ChatGPT Cooks Up Innovative Food Concepts
Inspired to create a new food category or improve your own product line? Look no further than ChatGPT as your creative sidekick.
Recently a friend of mine, Jim MacLeod, published a LinkedIn article titled “AI is Developing Creative Abilities Exceeding Human Capabilities”. The premise blows my mind. A year ago the general AI chat we have come to know, ChatGPT, was released. Only one later, and now it is becoming more creative that we are? I had to see this.
Since I have been working with food and beverage companies I have observed some companies who produce products that are similar to those already in the market, and other companies who invent wholly new ideas. Not to mention the in-betweeners who make products which are an evolution of what currently exists. There are always new ways to leverage ChatGPT and Jim’s article inspired me to see how one could use AI to develop ideas for new products.
While what I present below should be enhanced and verified with proprietary data from industry research, this is a way to show you how you could do some brainstorming and research using readily available tools like ChatGPT. I highlight the ChatGPT direct outputs in light blue.
The Current Artisan Food Landscape
The first thing was to find out what are currently the most popular artisan food categories (based on information ChatGPT has been trained on to date - up to early 2022) to orient ChatGPT’s “frame of mind”. While ChatGPT does “hallucinate” sometimes, the list below looks pretty accurate for the current food landscape, except for the exclusion of functional beverages (which may be difficult to put into one category):
Artisanal Cheeses
Craft Beer
Small-Batch Hot Sauces
Gourmet Chocolates
Artisanal Coffee
Homemade Jams & Preserves
Sourdough Bread
New Food Company Ideas with ChatGPT
I can think of many craft food companies who fit into the categories above and make mouth watering products which I love. We are so fortunate in the Pacific Northwest that our shelves are stocked with these tasty choices, but I want to know what could be a differentiated product. So, I ask ChatGPT, which has been trained on the entire internet, to develop some ideas around items that do not yet exist in the artisan food marketplace. Here is what it returns, along with descriptions. You can see my “human” evaluation of the ideas below this section, but I include all the ChatGPT outputs, even the questionable ones (Alternate Reality Foods? Not really a food.) so you can see what ChatGPT is capable of, and sometimes mediocre ideas can still inspire better ones:
Mood-Based Foods: Develop products formulated to support specific moods. Think “Relaxation Brownies” infused with chamomile and lavender, or “Energizing Muesli” with matcha and ginseng.
Flavor-Morphing Snacks: A single snack that starts off with one flavor and ends with another. Imagine a chip that begins as tangy lime and transitions to smoky BBQ!
Eco-Friendly Edible Packaging: Edible containers or wrappings for foods. This could be especially appealing for on-the-go snacks. Less waste, more taste!
Hyper-Local Ingredients: Consider sourcing ingredients from specific micro-climates within the Pacific Northwest, then branding and marketing based on that uniqueness. "Olympic Peninsula Pine Nut Pesto", anyone?
Interactive Foods: Create products that encourage consumers to play with their food. This could range from DIY fermentation kits to "paint-your-own" cookie canvases with edible colors.
Flavor Capsules: Small, dissolvable capsules that release different flavors when added to bland foods or drinks. Want your oatmeal to taste like tiramisu today and mango-chili tomorrow? No problem!
Desserts for Breakfast: A line of morning foods inspired by classic desserts but balanced in nutrition. Think "Cheesecake Yogurt Parfait" or "Crème Brûlée Oatmeal".
Globally-Inspired Fusion: While fusion foods exist, there's always room for unique combinations. How about Scandinavian-Japanese fusion, resulting in sushi rolls with pickled herring and dill?
Tech-Enhanced Branding: Integrate technology in a fun way. Perhaps QR codes on packaging that lead to an AR or VR experience, giving a virtual farm tour showing where ingredients are sourced.
Ancient Grains Revival: The Pacific Northwest's rich soil could be ideal for experimenting with forgotten grains, turning them into modern delights.
Alternate Reality Foods: A touch of the fantastical – create a brand based on fictional worlds. “Hobbiton Honeycakes” or “Narnian Nectar Drinks” could provide escapism through cuisine.
