Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I have over 15 years of experience in the food industry, working in R&D, product development, and production. One of my main areas of focus is improving the functionality and efficiency of food ingredients to reduce formula costs. As part of my new responsibilities, I am reviewing new AI-based tools and software recommended for R&D, product development, nutritional analysis, and supply chain and distribution in the food industry. I have over 8 years of experience in functional drinks, including high protein drinks, energy drinks, and drinks recommended for gut health and immune systems (immune shots). 

Q2. What is the one shift in ingredient innovation that is materially changing product development decisions today, and why is it accelerating now rather than five years ago? 

1.    Natural clean label ingredients: Due to new regulatory concerns and rules (starting 2028), most CPG companies have begun reformulating some of their products to minimize artificial/synthetic ingredients and additives (flavors, sweeteners, colors, emulsifiers and stabilizers, preservatives, etc.) with natural alternatives. Such transition is one of the main consumer and market demands nowadays, pushing companies to invest more in it. 
2.    Another shift is to switch from traditional ingredients to those produced through (precise) fermentation, focusing more on sustainability practices. The main goal is to address concerns about supply chain disruption caused by geopolitical changes. 
3.    Another shift is to replace some of the harsh chemical processing, such as solvent- or chemical-based extraction, with physical processes, aiming to minimize chemical use in food processing, especially for extraction and purification. 
4.    Improve ingredient functionality and stability to minimize use levels and formulation costs.   

Q3. What breakthrough in stabilization or protection of actives do you think will define the next generation of functional drinks?

Current functional drinks may contain probiotics, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, herbal or botanical extracts, and other active compounds. Still, there are major stability concerns about these ingredients, which significantly affect their function and efficiency. This pushes the manufacturer to overage, adding such ingredients to the formula, thereby increasing costs. Innovative technologies are considered to address such stability issues and enable the next generation of functional drinks with greater efficiency at lower cost. 

Q4. What consumer trend looks powerful in market data but is hardest to deliver technically in beverages?

Using natural, fully clean-label ingredients throughout the label, especially for low-PH functional drinks with an expected shelf life of over 6 months, as there are significant stability concerns about these ingredients after 3-4 months of storage. I am referring especially to natural colorants, preservatives, and also emulsifiers/stabilizers, as well as flavors used in such functional drinks. Another consumer demand is to find alternatives to caffeine in many functional drinks, which is very challenging. 

Q5. How do clean-label requirements meaningfully constraint formulation choices or margins, and how are leaders managing that trade-off? 

This is one of the major challenges because using natural clean labels increases costs, reduces product shelf life and stability, and raises long-term concerns about product quality. Therefore, most leaders and senior managers are seeking new technologies to address such issues, especially in the long term. 

Q6. Where is AI materially improving ingredient discovery or delivery-system design today, and where is it still not delivering meaningful advantage? 

Most big companies in the food industry have started investing in AI, but they are not aggressive enough because they have significant uncertainty about final results; therefore, they allocate only a minimum budget and resources in this area, with very high expectations, especially in the short term. Using AI to solve such critical issues and concerns requires time, budget, and sufficient resources, especially when building robust databases across multiple trials. 

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management? 

My question is: what makes senior management allocate a minimum budget to explore AI-based platforms, especially for R&D and product development, while every other industrial segment is investing more and more in AI-based platforms to minimize costs, labor, and time for R&D and product development? What technical or feasibility risks prevent them from allocating more budget in this area? What ROI do they expect while investing in an AI-based platform to feel safe and confident about their investment?