There is a lot of fear about AI – but it might do wonders for our taste buds.
Around the world, major companies such as Mars are scrambling to use artificial intelligence to design better foods, with dozens of products already on sale.
From sodas to alcohol and vegan food, firms want hope that AI‘s vast processing power will help invent recipes that we mere mortals have overlooked.
Analyst Mordor Intelligence expects the market for AI in food production to grow to $35 billion worldwide by 2028.
AI Coke
The limited edition Y3000 drink boasts that it is ‘futuristic flavoured’ (Coca Cola)
Coca Cola has released a new Zero Sugar drink ‘co-created’ by human designers and AI which is designed to taste like a drink from the year 3000.
The limited edition Y3000 drink boasts that it is ‘futuristic flavoured’ and ‘designed by artificial intelligence’.
One TikToker said that the taste resembled stirring a normal Coke with a sugary lollipop and then drinking it.
The Y3000 limited edition is on sale now in the U.S. via Coca-Cola’s website.
AI ice cream
Both the ice cream and the marketing campaign were created by AI (Zhong Xue Gao)
Chinese ice cream maker Zhong Xue Gao used AI to design, market and create a new low-priced ice cream, launched in Shanghai in March.
The product is called “Sa’Saa”, which means “Satisfy And Surprise Any Adventure”, and comes in red bean, green bean, milk, and cocoa flavours.
The organisation used ChatGPT and the Chinese ‘Ernie’ AI chatbot to design and market the products.
The ice cream is not on sale in the West, but is currently on sale in China.
Mystery meat stew
Don’t try this at home (Twitter/Pak N Save)
Not all AI experiments go to plan – and an AI chatbot designed by New Zealand chain Pak N’Save came out with recipes which involved cannibalism or deadly chlorine gas.
The app at first drew attention for unappetising recipes like an ‘Oreo vegetable stir fry’ – but then users found it would also recommend recipes with non-edible ingredients.
One, for ‘aromatic water mix’ which the bot described as ‘the perfect nonalcoholic beverage to quench your thirst and refresh your senses’ would release deadly chlorine gas.
The bot also offered recipes for poison and glue sandwiches – and human flesh stew which it described as ‘Mystery Meat Stew’.
AI designed vegan cheese
AI designs the cheese at the molecular level (Kraft/Notco)
Chilean ‘food tech’ company Notco uses machine learning to create vegan versions of dairy and meat products – by analysing them at the molecular level.
The AI, known as Giuseppe, analyses the molecular structure of products and suggests ways to recreate them using plants.
The result is a partnership with Kraft, Kraft Heinz Not Company, which has released AI-designed cheese – Kraft NotCheese Slices.
Kraft NotCheese Slices are launching this year in the U.S. after trials.
AI designed whisky
The whisky was designed to be ‘perfect’ – but does it lack personality? MackMyra
Swedish whisky company MackMyra worked with Finnish tech company Fourkind to design and AI whisky – processing information including recipes and customer feedback to create the ‘perfect’ whisky.
Using Microsoft’s Machine Learning Studio, the first ‘Intelligens’ whisky was launched in 202.
Not everyone is impressed though – blogger The Whisky Lady writes, ‘It’s probably a psychological bias, but you can almost feel it’s been computer-designed as it does lack personality.
The ‘Intelligens’ whisky is available now.
AI beer
AI designed both the beer and its marketing campaign (Beck’s)
Billed as ‘the beer that made itself’ Becks Autonomous had a recipe designed by ChatGPT and a marketing campaign made by AI art software Midjourney.
ChatGPT came up with the entire concept with Beck’s marketing team asking for an idea to promote the beer’s 150th anniversary – and ChatGPT told them to brew a limited edition beer.
The limited-edition brew saw 450 cans going on sale in Europe with artwork and marketing materials designed by AI.
AI energy drink
Would you try Tutti Frutti and Berry Blast flavour? (Hell)
Hungarian energy drink maker Hell turned to AI to design a new flavour and fed an AI sytem with information on sales, ingredients, health research and consumer feedback.
The AI came out with the tantalising sounding, ‘Tutti Frutti and Berry Blast’ flavour, which is launching in 60 countries worldwide this year.
The company believes that AI can usher in a ‘new era’ for the food insutry, reducing product development times from up to two years down to as little as a month.
The new Hell flavour is on sale now.
