Will AI inspire a new M&M? How artificial intelligence is reshaping Mars

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Could AI-based text-to-image generators like DALL-E inspire new designs for iconic candies like M&M's or Skittles?

With a candy-filled Halloween approaching, it seemed like a no-brainer to ask the head of AI and machine learning at Mars Inc., a company that over the past century has oversaw many popular confectionery brands, from M&Ms to Milky's. Way and Snickers; become a CPG juggernaut that includes brands such as Dove, Pedigree and Whiskas; and now claims to care for half of the world's pets through nutrition, health and service companies including Banfield Pet Hospitals and Anicura.

While Shubham Mehrish, global vice president of digital strategy at Mars Inc., didn't say whether an AI-designed M&M was on the horizon, he sounded bullish on DALL-E and d other AI art tools for idea generation at Mars.

"The DALL-E team has been stingy in providing access, but we already have a few of our AI scientists toying with it," he told VentureBeat. "I think DALL-E isn't going to replace creative effort, it's going to augment it - we're going to use DALL-E for inspiration and we've started to at least play with its capabilities within Mars."

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Mehrish, who oversees Mars' global digital, data and analytics teams, including AI and machine learning, says efforts with DALL-E are just one tiny part of the massive AI-driven digital transformation journey that Mars has embarked on over the past few years. last five years.

"We're halfway there, so we're still on that path," said Mehrish, who joined Mars in 2018 after a two-decade career in banking, technology, consulting, strategy and finance. data science. The effort behind AI and digital transformation at Mars, he explained, came from outgoing CEO Grant Reid with a focus on agile development, speed and scale.

"It's a passion project that our new CEO, Poul Weihrauch, will continue and grow, so it's really a top-down mandate and it's always been a very high priority for the company," Mehrish said.

At this point, it's not about when Mars uses AI, he added: "It's about finding a process where we don't use AI and machine learning today." Artificial intelligence improves pet care

An example of Mars Inc.'s strong focus on AI can be found in the company's pet sector.

“We are currently the largest chain of veterinary hospitals in the United States and the largest pet care company in the world,” said Mehrish, who explained that Mars uses AI in its business pet food companies to forecast commodity prices, track inflation, and optimize pricing decisions, promotions, and assortments.

In 2016, Mars spent $117 million to acquire Whistle, a smart collar startup known as "Fitbit for dogs." Last May, Whistle launched Whistle Health, a data-driven, AI-powered smart device for dogs for preventative care that, according to a press release, can "translate each dog's movements into an index of personalized and holistic wellness", including health behaviors such as eating, drinking, scratching, licking, sleeping and exercising.

"These are built on huge training sets with built-in machine learning and AI that give you a score that lets you track your dog's health...