Coca-Cola introduces ‘drink of the future’ using AI

Coca-Cola, known for launching various limited-edition mystery flavours, has announced its latest mystery flavor, Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar, using AI.
According to the brand, Coca-Cola Y300 is “the first futuristic flavor co-created with human and artificial intelligence.” The flavor is designed to celebrate an optimistic future through "the connections we make" and was created by tapping into both human and artificial intelligence as a way to understand how people envision the future. The taste of the Y3000 beverage was a two-step process. First, researchers at Coca-Cola collected ‘key flavour preferences and trends to understand what consumers imagine and think the future tastes like’. Then, that information was crunched by Coke’s artificial intelligence system to ‘help develop flavor profiles and pairings.’

Coca-Cola doesn’t describe what the new flavor tastes like in any of its materials, but the drink comes in regular and zero sugar varietals.
The use of AI, for Coca-Cola Creations, is a natural step that positions the drink in a way that could attract the interest of younger consumers who will want to try it, before potentially increasing their consumption of other Coca-Cola products. This latest version of Coca –Cola, doesn’t promote or reveal a flavor profile, such as cola, cherry or vanilla, but rather a mood or experience.

Oana Vlad, Senior Director, Global Strategy, The Coca Cola Company, said,“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. The ‘Real Magic’ brand platform celebrates unexpected connections that make the ordinary extraordinary, so we intentionally brought human intelligence and AI together for an uplifting expression of what Coca Cola believes tomorrow will bring.”

While Y3000 is the first flavor developed with AI from Coca-Cola, it's not the first, nor the most unique flavor from the brand. Last summer, the brand released a "pixel-flavored" soda, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte.