AI-powered snacking: How Rivalz and Ingredion revolutionize healthy, reduced-sugar foods

As AI transforms the food industry, Rivalz Snacks and Ingredion explore the technology to create healthier snacking solutions — reducing fat and sugar content and increasing nutrient density. Both companies balance cutting-edge technology with transparent and clean label innovations to meet consumer demand for natural food options. 

Nutrition Insight explores how Rivalz Snacks and Ingredion use AI to create tasty, natural, low-sugar, and healthier snacks. 

Erica Bliss Pattni, chief marketing officer at Rivalz Snacks, says the company is the first to apply AI to the cooker extruder to create satisfying, vegan, nutrient-dense salty snacks. 

“AI helped Rivalz create novel product design — faster, better, cheaper. Rivalz launched its core line of salty snacks in under one year for approximately US$1.2 million, versus the typical R&D timeline of 3–5 years and US$4 million.”

She highlights the potential impact of AI on the US snacking industry: “Between 30–50% of products in grocery stores are extruded and, until now, relied on high-starch, high-fat ingredients — feeding the increasingly dangerous obesity and diabetes epidemics.” 

Reduced-sugar solutions

Ingredion uses an AI-aided predictive modeling tool to help develop sugar reduction solutions that lower sugar content by up to 50%. 

Adams Berzins, senior manager of Sugar Reduction at Ingredion, details how the company uses this modeling tool to help predict sweetness outcomes and deepen the understanding of consumer relationships with sugar to help discover new opportunities.

“AI tools can help supplement the creation of consumer-preferred products, open new ways to improve functionality, and provide options to help us generate customized, cost-effective ingredients that target unmet consumer and customer needs.” 

He signals a growing demand for reduced-sugar foods and beverages as consumers cut back on sugar. “According to a 2023 proprietary Ingredion study, 90% of global food and beverage manufacturers have prioritized sugar reduction for the next five years.”

Ingredion combines industry insights, stevia technology, and AI predictive modeling to optimize sugar reduction solutions.However, negative taste perceptions may hinder the adoption of reduced-sugar and no-sugar products. Berzins says that to address these perceptions, Ingredion combines industry insights, the latest stevia technology, and AI-aided predictive modeling to develop optimized sugar reduction solutions more tightly tailored to consumer taste preferences. 

“With predictive AI technology, Ingredion can quickly simulate various scenarios using historical and recent consumer survey data to aid in identifying the best opportunities for empirical testing,” he adds.

“For example, we used AI to process detailed composition data of beverage samples made with many different steviol glycoside compounds, helping to establish the link between the compounds’ composition and the samples’ sensory performance, from subtle taste nuances to overall consumer preferences, which we then validated through testing.” 

Demand for natural foods

A recent survey revealed that supplement consumers have higher trust in AI than non-users but still demand safeguards on its use in products. For example, a majority of respondents want AI use to be declared on the label and don’t describe products created with AI as natural. 

Earlier this week, Nuritas and Bayer Consumer Health experts detailed how AI can enhance natural products. Moreover, they emphasized the importance of transparency in innovation and emerging technologies such as AI to gain and maintain consumer trust and confidence. 

Berzins suggests manufacturers focus on attributes consumers value to balance new technology with a demand for natural or traditional products, such as sustainable plant-based ingredients, reduced sugar, and added protein for nutritional value. 

“AI can map these preferences and assist in identifying potential solutions that align with consumer expectations, paving the way for shorter innovation cycles while ensuring that natural and traditional preferences are met.” 

Rivalz used AI to develop a healthier alternative to snacks with high-starch and high-fat ingredients.Transparent innovations

Pattni details several strategies Rivalz uses to balance innovation with consumer demand for transparency on the use of AI. 

“We communicate how AI is being used to enhance product quality, sustainability, or efficiency/price without compromising,” she says. “Our customer repeat rate has doubled last year, illustrating consumers like what they are getting in Rivalz, and they keep coming back.”

“We believe in transparency and do not believe transparency and innovation conflict,” Pattni adds. “Rivalz would not be opposed to including how we use AI on packaging labels. However, most consumers may have limited understanding of AI, and a brief mention could warrant more confusion.” 

Therefore, Rivalz believes better practices include sharing how the company uses AI on its website, in social media, and in other communications where there is more room to explain and educate than a product package or label. 

Pattni details that Rivalz uses AI to complement human intelligence. “We say ‘AI+HI’ (human intelligence) because we believe AI is only as strong as the leaders leveraging it. We have the world’s leading food and technology experts who have spent careers creating food products supported by AI technology.”

The company also analyzes consumer preferences and trends to ensure innovations align with market demand. “For example, we regularly survey consumers/buyers online, at in-person events, stores, and focus groups.”

In addition, Rivalz uses AI to enhance sustainability, such as optimizing supply chains and reducing waste. 

Pattni stresses that AI is only as strong as the leaders leveraging it, saying that Rivalz uses it to complement human intelligence.Food and beverages of the future

Rivalz and Ingredion highlight that AI will play a crucial role in the future of the food and beverages industry. 

Pattni expects that AI will push the “boundaries of what is possible in food product design, acceleration of R&D and market entry, improved nutritional efficacy and bioavailability, productivity improvements across the board (yield loss reduction, supply chain optimization), continuous product improvement based on consumer feedback, and improved predictive consumer insights data loop.” 

Berzins says the technology aids product development by “enabling formulation developers to efficiently analyze large datasets and identify new potential combinations of taste and flavor that resonate with consumers.” 

“With AI, developers can optimize ingredients and formulations for desired taste, texture, and nutrition while also considering cost and sustainability. Additionally, AI can help predict consumer trends, allowing companies to meet market demands with customized and innovative products.” 

At the same time, Berzins cautions that it is essential to rigorously test the output of AI predictions to ensure accuracy and reliability. “Incorporating the human element in this testing is crucial, as human sensory evaluation and technical and processing expertise can validate AI-generated results, ensuring the final output meets real-world expectations and consumer preferences.”