According to McKinsey insights, generative AI – a more advanced version of AI that uses deep-learning models to aid more comprehensive learning – will create up to €4.4bn ($4.1bn) in global revenue within the next two years.
Meanwhile, within the confectionery sector specifically, Gitnux Market data indicates that AI’s use in confectionery will grow 25% annually over the next five years.
So how are today’s confectioners exploring how technology can help them keep up with changing trends and stay competitive in the confectionery market?
Global chocolate giant Mondelēz International uses the advancing technology to assist in its formulation creation. Using AI as part of its recipe development has led to the launch of 70 new product SKUs. The firm’s AI product development (AIPD tool) works two to five times faster than traditional methods, enabling the multinational chocolate developer to bring new products to market at a quicker rate.
Human-centric, AI-powered confectionery
Nearly a third (30%) of confectionery companies use AI to optimise their supply chains to assist in managing their operations and logistics. Confectioners also use AI to personalise sweet treat development, engage in interesting storytelling and marketing campaigns, innovate new taste profiles, assist in climate change goals, automate manufacturing and customer service needs and engage with packaging design practices.
Flavour is a pivotal area where AI is helping confectioners launch new, tasty formulations that reflect current consumer trends. Described as “like having a crystal ball for flavour trends”, AI can sort through vast amounts of industry data, such as consumer reviews and social media hype, to identify new flavour trends. Identifying popular flavour interests as they emerge enables companies to jump on these in their storyboards and development plans.
Within Mondelēz’s new product development efforts, AI is very much that, a part of the confectionery formulation process. “We do not, strictly speaking, launch ‘AI recipes’,” says Desiree Battaglia, Global Media Relations Manager at Mondelēz International. “We do have recipes that have gone through the AIPD process on the market, but all of these recipes had a human touch throughout the process,” Battaglia adds.
Mondelēz draws on combining human creativity and innovation with AI’s supportive capabilities. “We believe that a product developer empowered with AI can build stronger recipes than a developer or AI alone,” she says.
Confectioners using AI in the product development and marketing process
● Food tech company NotCo has developed a new cocoa-free chocolate bar using its AI tool, Giuseppe. The platform works by analysing the molecular structure of ingredients to identify new ways to create appealing chocolate minus cocoa due to the increased pressures on its supply chain.
● Indian confectionery brand Pulse Candy has combined AI storytelling with physical immersive experiences to launch its Maha Kumbh 2025 campaign, blending tech with real-life experiences.
● Haribo partnered with consumer experience provider Agency 72 to enhance its content creation, promotions and digital experiences. In September 2024, the chewy sweet brand launched its new travel-themed customer engagement initiative, a ‘Giant Wheel of Fortune and the Uncover More Fun game’ across European airports.
● Confectionery spice manufacturer Ofi uses AI as part of its flavour development efforts, using the advancing technology to identify new cocoa trends and inform future formulations.
More efficiency, less waste
Digital technologies like AI and machine learning help reduce the number of samples confectionery brands typically generate throughout the traditional research and development process. For startups, growing brands and multinational companies, managing and minimising samples opens up resources for other opportunities.
“This helps save on both time and cost, which opens up our R&D team to pursue other projects,” says Battaglia. AI can also help brands achieve a better tasting, higher quality product, which provides a more satisfying finished product and experience to confectionery consumers.
A developer must manage many variables throughout the process. Cost, nutritional elements and the consumer’s experience are all factors a developer must consider, in addition to hundreds of ingredients and many prototypes. Reducing the burden and resource-heavy nature of the developer’s role is a significant driver behind the adoption and interest in AI in confectionery production and innovation.
Mondelēz’s AI product development (AIPD) tool determines how its formulas impact sensory attributes and appeal. In addition, it also identifies and provides information on pricing, nutrition and the ability to build new constraints around other essential elements in the evolving consumer landscape.
The confectioner’s AI tool can factor in all these elements, solve the equations to ensure it meets its targets and find optimal solutions. “The tool helps alleviate much of the manual calculations and factors in a more efficient way than a human can at once,” notes Battaglia.
A developer can then sort through the AI recommendations and use their knowledge base and insights to work through the process more effectively. It strives to provide out-of-the-box solutions that developers may not have thought of on their own. “The machine does not alienate or replace the developer; rather, there’s a strong human-machine relationship that enables the developer to improve outcomes,” Battaglia adds.
