The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) released a new beverage in Canada late last month which it claims tastes like the future, co-created with artificial intelligence.
The soda conglomerate says it is intended to transport consumers’ tastebuds into the new millennium, hence the beverage’s name — Y3000. It was described by one X user as tasting like a combination of passion fruit and Smarties while others either claimed it was better than the original or just didn’t like it.
“We hope that Coca‑Cola will still be as relevant and refreshing in the year 3000 as it is today, so we challenged ourselves to explore the concept of what a Coke from the future might taste like,” said Coca-Cola’s Senior Director of Global Strategy Oana Vlad.
The drink is available with and without sugar and will be sold in the United States and Mexico as well for a limited time. Its development follows a series of limited-edition cola drinks released by the company in recent days with peculiar mysterious flavours such as “dream,” starlight, ultimate and transformation.
The can and bottle are supposed to show liquid in an evolving state, which looks futuristic apparently — according to the company. There’s a QR code on the back of the drinks that people can scan to get access to Coca-Cola’s Creations Hub, which enables users to filter their photographs through the “Y3000 AI Cam” to see what they would look like many years from now.
The company has also started utilizing generative AI in its advertising campaigns, creating futuristic-looking video visuals as well.
“We’re embracing the power of AI and continuing to build our company’s capabilities in this exciting space,” said Vlad.
Have you seen Coca-Cola's most recent advertising campaign, created using Generative AI? It's remarkable!
It's fascinating to witness the fusion of traditional production techniques and advanced #AI, resulting in something so impactful
Credit: S. Nouri#innovation #ml #genai pic.twitter.com/YRdBGorB1Z
— Pascal Bornet (@pascal_bornet) September 25, 2023
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However, Coca-Cola’s drink is not the first created with AI. In July this year, the Hungarian company HELL ENERGY created an energy drink that wasn’t just co-created by the technology but 100 per cent developed by it.
“As the most intelligent entity in the world at present, A.I. deemed the recipe it formulated to be perfect. It enhanced the energy drink with vitamins, amino acids, and herbs while ensuring compliance with food industry legislation,” said the company.
HELL ENERGY says its recipe is highly confidential, stored on a single computer in its factory with an advanced security system and a Swiss vault.
AI-formulated energy drink. Photo via HELL ENERGY
Absolut Vodka also started creating cocktail art “mixed by AI” at certain locations in places like Banff, Toronto and Montreal earlier this year.
A July report from the market researcher ReportLinker indicated that the global market for AI in food and beverages would be worth US$28 billion by 2027, ascending at a considerable compound annual growth rate of 43.9 per cent in the coming years.
Coca-Cola stock is currently worth US$53.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.
rowan@mugglehead.com
