Why Data Intelligence is The Smart Choice for the Food & Beverage Industry

In recent years, the food industry has seen a growing trend toward using data-driven methods for food and beverage innovation. While traditional methods such as surveys and focus groups have long been used to gather information about consumer preferences and trends, these methods have a number of limitations that make them less effective than using data. Tastewise takes data-driven food intelligence to the next level by accessing data from more than four million restaurants, five million traffic and recipe uses, and 75 billion social media interactions. This wealth of data paired with AI that has been purposely built for the food and beverage industry gives Tastewise users one of the most powerful tools available today.

Why traditional methods are no longer good enough

While surveys and focus groups can have their time and place in innovation, there are major blindspots that come with relying on them as single and sole sources of truth. A major limitation of surveys and focus groups is that they are often based on self-reported data. This means that people may not always be completely truthful about their eating habits or preferences, either because they don't want to be judged or they want to tell surveyors what they think is the right answer….or because they don't accurately recall the information. Additionally, unlike Tastewise, surveys and focus groups tend to be limited in scope, usually only gathering data from a small and not always representative sample group.

In contrast, Tastewise’s data-driven intelligence offers a number of advantages over surveys and focus groups. For one, data-driven methods allow for much larger and more representative samples to be analyzed. This is because data can be gathered from a variety of sources such as point-of-sale systems, social media, and even DNA data. These data sources provide a more accurate and comprehensive picture of consumer preferences and trends.

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It's so much more than just data

Another advantage of data-driven methods is that they can uncover insights that might not be immediately obvious through surveys and focus groups. Consumer tastes, demands, and requirements are constantly evolving and being disrupted by external factors from celebrity comments and pop culture moments to health trends and global politics. Focus groups and surveys are slow and reactive data collection methods. Tastewise, by comparison, is a real-time tool for customer data analysis.

Data can, more importantly, be used to predict future trends. By analyzing patterns in data over time, it is possible to identify which products and flavors are likely to become popular in the future, allowing food and beverage companies to stay ahead of the curve and get products to market before their competitors.

Consumers like it when you get personal

The food and beverage industry is also migrating towards the personalization of products which is not possible with traditional methods of surveys and focus groups. This data can be used to create personalized products that cater to individual tastes and dietary restrictions. By analyzing trend data, it can be possible to determine which ingredients people turn towards that are, for example, both gluten-free and good for gut health. This is an especially important decision-making factor with an increasingly health-conscious population that is attuned to the specificity of functional health needs. AI already uses data to help shape our lives and diets. The incorporation of consumer insights methodology like Tastewise will serve organizations well now and during the data and AI revolution that is already underway in the food and beverage industry.

Tastewise’s data-driven market insight offers numerous advantages over traditional methods. For food and beverage companies looking to innovate and stay ahead of the competition, investing in this particular method is an astute choice. Not only can it help companies to identify trends and predict future changes, but also personalize products according to the needs of specific market segments. This will definitely lead to the development of new and exciting products that are guaranteed to delight consumers.

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