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Plant-based foods, brain-boosting ingredients, AI are transforming the industry
The food and beverage industry is rapidly evolving through advancements in plant-based innovations, functional brain health ingredients and AI-driven technologies, reshaping how products are developed, marketed and consumed.
7 Min Read
At a Glance
- The plant-based market is transitioning to cleaner, less processed options with improved taste and texture.
- Functional foods and beverages with cognitive health benefits are gaining popularity.
- AI is revolutionizing product development, consumer trend analysis and food safety.
What do a hearty plant-based burger, cognitive-enhancing protein bar and data-crunching algorithm have in common? They’re all driving the biggest trends in food and beverage, proving that what we eat and drink — and how we create it — is evolving at a record pace.
Plant-based (you name it)
Plant-based foods and beverages certainly aren’t new, but they are constantly evolving to keep up with consumer demands. The global plant-based food market, currently valued at $11 billion, is predicted to more than triple in size by 2033, according to Future Market Insights (FMI). Plant-based foods and beverages are increasingly seen as healthier alternatives to animal-based products, in addition to presenting a range of environmental benefits, which is fueling the development of more options in the industry.
“Plant based is more of a long-term mega trend,” Brian Choi, CEO of The Food Institute, explained. “I want to call it ‘plant-based 3.0’ now. Originally, the OGs of plant based were veggie burgers. [Plant-based] 2.0 was the advent of the highly processed plant-based [products] with Impossible and Beyond Meat; that’s come down significantly. What we’re seeing now is further innovation in plant based, so the taste and texture is more on par and it’s less processed. Consumers don’t want to see 100 ingredients. They want to see a few natural ingredients because they’re skeptical of [all of the ingredients on labels that they don’t recognize]. That will continue to evolve.”
As more plant-based foods enter the market, taste and texture become increasingly important, as Choi noted, prompting the creation of specialty ingredients that help enhance the mouthfeel, texture and taste of these products. Dsm-firmenich, for example, recently introduced SMART MILK flavors and Dynarome DA innovations, which help mask off-notes and lend dairy-like qualities to plant-based beverages.
“Our mission is to transform the perception of plant-based drinks by delivering the authentic flavors and textures associated with dairy,” Jo Ann Fritsche, director of sweet goods for dsm-firmenich’s North American taste, texture and health division, said. “Our aim was to do more than mimic dairy but rather redefine what plant-based beverages can be.”
Other companies like Cargill, Kerry, ADM, AAK and Ingredion have also introduced similar ingredients to help improve dairy alternatives as the trend continues to grow, as well as various plant proteins designed to emulate traditional meat and seafood products. This just shows that the category is continuing to gain momentum — and isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Brain health is top of mind for product developers
As consumers increasingly seek plant-based alternatives to boost their well-being, they’re also placing a larger focus on functional foods and beverages that promote other benefits, such as brain health.
“The rapid growth of the brain health category in functional food and beverage is thanks to its universal appeal,” Bob Verdi, VP of business development for health and wellness at Virginia Dare, explained. “Cognitive health is relevant to every consumer, regardless of age, and society is increasingly aware of the profound impact that brain health can have on quality of life both now and as we get older. People are shifting toward a proactive approach to health as they recognize that preventative care — especially in cognitive health — is far more effective than a reactive solution when it comes to conditions like brain trauma and dementia.”
One ingredient paving the way for preventive care in foods and beverages is Cognizin, a patented form of citicoline produced by Kyowa Hakko, which has been used in everything from water to protein bars. The nootropic has been clinically proven to improve focus, attention and memory in healthy adults.
As Karen Todd, VP of global brand marketing at Kyowa Hakko, detailed, consumers are experiencing “pill fatigue” and would much rather nosh on a food or drink a beverage that offers the same health benefits and can be easily incorporated into their diets.
MOSH, dubbed The Brain Brand, is on a mission to put brain health on consumers’ minds. The company creates flavored protein bars with functional ingredients, including Cognizin, that aid cognitive health. Each bar is formulated with a signature “brain blend” — a mixture of flaxseed, organic lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus), Cognizin citicoline, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3 and KSM-66 ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) — that promotes both brain and body health.
Olly, a renowned supplement brand, also recently ventured into the food arena to address cognitive health with its Focus Buddies Brainy L’olly Pops. These watermelon-and-berry-flavored vessels, which each incorporate 250 mg of Cognizin, further prove that foods can contend with their encapsulated counterparts — and tasty ones at that.
“As demand grows for both immediate and long-term cognitive support, brands that balance efficacy with enjoyable flavors are poised to capture the market and build lasting consumer loyalty as brain health ingredients become normal components of food and beverage formulations,” Verdi said.
Advances in AI continue to transform the industry
When it comes to technological advancements in the industry, AI (artificial intelligence) takes center stage. Think of it as the leading role in a Broadway production, the main character in a book or the principal dancer at a ballet company. The transformative technology is rewriting the playbook on product development, while simultaneously providing food and beverage companies and industry organizations with ways to be more cost effective, efficient and environmentally responsible.
In the plant-based realm, CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies are utilizing AI to create innovative, scalable and highly realistic alternatives to traditional animal products, as well as ingredients, that are primed to change the industry as we know it.
Various other food and beverage companies are also using AI-driven technologies to enhance their operations — creating more streamlined business plans and production methods — and track market data and consumer behaviors to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s hot and what’s not. Almond Board of California, for example, partnered with GenAI-powered consumer data platform Tastewise in the beginning of 2024 to predict and identify consumer trends and use AI-driven insights to enhance almond-based products.
Stravito, a knowledge management platform, is another company utilizing AI to help food and beverage companies analyze market data and consumer behaviors. In mid-2024, it launched the generative AI conversational tool Stravito Assistant, which allows users to ask simple questions for insights on new food and beverage products, and what they could possibly be. As CEO and Co-founder of Stravito Thor Olof Philogène said, “The industry is in a unique position to effectively employ AI tools.”
Integral industry organizations like FDA have also adopted AI to help tackle some of the industry’s biggest hurdles, such as food safety. FDA has prioritized what it calls tech-enabled traceability, which heavily relies on AI to analyze and manage large amounts of data across supply chains, allowing for the efficient tracking and tracing of products. This could potentially (and hopefully) be the key to helping the agency prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. It’s time to stop reading about listeria, salmonella and E. coli outbreaks in nearly all types of foods in the news.
As Cindy Hazen reported for SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal in May 2024, FDA representatives said the agency has relied on manual processes for “too long” to investigate these outbreaks, where the root causes weren’t even able to be identified in some cases. Their hope is to change this, specifically with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) 204 final rule on requirements for additional traceability records for certain foods.
“We know that it’s going to be a very long journey ahead to truly make food traceability at the speed of thought a reality, but we have already seen so much innovation within the food industry,” Adam Friedlander, a policy analyst in FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response & Evaluation (CORE) Network, said in Hazen’s article. “You can still leverage many different IT systems, but you’re still ultimately speaking that same food traceability language.
“We know that collaboration is going to be a critical component of how we move forward in the future,” he explained. “We need to bring multidisciplinary teams together [those who work in food safety, IT, legal, marketing and supply chain]. We know that the industry can voluntarily work together to improve upon some of the greatest operational, organizational and technological pain points that we’re currently seeing.”
From the rise of cleaner plant-based innovations to brain-boosting snacks and AI-powered breakthroughs, the food and beverage industry is at the forefront of a revolution — one where every bite, sip and algorithm is shaping a smarter, healthier and more sustainable future.
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