From lollipop-flavored Coke to digitally-made beef stew: The foods and drinks designed by AI on shelves this year- but would YOU try them?
There is a lot of fear about AI, but it could do wonders for our taste buds.
Around the world, major companies like Mars are trying to use artificial intelligence to design better food, with dozens of products already on sale.
From soft drinks to alcohol and vegan foods, companies want to hope that the immense processing power of AI will help come up with recipes that we mere mortals have overlooked.
Analyst Mordor Intelligence expects the market for AI in food production to grow to $35 billion globally by 2028.
AI Coke
The limited edition Y3000 drink claims it has a ‘futuristic taste’ (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 claims it is ‘futuristic in taste’ and ‘designed by artificial intelligence’.
One TikToker said the taste was like stirring a regular Coke with a sugary lollipop and then drinking it.
The limited edition Y3000 is now available for purchase in the US 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-cost ice cream, which launched in Shanghai in March.
The product is called “Sa’Saa”, which means “Satisfy and surprise every adventure”, and is available in red bean, green bean, milk and cocoa flavors.
The organization used ChatGPT and the Chinese ‘Ernie’ AI chatbot to design and market the products.
The ice cream is not for sale in the West, but is currently for 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 up with recipes involving cannibalism or deadly chlorine gas.
The app initially drew attention to unappetizing recipes such as an “Oreo vegetable stir-fry,” but users discovered that the app also recommended recipes with inedible ingredients.
First, an “aromatic water mix” that the bot described as “the perfect non-alcoholic drink to quench your thirst and refresh your senses” is said to release deadly chlorine gas.
The bot also offered recipes for poison and glue sandwiches – and human meat 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 is using machine learning to create vegan versions of dairy and meat products – by analyzing them at the molecular level.
The AI, known as Giuseppe, analyzes the molecular structure of products and suggests ways to recreate them using plants.
The result is a collaboration with Kraft, Kraft Heinz Not Company, which has released AI-designed cheese: Kraft NotCheese Slices.
Kraft NotCheese Slices will be launched in the US this year after testing.
AI-designed whisky
The whiskey is designed to be ‘perfect’, but does it lack personality? MackMyra
Swedish whiskey company MackMyra teamed up with Finnish tech company Fourkind to design whiskey and create AI, processing information including recipes and customer feedback to create the ‘perfect’ whisky.
With the help of Microsoft’s Machine Learning Studio, the first ‘Intelligens’ whiskey was launched in 202.
Not everyone is impressed, however: blogger The Whiskey Lady writes: ‘It’s probably a psychological bias, but you can almost feel it was computer designed because it has no personality.
The whiskey ‘Intelligens’ is now available.
AI beer
AI designed both the beer and the marketing campaign (Beck’s)
Billed as “the beer that made itself,” Becks Autonomous had a recipe designed by ChatGPT and a marketing campaign created by AI art software Midjourney.
ChatGPT came up with the whole concept when Beck’s marketing team asked for an idea to promote the beer’s 150th anniversary – and ChatGPT told them to brew a limited-edition beer.
The limited edition brew sold 450 cans in Europe with artwork and marketing materials designed by AI.
AI energy drink
Would you try the Tutti Frutti and Berry Blast flavors? (Hell)
Hungarian energy drink maker Hell turned to AI to design a new flavor, feeding an AI system with information about sales, ingredients, health research and consumer feedback.
The AI came up with the tempting-sounding flavor ‘Tutti Frutti and Berry Blast’, which will be launched in 60 countries around the world this year.
The company believes AI can usher in a “new era” for the food industry, reducing product development time from two years to just one month.
The new Hell flavor is available to purchase now.