AI meets aisle: how tech is changing the way drinks are sold
The drinks industry is no stranger to innovation, but the use of artificial intelligence to shape consumer engagement at the packaging and retail level is still gathering pace. At PRS IN VIVO, a behavioural science research agency working with many of the world’s largest FMCG brands, technology is becoming a crucial tool for helping drinks companies refine their packaging before it ever reaches store shelves.
Patrick Young, managing director of PRS IN VIVO’s UK office, explains how the company uses its network of ‘Retail Labs’ – designed to replicate supermarket environments – to observe genuine shopper behaviour in real time.
“We fit the shopper with some eye tracking glasses,” he says. “They come in, they’re given a bit of a mission – here’s your shopping list, go and shop naturally – and then we see what happens.”
Within this test environment, researchers can test new packaging formats, label designs, and merchandising techniques, tracking what shoppers notice, pick up, put back, and ultimately buy.
“You’re looking to see – did they even notice it? Did they pick it up? Did they buy it?” Young explains. “You can also see the impact on overall brand performance – does it help grow the manufacturer’s portfolio spend?”
Speeding up the packaging processWhile Retail Labs provide valuable real-world insights, AI is now being used upstream to make the design process faster and more efficient. PRS IN VIVO’s proprietary tool, AI Pack Sprint, screens packaging designs before they reach the lab. It draws on more than 30,000 records of behavioural consumer data to identify visual cues and formats most likely to succeed on-shelf.
This AI-driven approach helps brands identify strong pack designs earlier in the process, reducing time to market. “AI is being used to help speed up the design process and the testing of it as well,” says Young.
In parallel, the company’s Mobile Pack Screener allows brands to test packaging concepts with real respondents remotely – again, helping to streamline decision-making.
AI, Young adds, can also “help get out of a rut” creatively. While it may lack a deep understanding of brand history or emotional resonance, it can generate variations and highlight what is performing well elsewhere.
Evolving formats and sustainabilityAI’s influence isn’t limited to graphic design. Young points to a number of physical packaging changes emerging in the drinks industry, often underpinned by analysis and modelling tools.
“Bailey’s has launched a metal bottle. Absolut recently trialled a paper bottle. Co-op have just launched thinner glass wine bottles. I think a lot of that is informed by analysis where no doubt AI or deep learning is coming into it.”