UST Launches AI Solution for Hyperpersonalized Wine, Beer and Food Shopping

Digital transformation solutions company UST, has officially launched UST AiSense, which provides personalized food and beverage recommendations using sensory science. The deployable digital technology AI-led solution powered by Tastry, is a palate-based recommender designed to help consumers select products they will enjoy.

“UST AiSense harnesses the power of Tastry to connect consumer wants with retailers’ digital platforms to drive deeper customer engagement and larger basket sizes. The technology serves brands and retailers by providing science-based suggestions for product development, inventory purchase and direct-to-consumer recommendation,” said Mahesh Athalye, UST senior director, retail platform and solutions, in a statement. “The new solution will help retailers optimize product mix, and increase sales, margins and store loyalty.”

Food, science and artificial intelligence have come together to help consumers find wines or beer they will love and associated food that is paired with them, UST said. Its AiSense provides analytics tools for retailers to know exactly what their customers want. Retailers can offer UST AiSense recommendation solutions within a store kiosk or submit through a website or a mobile app. The solution provides real-time insights on sales, inventory and customer preferences.

“Each person has their own unique taste preferences. You no longer need to spend time researching the right wine and end up buying something that doesn’t match your specific taste,” added Keith Pickens, retail domain leader, general manager, for UST. “The UST AiSense solution helps you find the wine you love by harnessing artificial intelligence combined with our sensory science. Personalized purchase recommendations provided by the AiSense app guides you through the process of selecting your perfect wine or beer and associated food every time.”

UST AiSense is integrated with UST Walk-in, Walk-out frictionless shopping solution to introduce new retail models for anytime, anywhere shopping, the company said. With academic and startup partnerships across the world, UST collaborates with businesses disrupting their industries with digital innovation and powering ideas to solve tomorrow’s challenges, the company added.

UST is a strategic investor in Tastry, an AI-driven sensory sciences company that combines analytical chemistry, consumer flavor preferences and machine learning (ML) to predict market performance for sensory-based products.

“Together, we are engineering the future, collaborating as part of the innovation ecosystem to help businesses make smarter, better and faster decisions,” said Athalye.

Technology-powered UST seeks to identify its customers’ core challenges and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life, the company said. “With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients’ organizations—delivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world,” the company added.

UST has more than 28,000 employees in 25 countries.