AI meets nature: Balancing innovative tech with transparent nutrition solutions
Nutrition companies embrace AI’s potential to enhance product development, efficiency, sustainability, and cost savings. At the same time, they need to ensure AI-enabled innovations meet consumer demands for natural and transparent solutions as part of guaranteeing the technology’s ethical use.
Nutrition Insight meets with Bayer Consumer Health and Nuritas experts to discuss how AI is revolutionizing nutrition by merging technology with nature.
Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas, expects AI to be a critical part of food, beverage, and supplement innovations. “We’ll see more AI-driven ingredient discovery addressing more specific consumer health needs.”
She stresses that AI doesn’t replace traditional ingredients but makes them stronger. “By using AI to refine and enhance what nature already provides, we can create a future where food and supplements are more effective, sustainable, and transparent. Brands that embrace AI as a tool for discovery will be the ones leading the way in the next era of ingredient innovation.”
Cristina Nitulescu, head of Digital Transformation and IT at Bayer’s Consumer Health Division, says AI can be transformative for businesses. She reiterates that the technology will enable faster development of products and solutions across all industries and can improve manufacturing.
Nuritas introduced AI to discover and develop new cost-effective and sustainable ingredients that support well-being.
“However, Bayer believes that viewing it as more than just a tool can lead to the misconception that it is a standalone solution, separate from the actual business outcomes we aim to address. AI is a rapidly evolving topic, and as an organization, Bayer’s Consumer Health is continually evaluating how this paradigm-shifting technology can be used to serve our consumers and customers better.”
Enhancing product development
Nitulescu details how Bayer uses generative AI to automate pre-diligence and opportunity assessments, making them more efficient, faster, and lower cost.
“Generative AI is also helping boost our scientists’ efficiency by integrating data and enabling them to ask higher-quality questions. We are also using it to structure literature searches and facilitate deeper analysis of existing research.”
“All these measures are helping us improve the quality of innovation and bring them to customers and consumers faster,” she adds.
At its start ten years ago, biotech company Nuritas introduced AI to discover and develop new cost-effective and sustainable ingredients that support well-being.
“Ingredients are the foundation of any food, but many currently used were created decades ago, primarily for taste and cost. They often don’t align with modern consumer demands for health and nutrition,” says Khaldi.
She adds that, traditionally, such discovery processes took decades and cost millions. “AI allows us to accelerate this process.”
“Our proprietary platform, Magnifier, uses advanced machine learning and our extensive dataset of molecules to identify natural peptides with specific health benefits. These molecules are optimized for stability and scalability, ensuring they perform in real-world food applications.”
The experts highlight the need for transparent and ethical use of AI to gain consumer trust.
Natural AI?
A recent consumer survey suggested supplement users are generally optimistic about using AI in nutrition and providing dietary advice. However, 68% of supplement consumers said a product made with AI should not be described as natural.
The experts at Nuritas and Bayer don’t see AI as incompatible with natural or traditional products. Khaldi highlights the possibility of simultaneously innovating and satisfying consumer demand for natural or traditional products.
“There’s a misconception that AI replaces nature, but in reality, it helps us at Nuritas better understand and harness what’s already in nature. Rather than creating artificial compounds, AI helps us identify the most effective natural components, allowing us to enhance what nature already offers.”
Nitulescu adds that AI can help Bayer innovate to meet consumer demand for natural and traditional products faster and better.
“AI can also help put consumers in greater control by helping them understand, treat, and manage their health better with personalized solutions.”
For example, Bayer recently announced its plans to acquire German-based HiDoc Technologies in the spring of 2025 and commercialize the company’s digital health app — Cara Care — for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
“It’s the first prescribed digital health AI-powered application for IBS patients and helps patients better understand their condition, gain control over their symptoms, and achieve a better quality of life,” says Nitulescu. “It recommends a multidisciplinary model that includes plant-based medicine, psychology, and dietary recommendations.”
Transparent innovations
The experts stress the need for transparency in innovation and emerging technologies like AI to gain and maintain consumer trust and confidence.
“With rapid advancements in AI, we recognize the need for thoughtful deliberation on ethical implications,” says Nitulescu.
“This includes minimizing bias, safeguarding privacy, fostering transparency, and ensuring accountability. We welcome the efforts of external organizations in developing universally recognized and acceptable standards.”
Khaldi says companies should be clear about AI’s purpose in enhancing product quality and efficacy instead of viewing it as “something behind the scenes.” She adds that using AI is part of a commitment to science-backed, data-driven formulations that serve consumer needs.
She highlights Nuritas’s PeptiStrong solution, derived from fava beans, as a good example. “While fava beans themselves may offer direct health benefits, we use AI to isolate peptides within them that improve muscle health, strength, and bone density. Through our technology, we made these peptides accessible, stable, and effective for human consumption.”
Nitulescu expects AI’s regulatory landscape and governance to change significantly as countries expand their legislative frameworks.
“Old ingredients usually are not built for consumer demand; they’re built to provide a taste or a texture. But there’s a clear consumer demand moving forward; we want to be stronger and extend our well-being and health.”
Regulatory developments
The fast development of AI is both an opportunity and a concern, with governments developing initiatives to manage, nurture, and regulate it. For example, the EU passed the first major AI legislation in 2024 to limit AI systems based on their assessed risks to society.
Khaldi says that regulatory frameworks must evolve alongside AI, which is developing rapidly. “One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that regulations don’t stifle innovation while maintaining safety and efficacy standards.”
“Regulators should work closely with industry experts,” she suggests. “Creating AI advisory boards, fostering industry collaboration, and investing in regulatory tech expertise will help ensure policies remain adaptive and forward-thinking.”
Nitulescu expects AI’s regulatory landscape and governance to change significantly as countries expand their legislative frameworks. She also stresses the importance of ethical and responsible use of AI.
“It’s an adept and highly useful tool for analyzing large amounts of immense data and suggesting actionable insights. But we treat AI as a complementary tool to human judgment, rather than a replacement for it.”
“We still need that human element, particularly when evaluating strategic insights, making decisions based on nuances, or considering ethical aspects,” Nitulescu urges.
