Artificial intelligence aims to disrupt a century-old industry.
The search for ways to get consumers to buy packaged goods dates back to the 1920s, when American psychologist Daniel Starch created the world’s first market research study.
Today, the global market research industry is worth an estimated $87.7 billion and is expected to grow by an additional $15 billion over the next four years, with the rise of artificial intelligence a major contributing factor. Ai Palette is a company that hopes to lead this revolution.
Founded in Singapore in 2018, the startup offers AI-powered market research with real-time predictive analytics. Rival companies include ZoomInfo Sales, Trajaan and Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence, all of which deploy a variety of technologies to comb through consumer data and marketing trends.
Using more than 61 billion data points from 24 countries, Ai Palette’s four-year-old platform generates new concepts for brands based on identified trends, transforming traditional market research.
Somsubhra Gan Choudhuri, co-founder and CEO of Ai Palette, said AI can absorb a lot of the brain power usually used by people.
“For example, a company wants to launch a new juice in a market like Thailand, our platform will tell them what type of juice they should launch, as well as how they should position it, for it to succeed in the market,” a- he declared. told CNBC’s “CNBC Tech: The Edge.”
“And we do this by using the power of artificial intelligence by analyzing big data around food to identify the latest trends,” he added.
Before co-founding Ai Palette, Choudhuri worked in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.
He said companies are increasingly unable to keep up with rapidly changing consumer tastes and are unable to predict popular trends from year to year.
“That’s when I discovered AI and machine learning. As I learned more, it became clear to me that it was only a matter of time before AI impacted every industry,” Choudhuri said.
The major manufacturers are on board
Part of Ai Palette’s technology includes the ability to analyze up to 39 different factors to predict the future trajectory of a trend.
This has attracted the attention of some of the world’s biggest food and beverage brands, such as Diageo, NestleAnd PepsiCo.
Symrise, a company that works with brands to make ingredients and products such as fragrances, uses Ai Palette to pull data from various sources, such as social media and online reviews. A single analysis is then published for the manufacturer to interpret.
Food brand Pringles, known for its flavored chips sold in 140 countries around the world, is also using Ai Palette to understand snacking preferences in four different markets. The platform has helped introduce localized products to the developing markets of Thailand and Indonesia.
Cereal giant Kelloggmeanwhile, used Ai Palette during the Covid-19 pandemic to browse online content from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in four languages. The cereal maker has successfully identified trending food recipes and incorporated them into new breakfast cereals, like the Crispy Squid flavor.
Despite technological advances, traditional methods remain part of the process, said Conor Delahunty, vice president of Global Sensory & Consumer Insights at Symrise.
One essential element remains, at least until now, beyond the clutches of automation and technology.
“We still need to taste the product, because our artificial intelligence can’t do it yet,” Delahunty said.
Public and private support
As AI development accelerates, so does investor interest. Venture capital firm 500 Global invests in entrepreneurs it believes are creating game-changing businesses. He has backed more than 2,900 startups with a combined portfolio valuation of more than $300 billion.
Vishal Harnal, global managing partner of 500 Global, has an eye for startups focused on a “very specific sector” and that are “tackle big problems that maybe no one is interested in right now.”
Ai Palette ticked its boxes for an investment.
“What they really liked is that we’re trying to disrupt a very large, traditional industry like consumer packaged goods, where the businesses are very traditional and there hasn’t been a lot of disruption.” , Choudhuri said.
Alongside venture capitalists, Ai Palette has benefited from the support of the Singapore government, which is dedicating more than three quarters of a billion Singapore dollars ($7,500,000) to the development of AI to strengthen its ecosystem. ‘AI.
The startup too raised $5.7 million in a March funding roundwith funding earmarked for the expansion of its AI analytics tool and a new chatbot “FoodGPT”.