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Gulfood 2025: AI can 'predict what we can sell', help minimize food waste, say F&B executives
For some F&B companies, AI is changing the way sales and distribution work
- PUBLISHED: Mon 17 Feb 2025, 9:12 PM
As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries worldwide, some F&B companies are turning to AI-driven solutions to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and better understand consumer preferences.
According to top food services executives, AI has not only helped improve productivity but it is also reshaping how businesses approach food distribution and customer insights.
Improved Efficiency
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For some F&B companies, AI is changing the way sales and distribution work. Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of Gulfood, a Food & Business sourcing event, Justin Steinbach, CEO of IFFCO Professional, said that the efficiency of sales in the marketplace increased by 28% because of AI. This means that the technology can predict which food items will sell best in which places (hotels, restaurants). So, once the truck is loaded, it accurately sends off items which will be efficiently used. He added that AI can also “predict what we can sell.”
IFFCO Professional is a subsidiary of IFFCO, which is a Dubai-based business that operates in more than 50 countries, and includes brands such as London Dairy, Igloo, Noor. When it comes to errors in the production stage, Steinbach said: “The more you take out the human element of production, the less error you have.” He added that his company started to use AI over a year ago and this has improved the overall efficiency and productivity.
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Next on IFFCO’s agenda when it comes to AI is using it to minimize food waste, according to Steinbach. Though the plan has not come into plan yet, Steinbach said that the FMCG company plans to educate owners of restaurants, big and small, to help minimize food waste by using AI tools.
Cuisine Preferences
For Orkla India, which has its own subsidiary headquartered in Dubai, AI is used for a precise understanding of consumer’s tastes. According to Ashvin Subramanyam, CEO of International Business at Orkla India, people’s ethnographic profiles can determine what flavours are preferred in different geographical locations. He said: “That influences the cuisine preferences of that sub-geography. All of that knowledge we are now able to get more and more leveraging on AI to give us that insight.”
He added that Orkla India also uses ‘price pack architecture’, which is an analytical technique that lets companies vary their price points and packaging according to the customers' needs. “All of that insight is valuable because it helps us make sure that our offering is more precisely human,” Subramanyam said.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.