When you hear about AI in business, you probably think of chatbots or automated emails. But some of the world’s biggest brands are using AI in a completely different way — to invent new products, test ingredients, and bring goods to market in a fraction of the usual time.
L’Oreal has been using AI in its laboratories for four years. The French cosmetics group uses the technology to predict how molecules will affect skin and hair before they are ever used in a product. Fabrice Megarbane, president of L’Oreal’s consumer products division, told Reuters that AI helps the company test new combinations of ingredients and assess their potential benefits far more quickly than traditional methods.
The results are striking. L’Oreal says AI has made product formulation four times faster. In one example, the company repurposed molecules previously used in skincare products to create a collagen-based shampoo — something that would have taken months longer without AI. The company also uses AI to narrow down thousands of potential formulations before any physical lab work begins, saving both time and raw materials.
AI in food and drink
It is not just beauty products. Mondelez, the company behind Cadbury, Toblerone, Oreo, and Chips Ahoy, is using AI to develop new recipes. Its AI tool can generate recipe ideas — including unusual combinations — before human experts review them. This reduces the number of physical samples needed during development, saving time and materials.
Mondelez says 60% of biscuit recipes produced with its AI tool performed better across nutrition, sustainability, and cost. The AI helped create the Gluten Free Golden Oreo and a refreshed Chips Ahoy recipe. Chief Information Officer Filippo Catalano says the technology can also help reduce dependence on single suppliers by identifying alternative ingredients when prices change or supply is tight — a practical concern for any business that sources raw materials.
Nestle is using AI to tackle a different challenge: removing artificial food colourings from all its products worldwide by the end of 2026. The company’s Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer says AI helps screen natural alternatives, simulate their behaviour during production, and assess their shelf life — work that would otherwise require months of physical trial and error. Nestle has also worked with IBM Research to develop an AI tool that identifies packaging materials that protect products while factoring in cost and recyclability.
What this means for smaller businesses
You might think this technology is only for global giants with massive R&D budgets. But the same principles apply at a smaller scale. Irish food producers, craft beverage makers, and skincare manufacturers are already using AI tools to analyse customer reviews, test ingredient combinations, and optimise recipes — often with free or low-cost software.
A small Irish food business could use AI to analyse thousands of customer reviews in minutes, identifying which flavours customers want and which ingredients cause complaints. A craft cosmetics maker could use AI to predict how a new formulation will behave without wasting raw materials on failed batches. A microbrewery could use AI to experiment with hop combinations and predict flavour profiles before brewing a single test batch.
The common thread is speed. Where traditional product development involves cycles of make, test, and adjust — each cycle taking weeks — AI compresses the testing phase into hours or days. That lets you try more ideas, fail faster, and arrive at better products sooner.
Where to start
You do not need an AI lab to get started. Begin by looking at one area of your product development that takes the most time — formulation, testing, customer feedback analysis — and ask whether a simple AI tool could speed it up. Many AI tools for product development are free or cost less than a monthly software subscription.
Mondelez’s Catalano put it simply: AI is not replacing human product teams. It is speeding up the research, testing, and formulation processes they already do. For Irish businesses competing against larger rivals, that speed can make all the difference.