Silicon Valley-based food and beverage innovation firm Mattson has made a significant leap in the realm of product development by appointing a chief AI officer and unveiling a suite of AI-enhanced services. The company claims these new tools can both enhance and dramatically speed up the product development process. The announcement was made by Steve Gundrum, the chairman and newly appointed chief AI officer, who has been at the forefront of tech-driven innovation at Mattson for over three decades.
Gundrum explained that while anyone with a ChatGPT account can generate a concept and packaging design for a new high-protein snack or caffeine-laden energy drink, Mattson’s customized AI services offer a distinct edge. These services, developed via its ProtoThink cloud-based innovation platform and Food Studio Ideation service, are specifically tailored for food industry professionals. “A lot of our clients come to us and say they’ve tried using off-the-shelf AI and in many cases, don’t feel it’s very powerful or helpful,” said Gundrum. “And then they see what we’re able to do with our customized models, and it completely changes their perspective.”
The ProtoThink AI platform and its associated tools, like the AI-powered assistant ‘Leo’ and highly customized AI personas, aim to streamline the innovation process. These tools can develop concepts at a fraction of the cost and time of legacy techniques. “If you’re using off-the-shelf generic ChatGPT to develop product ideas, your prompt engineering skills need to be really high, really refined, and multi-conditional. With ProtoThink AI, a lot of the heavy lifting is being done in the background by the model, so you can interact with the AI models in a natural language way and still get incredible results,” Gundrum added.
The AI personas, dubbed ‘The Magnificent Seven,’ are another standout feature. These personas are essentially AI-generated experts with decades of experience in specific fields, such as a food scientist who has studied the dairy category for 20 years or a chef specializing in seafood. “We optimize the models to be an instructor at the CIA [Culinary Institute of America] with 20 years’ experience or maybe a chef who specializes in preparing seafood, or a consumer insights person who’s got 20 years of doing research in a certain category,” Gundrum elaborated. This customization ensures that the responses generated by the AI are highly relevant and insightful for food industry professionals.
Mattson also leverages AI to create target consumers that clients can interact with, or observe interacting with other AI-generated peers. These interactions can unlock intimate insights that go beyond what traditional focus groups might reveal. For instance, Gundrum shared an example where he created two personas: a 42-year-old woman reluctant to disclose her use of Ozempic for weight loss and a therapist helping her navigate her issues. “We simulated hour-long therapy sessions where she’s talking to the therapist to understand why she doesn’t want to tell anybody,” he said.
The AI-powered assistant Leo, which went live in December 2023, plays a crucial role in guiding clients through a structured ideation process. Leo analyzes market trends, consumer behaviors, and sustainability considerations from both proprietary and publicly available data, ensuring that new concepts are innovative and aligned with market demands. ProtoThink AI can also perform a TURF analysis (Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency) to optimize the market penetration and effectiveness of a given concept.
The adoption of AI in product development varies widely among CPG companies, according to Gundrum. Larger companies tend to be slower to react, often forming committees to evaluate AI, which can delay implementation. Mattson CEO Dr. Justin Shimek noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic and recent inflationary pressures had temporarily stymied innovation, the focus is now back on developing new products. “Companies have realized that the only way they can continue to fuel their business is through innovation,” Shimek said.
Mattson will be hosting sessions at its San Mateo headquarters on September 10 and at its Chicago offices on October 1, where guests can create new food or beverage concepts using the ProtoThink AI tool. This initiative underscores Mattson’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of food innovation through cutting-edge technology.