Food companies are taking advantage of AI applications by using large amounts of data to streamline operations.
AI continues to give food manufacturers an edge in the marketplace. New developments are constantly emerging. Whether it involves collecting detailed weather reports, generating creative branding strategies, allowing employees throughout the organization to interface and have real-time data, monitoring food safety, or saving on transportation, AI is bringing efficiency and savings to the industry. Five OU kosher-certified companies availed themselves of one of the above applications to advance growth in their organization.
Forecasting Weather Patterns
For Unilever, a global supplier of ice cream, knowing weather patterns is crucial for knowing where to stock product.
Unilever, a worldwide provider of ice cream, must know weather conditions to forecast sales. A slight change in weather can instantly change a buyer’s decision, as it may become too cold for them to want ice cream. For this, they have data-driven AI platforms that can predict the yearly forecast. This prepares them for unpredictable situations where supplies might have to be increased or repositioned.
In summing up the benefits of capturing future weather patterns, Unilever Ice Cream Supply Chain Long-Term Planning Lead, Elif Cakir said in an internal news story “Thanks to forecasting process improvement, our service has increased while costs have been optimized. All of which has contributed to our overall service level to consumers increasing to world-class levels. We’re in the top tier in most of our markets.”
Employee Interfacing
Kraft began with KraftGPT for employee connection but has since rolled out even more impactful AI applications.
Kraft Heinz created KraftGPT to begin testing its AI-driven capabilities. Central to the vision was to have immediate data available to employees so that they could make well-informed decisions in real-time. Now their overall system has evolved and is called KHAI (Kraft Heinz AI) with an additional platform called PlantChat for plant workers and supply-chain personnel.
Helen Davis, Senior Vice President at Kraft Heinz, has spearheaded the AI advances. What she has done is summed up in an article featured in AIM, by David McCurdy, Chief Enterprise Architect and CTO at Insight Enterprises, “Anytime you can make people more productive and solve problems right away without having to go get a data scientist or some type of tech person, it’s better for the organization as a whole because those experts can now focus on the next big thing.
Branding
Coca-Cola has partnered with Adobe to use AI to study movements of how artists draw to enhance their branding campaigns.
Coca-Cola has more than 200 brands in 200 countries. This means that creating the right graphics must happen quickly, seamlessly, and with a unique creative flair.
To make this happen, they initiated Project Fizzion. In partnership with Adobe, Coca-Cola AI programs capture the movements artists use to draw in the cloud and use that data to bring context to creating images.
About this collaboration, in a Coca-Cola news release, Ralph Abreu, Global Vice President of Design for Coca-Cola said, “With Fizzion, our design elements become smart. Logos, type, imagery—brand guidelines now live intelligently inside them. Each asset understands how it should behave, adapt, and scale across any context.” He continued, “This is about embedding AI at the heart of our brand system so creativity can move faster, without losing its soul.”
Food Safety
Using AI tool SGS-Digicomply, Nestle can monitor thousands of websites for any new health updates and receive all food regulatory alerts.
As a global food and beverage company with worldwide reach, Nestle has leveraged the power of AI to be on top of any information relating to food safety hazards.
As noted in an internal article, they partnered with Swiss-based SGS to create an AI tool called SGS-Digicomply. This tool, using algorithms, tracks thousands of websites to be up to date on any new findings relating to food safety and receives the most up-to-date regulatory alerts from all around the world.
Other food companies have adopted this AI-driven platform, a net positive for consumers, who will be further protected from safety hazards.
Transportation
Since 2024, by using AI, General Mills can track 5,000 shipments a day, which has saved them $20 million.
As noted in a Yahoo Finance article, in 2019 General Mills began heavily investing in AI. One area in which they have been reaping benefits is in the distribution area, from the plant to the warehouse. Since 2024, based on AI monitoring of 5,000 shipments a day, they have saved $20 million.
Conclusion
AI continues to bring growth to food manufacturers. From weather forecasts to first-rate employee communication to branding to food safety and transportation, the possibilities are rising. OU kosher-certified companies are applying AI applications to grow their organizations with speed and agility.