such as 'Fate', 'First Date' and 'Mutual Love', which 'infuse emotions into culinary experiences' and bridge the gap between sensory and emotional experiences.
The Concept Of Flavour
“More brands are taking greater liberties with the concept of flavour, by using intangible elements such as ideas, experiences, and moods to describe flavour," said Diamonon.
"This recent example from Japan takes the consumption experience beyond the sensorial and into the emotional realm. We have already seen this kind of innovation from more progressive beverage companies, but its expansion into bakery suggests that a wider array of food and drink brands will explore more whimsical and abstract flavours."
As she explains, innovations like these also underscore the wider impact of AI on consumer goods innovation.
"Not only is it making food production smarter and more sustainable; it is also changing how food products are conceived and designed, aligning them even more closely with consumer preferences," she said.
Virtual Assistant
GlobalData's recent Q4 Consumer Survey, which was published last December, found that a third (33%) of global consumers would be either 'very' or 'quite likely' to trust recommendations from a virtual assistant to purchase food and beverage items.
“The notion of translating human emotions into tangible flavours may seem far-fetched but is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility for AI, which has only scratched the surface in terms of its ability to use predictive analytics to transform ideas into reality," Diamonon added.
“As more brands make the move into the metaverse, flavour has the potential to become a more abstract term as physical and digital worlds merge. AI will prove invaluable in helping brands develop flavours and scents that bring an emotion to life.”
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