Blog / 10 Innovative Ways Gen AI is Transforming the Energy Drink Industry: Unleashing Potential and Boosting Performance with Large Language Models

10 Innovative Ways Gen AI is Transforming the Energy Drink Industry: Unleashing Potential and Boosting Performance with LLMs

Modern Businesses run on AI. In the last 20 years, no other technology has grown as fast as generative AI and large language models have grown in the last 2 years.

These are the times of unprecedented growth for the food and beverage industry, thanks to the infinite power of AI. Big players like AB InBev, Coca Cola, Pepsico are actively investing in AI technology to enhance productivity, optimize production, and improve customer experience.

As per Mordor Intelligence reports, AI in the F&B market is expected to grow by 45.77%. It was valued at USD 3.07 billion in the current year and is expected to reach USD 29.94 billion after five years.

Stay relevant in a dynamically changing market by leveraging Gen AI and large language models.

10 Ways Gen AI and LLM are Bringing Change in Beverage Industry

1.  Predictive Maintenance

AI-powered predictive maintenance can help in identifying and fixing equipment malfunctions before they occur. AI can help minimize downtime, reduce maintenance costs by analyzing historical data, identifying patterns, and by predicting potential problems in the future.

A beverage company that has a large-scale bottling plant producing thousands of bottles of carbonated drinks every hour can have frequent breakdowns and downtimes. 

source: precognize

These downtimes would mean production delays, and increased maintenance costs.

Let AI take charge here. A predictive maintenance system built on generative AI and a large language model can analyze historical & real-time data. It can then detect anomalies and patterns that can indicate potential machine failures.

Read:  We have done something similar for Lixil, Mexico.

Benefits of Predictive Maintenance using AI and ML

• Improvement in Machine Uptime
• Reduction in Maintenance Costs
• Increase in Productivity
• Increase in Profitability

With automated data collection on machine performance, such as temperature, vibration, and pressure, Predictive AI solutions can generate alerts and notifications. Maintenance personnel or other automated solutions can take care of potential problems before they occur.

2.  Quality Control

Packaging defects, flavor inconsistencies, labeling inaccuracies are some of the quality issues plaguing the beverage industry. Quality is non-negotiable for this industry. A single product deemed substandard by your customer can drive them away.

AI-based quality control systems can detect defects in products at a much higher accuracy and speed than humans. These systems use computer vision and image recognition technologies to analyze product images and identify defects such as scratches, cracks, and deformities.

AI-driven solutions can also help improve taste and maintain consistency.

Read:  ABInBev did this with the help of Pluto7.

Benefits of Quality Control using AI and ML

• Improved consistency and quality of products
• Reduced risk of product recalls
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Improved efficiency

Generative AI solutions can also help in significant cost savings by reducing the need for manual inspection and identifying defects early in the production process, which reduces waste and improves efficiency.

3.  Supply Chain Optimization

Adopting AI and ML in supply chain optimization can improve your logistics costs by 15 percent, inventory levels by 35 percent, and service levels by 65 percent. (Source: A study by McKinsey)

Companies can use AI-powered demand forecasting to predict future demand for their products based on historical data, market trends, and other factors. This will further help in optimizing other processes in the supply chain.

Read: How Pluto7 helped a leading department store chain achieve 85% accuracy in demand forecasting

In fact, companies are now leveraging LLM(large language model) and NLP(Natural language processing) to interact with their demand forecasting systems for  human-like interaction.

Check Planning in a Box 3.0 by Pluto7.

Benefits of Supply Chain Optimization using AI and ML

• Demand forecasting to predict future demand
• Optimize production schedules and inventory levels
• Optimize transportation routes
• Timely delivery at the right location

Overall, AI-powered supply chain optimization can help beverage companies reduce costs, improve product quality, increase production efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction.

4.  Inventory Management

Coca Cola uses AI for the inventory management of the cabinet coolers in the retail outlets. An efficient AI solution can reduce inventory levels and holding costs by 20-50%. 

By analyzing historical data, current market trends, and other factors to predict demand, AI-powered inventory management systems can suggest optimal inventory levels for different products. By using sensors and other data sources, it can provide real-time insights into inventory levels, alerting managers when inventory levels are running low and predicting when additional inventory will be needed.

Read: How Pluto7 helped an American regional supermarket chain optimize their inventory

Benefits of Inventory Management using AI and ML

• Minimize inventory holding costs
• Optimize inventory levels and improve product availability
• Minimize stockouts and reduce inventory carrying costs
• Optimize replenishment schedules

Beverage companies can improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, and reduce costs with AI-powered solutions.

5. Personalized Recommendations

How awesome would it be if you could recommend a product to a user who would be more than willing to try? Delight your customers by sending them the recommendations they are looking for. 

This can be done easily with AI-powered personalized recommendation systems. Machine learning algorithms can analyze customer data like their purchase history, preferences, behavior. They can identify trends, patterns in the way customers are consuming your product, and offer personalized recommendations. Thereby, increasing customer loyalty.

Read: How Pluto7 helped improve customer engagement for Tripify by creating a personalized experience.

Benefits of Personalized Recommendations using AI and ML

• Increased Sale and Profit
• Increased Customer Loyalty
• Better Customer Experience
• Customer Retention

6.  Customer Service

According to a study by Salesforce, 86% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services. 

By using AI to provide faster and more personalized support, beverage companies can improve the overall customer experience and increase satisfaction.

