The buzz around artificial intelligence is growing louder, and companies want to know whether this tech will actually help them in their work. Launched in November, ChatGPT has given mainstream users access to a form of A.I. that can create everything from poetry to legal briefs. This kind of machine learning has broad implications for companies and brands, including within the beverage sector. ChatGPT’s potential to disrupt caused a “code red” inside Google, according to the New York Times. Setting aside the important debate around the efficacy and ethics of A.I., the following story is intended to help make sense of the current hype surrounding GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) technology...

Argo Tea Co-founder Arsen Avakian was struck by how often consumers in store aisles pulled out a cell phone while browsing a drink cooler. When he asked why, he learned they were researching brands to understand everything from ingredients to provenance. With a background in technology, Avakian had a...

BD recently wrote about the U.S. launch of Air Up, the German maker of a refillable bottle that uses pods to flavor plain water by smell instead of taste. PepsiCo is an investor in the company, which describes its technology, based on a scientific concept called “retronasal smell,” this way: “The flavored air travels from your mouth up to your olfactory center, where it’s perceived as flavor.” From packaging to materials, Air Up embodies an assortment of beverage trends that resonate with Gen Z and Millennial consumers: Healthfulness, design, personalization, technology, and sustainability. To better understand the Air Up offering, BD bought and used the product, which the...