The Human Evaluation
Okay. Interesting list. Now, I am going to give them an initial evaluation with a 1-3 “cherry rating” based upon how novel the idea is and if it seems to even make sense at first look.
Mood-Based Foods
🍒 🍒 | Interesting idea which could have some merit. Functional foods exist as a category, but perhaps currently they are more oriented toward supporting physical health vs. mental health. The CBD category currently reigns, but there are plenty of people who want these types of functional foods without CBD. The Mayo Clinic has a pretty good list of the types of foods which increase dopamine and serotonin. I would love a snack that made me more happy or more calm with just plant-based ingredients.
Flavor-Morphing Snacks
🍒 🍒 🍒 | Okay, this is something I have experienced before in snacks that are chocolate covered, and while it would involve a lot of experimentation I like the idea of a snack that is an expansive food journey with each bite. Fun!
Eco-Friendly Edible Packaging
| On the surface this seems like such a bland and awful idea! Imagine a naturally flavored wrapping which actually tasted good? I don’t know how this could be healthy or have good texture though. Zero cherries!
Hyper-Local Ingredients
🍒 | Not terribly “new”. I love local foods, but in terms of something new, this market has several players locally. However, an existing company could certainly add this component into their products to improve its appeal. Ingredient origin is an interesting differentiator; for big company example Rao’s tomato sourcing, but more hyper local think of things like Bandon, OR cranberries and San Juan Island sea salt.
Interactive Foods
🍒 | There are many companies which already do this like The Minnow, but the experiential market is still a good place to be. In this digital world people continue to look for in-person interaction and educational experiences.
Flavor Capsules
🍒🍒 | Well, that is not something I have seen before. However, I am not sure how this is different than using natural oils, spices, flavors, etc. You would just have to find ways to make of natural ingredients, and to introduce the product in an accessible way. Maybe ChatGPT can expound on it (see the end).
Desserts for Breakfast
🍒🍒 | An interesting idea for an existing company to add to their breakfast line. Companies like Breakfast Cure are already experimenting in similar ways. The possibilities are endless.
Globally-Inspired Fusion
🍒🍒🍒 | For sure, people love these types of foods, and there are already many examples out there. But, by combining flavors from different cultures there could always be more innovation and the possibilities here are endless. So, I give this one three cherries.
Tech-Enhanced Branding
| This has nothing to do with the type of food, but is an idea for existing companies, especially with the oncoming Metaverse. It would be interesting and perhaps powerful for real food companies to tell their story in VR, and bring the customer into their farm, manufacturing facility, or founder’s life. This is more of a distant future play when VR creation and consumption becomes more affordable. For now, we have video and QR codes, which brands should be using.
Ancient Grains Revival
🍒🍒 | Some companies have brought back ancient grains (think farro, quinoa, etc.), but there is probably more room for experimentation with grains from around the world.
Alternate Reality Foods
| Meh. I think you would get into copyright and trademark issues, and this type of idea is not really a long term play.
Fun AI Image Break
New product category images generated by Mid-Journey.
Market Competition
Now I am curious what ChatGPT thinks would be the most to least competitive markets to bring new products into and it returns the list below in order from least competitive to most, along with potential US revenue for the entire category. Moving forward I removed any ideas that were scored with zero cherries above. What is interesting here is that some of the ideas which are the least new like Global Fusion and Ancient Grains still have a decent sized market so there could be market share there.
On the revenue side ChatGPT was very cautious and offered some good advice:
Estimating potential revenue requires a deep dive into multiple factors, such as target demographic size, product pricing, market adoption rate, and more. Without access to real-time data or detailed market analysis tools, I can only provide rough, speculative estimates based on prior knowledge up to 2022 and general industry trends.
Ancient Grains Revival: $50-$150 million. The health and organic foods sector is sizable, and if these grains become trendy, there's good revenue potential.
Flavor-Morphing Snacks: $40-$120 million. Novelty snacks have a strong initial pull, especially among younger demographics.
Flavor Capsules: $20-$80 million. The market may be restricted by the necessity of compatible foods/drinks and consumer adoption rate.
Globally-Inspired Fusion: $70-$200 million. Fusion foods can attract a broad audience, especially if they're in popular categories like fast-casual dining.
