Dive Brief:
- Becks is producing the world’s first beer and full marketing campaign made with artificial intelligence, the company said in a statement.
- The AB InBev-owned brand said the beer, called Beck’s Autonomous, was selected by AI as its favorite among millions of different flavor combinations it generated. The “futuristic concoction” contains water, malts, hops, yeast and AI.
- Similar to other business sectors, food and beverage companies are more aggressively using AI to expedite product development or plan for the future.
Dive Insight:
As Beck’s celebrates its storied past, the beer is using a futuristic-like technology to do it.
The German beer leaned into AI to create the limited-edition Beck’s Autonomous to celebrate its 150-year milestone. The technology was not only used to generate the recipe and the name, but also to design the logo, container and advertising campaign. Beck’s is releasing just 450 Autonomous limited-edition beers across Germany, Italy, and the UK.
“After being at the forefront of the brewing world for 150 years, this represents the next step in our journey,” Laura Salway, marketing director at Becks, said in a statement. “It’s been fascinating to see Beck’s Autonomous come to life and how we can continue to embrace new technology in the industry and across brand communications.
Once the future, artificial intelligence has become an even bigger part of the present for more food and beverage makers. Mars, for example, entered a multi-year agreement with artificial intelligence-driven life sciences company PIPA last April to accelerate the discovery of new plant-based ingredients.
McCormick & Co. partnered with IBM four years ago to comb through data faster and more effectively by knowing which ingredients work together or which ones can be used as substitutes for each other. It has released several products so far. Other uses of AI in food and beverage include planning for future demand and determining the best conditions or processes to manufacturer a product.
The use of these tools is attractive to CPGs for several reasons, but ultimately it boils down to dollars and cents. With artificial intelligence, businesses can increase the output, quality and reliability of what comes out of their factories.
In the case of Beck’s Autonomous, it creates a new and novel product that generates publicity and taps into the red-hot AI trend, enabling the brew to stand out from its competitors.
The creation of Beck’s Autonomous, however, could have a much longer-lasting impact. Beck’s could decide to make the beer a permanent fixture, incorporate AI into its future innovation practices based on what it’s learned here, or use flavors discarded in the making of Beck’s Autonomous in future brews.
