➥ FREE Webinar today!
This is your last chance to get in our AI Innovation in the Food Business webinar, starting today at 3PM EST / 12PM PST.
If you will miss it, then read this edition for my deep dive into Tastewise, an AI Food Innovation software.
Otherwise, see you here.
➥ Food News
What's New in the World of Food?
How AI and digital printing are creating the "Unboxing Moment"
Turning food waste into gourmet gold and sustainable CPG packaging
Blending plant and animal proteins to win over skeptical foodies
Say goodbye to plastic with beautiful, compostable pulp bottles
➥ Small Bites
It is Time to get Wise about the Future of Taste.
Every so often, a tool comes along that genuinely changes how product teams think and it’s because it helps creativity land where demand already exists. That’s how we think about Tastewise.
The "ChatGPT for Food" Phenomenon
While many describe Tastewise as "ChatGPT for food," its real power lies in its data spine. It pulls from billions of real-world eating signals—recipes, social media, restaurant menus, and home-cooking behavior—to show where interest is building before it ever hits a retail shelf.
These are its top capabilities:
Real-time Intelligence: Moves beyond stagnant quarterly reports to track behavior as it happens.
Intention-Driven Discovery: It requires you to know your market and do the digging to surface the strongest insights.
Validation: It confirms whether a "gut feeling" about a trend has the actual data to support a multi-million dollar launch.
Top Capabilities for Food Science & NPD
For those in the lab and the innovation kitchen, Tastewise functions as a continuous, AI-augmented insight engine. Here is how it maps to technical development:
Whitespace Detection: Identifies unmet needs, such as high growth in "caffeine-free focus" beverages where few competitors currently play.
Ingredient & Flavor Intelligence: Maps how ingredients co-occur. It reveals not just that "Matcha" is trending, but that it’s specifically pairing with "calm focus" morning routines.
Claim & Benefit Mining: Quantifies which health claims (like "no seed oil" or "gut health") are gaining traction by region and demographic.
Concept Generation (TasteGPT): Uses Gen-AI to instantly turn data territories into product concepts and flavor ranges (e.g., "Basque cheesecake with a miso twist for Gen Z").
Regional Nuance: Analyzes over 1.2 million menus to distinguish what works in London versus what will fly in Texas.
Top Things Tastewise Does for Food Product Developers
If you are leading an NPD team, these are the "headline jobs" Tastewise performs to streamline your workflow:
Prioritizes the Pipeline: Focuses your R&D budget on ingredients and formats with proven, durable momentum.
Translates Signals into Briefs: Automatically generates internal "stage-gate" style briefs with embedded data citations, saving months of manual research.
Facilitates Category Leaps: Helps you see success in one category (like Chili Crisp in sandwiches) and extrapolate it into another (like savory potato chips).
Maintains "One Version of Truth": Keeps R&D, Marketing, and Sales aligned using a single data spine from the first bench sample to the final retail pitch.
The Key Lesson: You Need a Human
Tools like Tastewise don't replace culinary judgment—they make it faster.
By combining the "AI brain" with manufacturing reality, teams can avoid chasing ideas that feel exciting but lack real demand. As seen with brands like Waitrose, which used these insights to launch a top-selling Basque cheesecake in record time, the goal is to shorten the distance between curiosity and clarity.
real screenshot from AI food innovation software, Tastewise
Here’s an example of what I’ve been able to create for a client with Tastewise:
➥ Know Your Food
Food Science Tip of the Week
The order ingredients interact over time can completely change taste, texture, and shelf life.
Tiny tweaks in processing order (not ingredients) often unlock better products.
Same inputs. Different outcome.
Inspired to develop a new product? Let's talk!
I’m now preparing for the webinar… see you soon!
