A sprinkling of artificial intelligence flavours

The skills of chefs are being complemented by foodtech solutions that are coming up with new experiments to pander to our palate. Tastes have been created by using AI models

Wasabi Kitkat, dosa-flavoured burger, green-tea cookies, or Mumbai Chowpatty seasoning. Such flavours may appear unusual but point to a rising trend of creativity in taste. And much of this is being powered by artificial intelligence-based technology. Food, flavours and aroma make for a memorable culinary experience. The skills of chefs and amateurs are often measured by their ability to bring disparate food products together and meld them into a unique satisfying combination. 

Such human ingenuity is being complemented by AI and other food tech solutions which are coming up with new experiments to pander to our palate. Many tastes have been created by using AI models which are often fed by consumer insights data. Various flavours of coffee or colas; a variety of non-dairy milk; and country-specific tastes for chips are being thought up by specialised tech initiatives that work with chefs and food companies. 

IBM’s AI platform Watson, for instance, has published a cookbook. Watson has collaborated with food giant McCormick to use AI for creating fresh flavours. McCormick owns various brands, including Kohinoor Rice and French’s Mustard. “Product developers across its global workforce are now able to explore flavour territories more quickly and efficiently, using AI to learn and predict new flavour combinations from hundreds of millions of data points across the areas of sensory science, consumer preference and flavour palettes,” says McCormick. “We co-create custom flavours for 10 of the top 10 food and beverage companies, and all top 10 food service restaurant chains worldwide.” 

Much of this also allows mass customisation for consumers, based on age and geography. Food science research firm Spoonshot has been helping companies develop data science-based consumer insights. Working out of Bangalore and Minnesota, Spoonshot identifies future trends for food preferences. Recently the company launched a free version of its AI-based food pairing tool. The company processes “data relating to the physical and chemical properties of ingredients and understands how ingredient interactions impact a final recipe.”

Another firm, Gastrograph AI, has also been impressing the food world with the use of “the first artificial intelligence platform to interpret and predict flavour preferences for over a billion unique consumer groups.”

Gastrograph asks focus groups of consumers to identify flavours of specific products, using a smartphone app. Consumers can try a new product and then identify various flavours on a digital map. These include tastes like floral, earthy, astringent, sour, and so on. By tweaking various flavours over several sessions with focus groups, it can arrive at an ideal combination for new products being created by food companies. Not just the flavours, Gastrograph also maps the consumers’ own socio-economic profile, preferences, demographics, habits and locality. Such data can help create different flavour varieties of the same product for different markets. 

Indian consumers need to just take a glance at their digital food apps or shop stores to witness the variety on offer. Using AI to create such choice is often cheaper and allows companies to create new variants in a shorter time span. Consumers spoilt for choice and eager to experience new flavours are being pampered by AI algorithms.