Interactive Foods: $60-$180 million. DIY trends and experiential dining are on the rise, which can drive up potential revenue.
Hyper-Local Ingredients: $80-$250 million. The local and farm-to-table movements are strong, and consumers often pay a premium for perceived freshness and sustainability.
Desserts for Breakfast: $100-$300 million. Given the already established market for breakfast goods, reinventing with a dessert twist has potential.
Mood-Based Foods: $200-$600 million. The wellness and functional foods sector has been booming, with consumers seeking added benefits from their food.
Barriers To Entry
One more area to look at is how hard it is to enter the market, especially in terms of the R&D needed. So, I asked ChatGPT to rank these categories in order of required R&D and new category introduction, and here is what I received back from easiest to most challenging:
Interactive Foods
Desserts for Breakfast
Globally-Inspired Fusion
Hyper-Local Ingredients
Ancient Grains Revival
Flavor-Morphing Snacks
Flavor Capsules
Mood-Based Foods
New Food Categories Ranked
Now that I have some data I want to see how each of the categories ranks using a system that scores them based upon a total which awards ranked points for lower competition, ease for newcomers, potential revenue range, and my human “cherry score” (changed to my own subjective 1-8 ranking). Here is what ChatGPT produced:
Ancient Grains Revival (27 points)
Globally-Inspired Fusion (26 points)
Flavor-Morphing Snacks (25 points)
Desserts for Breakfast (19 points)
Flavor Capsules (13 points)
Mood-Based Foods (12 points)
Interactive Foods (12 points)
Hyper-Local Ingredients (10 points)
New Food Product Brainstorm
Finally, initially I started this post by talking about how ChatGPT has become more creative, so let’s see how it does at creating new products. For a jumping off point, here are the ones that at first look seem to have the most potential of the top four categories:
Ancient Grains
Teff Breakfast Pudding Kit: A DIY kit with Teff grain, traditionally used in Ethiopian injera, paired with flavor packets like cocoa or berry to create morning puddings.
Multi-Grain Crunch Clusters: A mix of ancient grains like quinoa, millet, and amaranth formed into bite-sized clusters, lightly sweetened.
Globally-Inspired Fusion
Peruvian-Korean BBQ Wraps: Peruvian-style marinated meats grilled and served with Korean kimchi and wrapped in lettuce or seaweed.
Mediterranean Miso Dip: Miso blended with Mediterranean ingredients like olives and sun-dried tomatoes for a unique spread or dip.
Flavor-Morphing Snacks
Minty Mango Gummies: Gummy candies that initiate a cool mint sensation and gradually unveil a tangy mango core.
Honey-to-Ginger Popcorn: Popcorn kernels coated in a layer that starts with the sweetness of honey but ends with the spicy warmth of ginger.
Desserts for Breakfast
Savory Cheesecake Toast Spread: Spreadable cheesecake in savory flavors like bacon or herb, designed for morning toast.
Toffee Almond Oatmeal Packets: Instant oatmeal packets with toffee-flavored oats and almond pieces.
In Conclusion
The lists above are a really interesting way to start thinking about potential new ventures or expansion of existing ones. One thing that comes to mind is the fusion of a couple categories such as Ancient Grains which could be combined with any of Globally Inspired Fusion, Desserts for Breakfast, or Mood-Based Foods. Or an entrepreneur could combine Flavor Morphing Snacks with Globally Inspired Fusion. One commonality that stands out is giving customers new flavors and texture, and the continued focus on healthy foods.
I am curious to hear what you think about what I have presented and hope it gives you some ideas on how to improve your product line or start a new one. Maybe you use this as a jumping off point to consider the direction to take your company.
I invite you to schedule a Free 20-Minute Coffee Break with me to talk about this or any other ideas or challenges you have in your company. Let’s chat!
Bonus Content
Head over to my ChatGPT “conversation” where you can see the prompts I used, understand the modifications, and go in depth (near the end) with how the AI sees the Flavor Capsule idea’s potential. You can also continue the conversation and take it directions more relevant to you, and it will remember the pieces that came before.
Have fun exploring!
