AI: A World Of Potential At Food Manufacturers Fingertips

Manufacturers across the food and beverage space have touted AI technologies.

The technology is being used across operations to cut costs, craft new items and better market products.

Off the back of our showcase of how manufacturers recognised as having 'lighthouse' sites by the World Economic Forum are using AI, Manufacturing Digital set out to showcase the impact AI is having in the food & beverage verticals. 

Focusing on two specific companies: Unilever and Ishido. 

Unilever

Unilever has adopted AI across its manufacturing operations. It has a AI-powered customer connectivity model which provides collaborative planning and forecasting, capable of running more than 13 billion computations per day. 

The first pilot of this model in Walmart with Mexico increased product availability at point of sale to 98%. 

Now being rolled out across 30 key global customers, starting in the UK and US, the AI has been part of Unilever's drive to be more digital.

“Technology advancements are creating opportunities for people to experiment more,” says Juan Carlos Parada, Global Head of Customer Operations.

“We’ve been on a path to not just ‘do’ digital but rather ‘be’ digital. We’re moving into an environment where meaningful portions of the work are getting done by machines, guided by people. It’s a mindset shift that is leading to some real breakthrough thinking.”

This mindset shift has also informed the creation of a new AI-enabled tool at Hellmann's, the world-famous mayonnaise brand owned by Unilever.

Hellmann's new AI-enabled tool 'Meal Reveal' is designed to help households use up more of the food in their fridges with great tasting recipes. 

Created in collaboration with Google Cloud, the tool allows users to scan the ingredients in their fridge and access delicious recipe ideas to match those ingredients. 

'Meal Reveal' is helping customers reduce food waste and discover more satisfying ways to experience Hellmann's product range.

"People never set out wanting to throw food away," says Christina Bauer-Plank, Hellmann’s Global VP.

"Food waste is an unintended consequence of our busy lives, where we look in the fridge after a long day and see disparate ingredients but nothing to eat. We saw an opportunity here to create a straightforward, easy to use tool.

"Meal Reveal is powered by the latest Google technology where a simple scan of the leftover ingredients lets you see the delicious potential in your fridge, in the palm of your hand.”

“Our generative AI technology has the power to create everyday solutions for people everywhere," says Laurence Lafont, current COO of Septeo, former Vice President, Strategic Industries EMEA, Google Cloud.

"As part of our longstanding partnership with Hellmann’s, we were excited to create the innovative solution Meal Reveal to a persistent challenge of seeing the possibilities of the food in our fridge. In its nascent stage, the more people use Meal Reveal, the more the tool will learn ingredients in our fridges and help provide the best recipes to use up what we already have.”

Ishida

Ishida, the leading Japanese food packaging manufacturer has just announced a new AI-driven remote production monitoring and reporting software called Sentinel 5.0.

Sentinel 5.0, the successor to Ishida's Sentinel software combines comprehensive data capture and performance monitoring to deliver food manufacturers a more intelligent, consolidated analysis of their food production lines. 

Critical to this software is its capacity for machine learning, with Sentinel 5.0 connecting and communicating with both non-Ishida and Ishida machines to 'learn' how the production line operates. 

Then, embodying Industry 5.0 principles of human-machine collaboration, Sentinel 5.0 can offer data-driven performance improvement suggestions and alerts for operators.

These include informing them and explaining why machines aren't working at maximum capacity.

Ian Hodgson, Systems General Manager at Ishida Europe, says: “We know food manufacturers worldwide are always looking at how to get the most from their food production and packing equipment and optimise their processing and packing lines for best performance.

"That’s why we’ve developed Sentinel 5.0.

“Sentinel 5.0 essentially makes it easier than ever before for food manufacturers to obtain smarter insights from their machines and entire production lines.

"It provides a platform for much more joined-up thinking, and with the AI within the software, it is possible to optimise performance, without operators having to alter settings themselves. The result is better throughput, less potential for product giveaway and waste, and ultimately, better value and profit.”

Sentinel 5.0 also enables food manufactures to easily troubleshoot weighing, inspection and packing systems through its 5.0 AI chatbot.

With a growing machine learning database and machine manuals, operators can quickly and remotely diagnose issues without needing to contact Ishida engineers.

Sentinel 5.0 also provides X-ray inspection and stores checkweighing data in the cloud, two features which augment its AI. 

Like Unilever, Ishida is pursuing AI innovation that better supports the needs and goals of customers- both inside and outside the food manufacturing space. 

"With Sentinel 5.0, we give food manufacturers the ability to harness that data and use it to drive improved performance," Ian concluded.

"We are truly pushing new boundaries with machine learning, and we’re continuing to add to the capabilities of Sentinel 5.0."

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