By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels -
ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm, answering millions of requests daily to explain complex topics, solve tricky math problems, and even write original song lyrics.
An Israeli startup has developed a similar tool – TasteGPT – designed to help the food industry formulate new products based on the latest trends.
Understanding consumer preferences normally takes many months of research, surveying buyers of certain products, and scrolling through social media posts, articles, and menus.
But TasteGPT keeps a constant eye on what people are eating. It gathers data points from millions of “consumption moments” – every time somebody looks up an online recipe to prepare a meal at home, orders groceries, selects specific dishes on food delivery apps, or posts about food on social media.
It combines that data with a wealth of information from their food partners, like the popularity of certain dishes at restaurants, to provide up-to-the-minute briefings on what we want to eat.
Earlier this month Tel Aviv-based Tastewise announced the launch of TasteGPT, using AI that has already been helping household brands like Pepsico, Campbell’s, and Kraft innovate their food products for years.
“Our solution literally seats companies at the table with the consumer so they can see what they’re eating, and decide what is the next thing they should produce,” says Jacques Botbol, Chief Marketing Officer at Tastewise.
Food trends are changing. Social media and hundreds of ads influence our opinion on a daily basis.
By the time analysts’ traditional reports reach the product innovation teams for ready-made meals, snacks, and other products, they can be a year out of date.
Food companies end up supplying stores with rows of products that consumers will never buy, which all go to waste.
With TasteGPT all these brands need to do now is prompt the AI with a question (‘what are the most popular recipes for mocktails?’) or request (‘tell me what’s trending in dairy products right now’), and they’ll receive relevant and easy-to-understand data tailored to their needs.
“The world is moving and changing very quickly, and so are our motivations,” says Botbol.
“But the way that food and beverage companies are innovating is based on surveys and reports – it takes time to generate these findings, and by the time the companies receive them, consumer preferences have already changed.”
After it gathers and analyzes all of this data, it breaks it down and organizes it into different categories, like texture, preparation, experience, diet, and much more.
“All our data sets are built for the food and beverage market only,” says Botbol. “We made sure we filtered the things that are not relevant.”
Tastewise says it uses more data than any of its competitors, resulting in the most accurate insights for food companies.
For example, it can tell a company developing a new mocktail what tastes are trending, what flavors are popular and what ingredients will appeal to consumers.
Waitrose, a British supermarket, formulated its top-selling dessert, a creamy Basque cheesecake, based on data provided by Tastewise on seasonal food trends and consumer needs.
And Freshly’s, a food delivery service, used Tastewise to identify trending flavors and research consumer comfort foods to launch two successful dishes: a cauliflower shepherd’s pie, and golden chicken with apricots.
Tasetwise’s AI was trained by dozens of engineers and AI data scientists, as well as millions of data points.
“We’re the only company that has the complete data on food and beverage to help companies with innovation, marketing, and sales,” says Botbol.
“Tastewise helps food companies improve the experience of the consumer, because with our platform, they can create more products that people want to eat.”
