It’s not exactly cookie-cutter tech.
Mondelez International, the snack giant that manufactures Oreos and Chips Ahoy, is using artificial intelligence to create delicious new recipes and move them to market at lightning speed.
“We’re doing things more efficiently,” Kevin Wallenstein, who works in biscuit research and development, told The Wall Street Journal of the futuristic tech, first put into place by Mondelez back in 2019.
Mondelez’s AI tool was developed by the software consulting firm Fourkind, which was later acquired by Thoughtworks. It uses machine learning, rather than generative AI made popular by ChatGPT.
Machine learning is a subset of AI whereby a computer system learns from data and improves its performance over time by identifying patterns and making predictions based on information received.
Mondelez’s food scientists tell their tool to create recipes “by specifying desired characteristics, including flavor, aroma, and appearance.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, “the tool also considers parameters like the cost of ingredients, their environmental impact and their nutritional profile.”
Previously, the recipes were largely created through a process of trial and error.
Each of the recipes is still taste-tested by humans, but products “are getting to pilot or production trials four to five times faster” the company claims.
“The point is we get there faster,” Wallenstein declared. “The consumer wants the product to taste like X. We’re not stopping iterating until it tastes like X.”
The tool has been used in the creation of 70 different products manufactured by Mondelez, which also owns Ritz, Tate’s, Toblerone, Cadbury and Clif, including the Gluten Free Golden Oreo.
Meanwhile, the AI also helps refresh recipes for existing products, which are “assessed every few years for potential tweaks, like whether to move over to a new chocolate-chip or vanilla-extract supplier.”
And it appears the innovative AI is giving Mondelez an edge over its cookie competitors.
Despite a crowded snack market and a sluggish economy amid inflation, sales soared 5.4% in the last quarter when compared to the same period last year.