Benefits of Customer Service using AI and ML

• Increased efficiency
• Reduced costs
• Improved product quality
• Enhanced customer experience

AI-powered customer service systems use natural language processing (NLP) and large language models to analyze customer inquiries and provide personalized responses, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Read:  Pluto7 did an NLP POC for the University of New Mexico for their project ECHO.

“The chatbot POC was also a step in the direction of understanding how effective Google’s machine learning and AI can be in handling more complex questions and how it can be used in other data sets at Project ECHO.  We were won over by Pluto 7’s depth of knowledge in this domain and the technical expertise of their team.” — Debi Phillpott -IT Project Manager at ECHO Institute™.

7.  Energy Management

Pepsico uses AI to optimize their manufacturing processes, reduce waste, and improve energy efficiency. They have set an ambitious sustainability target, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions across their value chain by 40% by 2030. And AI is their tool.

AI-powered solutions can help identify energy inefficiencies by analyzing historical data on energy consumption and production levels, as well as external factors such as weather. AI algorithms can predict future energy consumption patterns and identify opportunities for optimization.

Benefits of Sustainability using AI and ML

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
• Lower energy costs
• Avoid over consumption of energy 

With the use of predictive analytics, beverage companies can optimize energy consumption in bottling and packaging operations. For instance, an AI system may recommend adjusting the timing of production runs to take advantage of lower energy rates during off-peak hours, or reducing the speed of certain machines during periods of lower demand to avoid over-consumption of energy.

8.  Sustainability

Companies like Coca-cola, AbInBev, Heineken, Nestle are investing in AI to reduce their carbon footprint and improve sustainability.

AI can help you identify opportunities for reducing waste and improving resource efficiency. An AI-powered system can analyze data on production processes and supply chain operations to identify areas where material waste can be reduced, such as optimizing the use of raw materials in beverage production or improving packaging designs to minimize waste.

Read:  Request a Demo to See How We Help You Achieve Sustainability

Benefits of Sustainability using AI and ML

• Reduced waste 
• Improved resource efficiency
• Reduced Costs

AI can provide insights and recommendations for optimization that will help beverage companies reduce their costs and environmental impact.

9.  Flavor Development

AI-powered flavor development systems can help beverage companies develop new and innovative flavors. These systems use machine learning algorithms to analyze consumer preferences and identify flavor combinations that are likely to be popular.

Givaudan, a global leader in the creation of flavors and fragrances, uses AI-powered flavor development platform to create new flavor combinations faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.

Benefits of Flavor Development using AI and ML

• Faster and more efficient flavor development
• More accurate predictions of consumer preferences
• Cost savings
• Competitive advantage

10.  Fraud Detection

Nestle uses AI to monitor its procurement processes and detect any potential fraudulent activities. Their AI-powered platform analyzes data from multiple sources, such as financial transactions and supplier performance metrics, to identify any suspicious activities.

By using AI for fraud detection, beverage companies can significantly reduce the risk of financial losses and reputational damage caused by fraudulent activities.

Benefits of Fraud Detection using AI and ML

• Increased accuracy and reliability
• Early detection and fraud prevention
• Cost Savings
• Improved Compliance

AI algorithms can quickly analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns and anomalies, and alert companies to potential fraudulent activities, allowing them to take prompt action and prevent further losses.

Challenges of Adopting AI in the Beverage Industry

1. Data quality: AI relies on large amounts of high-quality data to work effectively. However, in the beverage industry (like any other industry for that matter), data may be scattered across multiple sources and may not always be complete or accurate. 
2. Data privacy and security: Collecting and storing sensitive data, such as customer information, can pose risks to privacy and security. Companies need to ensure that they have appropriate measures in place to protect data from unauthorized access or misuse.
3. Lack of skilled personnel: Developing and implementing AI systems requires specialized knowledge and skills, which may be in short supply within the beverage industry.
4. Cost: Developing and implementing AI systems can be expensive, and smaller companies may struggle to justify the investment.
5. Resistance to change: Some employees may be resistant to adopting AI systems, fearing that they may be replaced by machines.
6. Integration with existing systems: AI systems may need to integrate with existing systems and processes, which can be challenging and time-consuming.

Overcome these challenges with small steps

• Seek help from established companies who have proved themselves in implementing AI/ML, Large Language Model solutions.
• Start with a prototype. Identify your most pressing use case and work with them to develop a proof of concept.
• Take a look at the areas where you already have automation in place to collect data. Build your capabilities around that and make it more useful for you.

Book a Free Consultation with our AI/ML and LLM Experts to Power Up Your Business

FAQs

How is AI used in the beverage industry?
AI is used in beverage industry for number of use cases like demand forecasting, quality control, predictive maintenance, fraud detection to name a few. AI is the way businesses work now and can reduce a lot of manual effort bringing speed and efficiency.

How does Coca Cola use AI?
Coca Cola uses AI for many things – hyper personalized content, fraud detection, flavor creation, content creation, optimizing supply chain etc.

How is artificial intelligence revolutionizing the food & beverage industry?
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the food & beverage industry by going through tons of historical data in minutes and identifying patterns & trends. Combining these trends with real time data, it equips business leaders to make data-driven decisions. 

How does Pepsico use AI?
Pepsico is using AI to optimize most of its function areas. Pepsico uses AI to develop new product lines, develop new flavors, improve customer experience, optimize supply chain, analyze sales etc.

Wrapping Up

Not knowing where to start is the biggest challenge beverage companies face when using Gen AI for their operations. AI can increase profitability, reduce overhead costs by bringing intelligence to every nook and corner of your business.

Get started today with the help of Pluto7 and Google Cloud.

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