For decades, the beverage category has been a fertile space for innovation. In many cases, the relatively straightforward makeup of beverages allows product developers to respond to market trends more quickly than those operating in food categories. The modern introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into product development provides beverage R&D and brand teams with a tool to deepen and accelerate the process of bringing innovations to market.
Beverage companies, from startups to legacy brands, are experimenting with and refining the process of integrating AI into product development. Domestic category leaders such as The Coca-Cola Company as well as a growing list of global brands have identified effective methods of supporting product development teams with the vast benefits of AI. Industry experts suggest with confidence that we are on the precipice of unprecedented growth in the number of beverage products developed using AI.
Not long ago, the industry conceived product development as a linear process, moving from one stage to another through launch and live market analysis. And in some ways, the current process remains unchanged. However, supporting process stages such as ideation, development and testing with AI components presents developers with opportunities that until now have been out of reach from both time and financial standpoints.
Beverage makers have turned to AI platforms such as Tastewise and NotCo’s Giuseppe to gain insights into consumer behavior and emerging ingredient and flavor trends, all of which assist in the goal of launching new beverages that meet consumer demand with efficiency and pace.
Speed & Scope
At the moment, processing speed and data scope are the two leading advantages of AI. Concept generation used to be a labor of market research, internal decision-making and consumer testing. With AI, development teams can generate concepts in minutes, diving deeper into specific market trends until a workable concept emerges. Brainstorming is no longer solely a human act.
“From ideation and formulation to market launch, AI is being applied across every segment of product development. In the beverage industry, AI-powered data analysis can uncover what attributes are resonating with consumers, which are emerging, and which categories these trends will impact,” said Dan Buckstaff, chief product officer, SPINS.
“AI is quickly winning share for discovery, personalized engagement, which will ultimately shape shopperfood inn preferences. Our latest platform announcement, SPINS Journey, is amplifying this movement by enabling brands to engage consumers across physical, digital, and conversational touchpoints, using AI to surface the right product attributes and connect innovation with real-world demand.”
AI accelerates R&D insights by way of machine learning models that simulate ingredient interactions or sensory outcomes, which results in fewer physical prototypes needed to achieve viable formulations.
Go-to-market strategies proceed at unprecedented pace, as companies streamline research, ideation and iteration. New product launches take shape in months rather than years, which is critical for staying ahead of fast-moving trends.
A Deep Dive into the Future of Food & Beverage
AI supports all aspects of formulation, so that R&D teams can achieve desired results in quicker and smarter ways. With data-driven predictions, AI can reshape outlooks for stability, shelf life, texture and mouthfeel, which can produce more solid and informed initial formulation attempts. AI can also optimize ingredient matrices, bringing targets like nutrition profile, cost, sustainability or clean label requirements into focus with hastened accuracy.
“One of the great things about the rise of AI is that it’s changing the assumption of how we do business, said Buckstaff. “Today, AI enables real-time analysis of product attribute-level shifts: which flavors are trending, what health claims are gaining traction, and how sustainability expectations vary by region or demographic.
“What makes this actionable is AI’s ability to connect those insights to execution. Platforms like SPINS Intelligence and Foundry were designed with the challenge of understanding consumer preferences in mind.”
In terms of consumer alignment, beverage companies have discovered ways to integrate AI into trend forecasting, concept validation and personalized nutrition. Identifying efficiencies in cost and waste, supply chain refinement, risk reduction and regulatory compliance are just some of the aspects of product development that beverage formulators have pursued with AI assistance in the past year.
AI Beverages in Practice
Beverage makers operating in various corners of the market have implemented some degree of AI strategy in product development. In 2023, The Coca-Cola Company created Coca-Cola Y3000 through AI and human input. AI analyzed consumer and market data to suggest flavor combinations, packaging and other aspects to develop the zero sugar soda. The objective was to develop a beverage based on how soft drink consumers envision the future through emotions, aspirations, colors and flavors. AI amalgamated the data providing human formulators and marketers with initial concepts that were more fully realized than typical first passes.
Not to be outdone, PepsiCo has used AI in several ways, such as speeding reciper ideation, optimizing product launches and forecasting trends. The company has used AI to develop new drinks like Pepsi Molecular Cola and Propel fitness water with immunity-boosting ingredients. AI was also involved in the rollout of new Pepsi Zero Sugar flavors in 2025.
Molecular Cola was released in April 2025, and was created using molecular gastronomy and AI-guided systems to engineer flavor molecules through fermentation. For the new Propel fitness water, PepsiCo’s R&D team used AI-driven consumer insights to quickly develop and launch a version containing immunity-boosting ingredients. For its 2025 campaign the company introduced Pepsi Zero Sugar in new Strawberries ‘N’ Cream and Cream Soda flavors. Pepsi also used an AI system to measure and quantify sweetness.
PepsiCo does not limit AI to a specific product but uses it to accelerate the development process across its portfolio. Most recently, the organization announced plans to deploy Agentforce —a digital labor platform from Salesforce for bringing autonomous AI agents into the flow of work. Through an expanded collaboration with Salesforce, PepsiCo will leverage AI agents to manage key functions, enhancing customer support and operational efficiency.
“AI is reshaping our business in ways that were once unimaginable,” Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, said in a release. “This collaboration with Salesforce is another step toward a more connected and adaptive PepsiCo – deploying AI to unlock smarter and faster decision-making, fuel innovation, and power sustainable growth.”
Nestlé applies AI in the development of several beverages, most notably Nescafé Dalgona coffee mixes and new formulations for the Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee system. The company also applies AI in its broader research and development to create and refine personalized nutritional drinks and other beverages.
To develop this product for the Chinese market, Nestlé used AI to analyze information from social media and other web sources. The AI identified the Dalgona coffee trend, allowing Nestlé’s innovators to quickly translate those consumer insights into a new product.
Nestlé’s use of AI is not limited to specific launches but is a core part of its overall product development strategy. The company applies AI in several ways that affect its entire beverage portfolio, including rapid market trend analysis, optimized ingredient formulation, predictive sensory testing and personalized nutrition.
“On the emerging front, we’re excited to see how brands start to leverage synthetic audiences to simulate real-world behavior, preferences and reactions at scale,” said Buckstaff. “With synthetic audiences, brands can virtually test new formulations, label claims and packaging concepts before investing in production, dramatically accelerating the feedback loop between ideation and validation.”
The future is now. Beverage makers are speeding products to market with confidence that may have been absent in years past. Targeting specific markets with trending flavors and effective packaging could be just one of many opportunities the industry pursues with the power of AI. Innovation has always flowed through the beverage industry, but now, it’s a river run wild.