As many supply chains remain volatile, CPG companies are using AI to find alternative raw materials, allowing them to navigate with greater ease price fluctuations, shortages and geo-political tensions that might disrupt ingredient sourcing, Kostopoulos told FoodNavigator-USA at the event.
The alt-protein industry also can leverage AI to optimize cell lines, bioreactors or facility and process designs, he added.
“If you have ... a protein with a specific structure that [gives] specific characteristics texture-wise, flavor-wise, organoleptic-wise ... or any other properties, then you can go back to the database and identify another protein that has a high chance of recreating that,” Kostopoulos explained.
“Data is the cornerstone of any AI solution” and a “human in the loop” allows product developers to guide the AI or machine-learning (ML) algorithms to solve the problem that they want, Kostopoulos said.
Proxy Foods allows product developers to formulate ‘in a completely new way’
Earlier this year, Proxy Foods raised $2 million in a seed round, which the company is using to expand its data-science team, as the AI company seeks to work with CPG companies to incorporate AI more into their workflows, Kostopoulos previously stated.
Proxy Foods’ AI technology uses a blend of proprietary and public data to provide food and beverage developers insight on how best to formulate and reformulate a product, Kostopoulos said. The AI-based software shares information on the flavor, nutrition content and cost of a specific recipe as well as answers regulatory questions a product developer might have, he added.
Proxy Foods is trying to create “Canva ... for the food scientist,” allowing product developers to think about product formulations “in a completely new way,” Kostopoulos explained.
Canva is a popular tool used among marketers and social-media managers to create posts and marketing assets through a freemium web-based tool.
