With a focus on staying ahead of emerging trends, the recent joint webinar between Nextatlas and Barilla Group provided invaluable insights into the power of AI-based trend forecasting in the food industry.
A New Frontier for Food Insight
The food industry appears to be entering a groundbreaking era, with AI aiding opportunities for enhancing business strategies, driving product innovation, and advocating for sustainable practices. Demonstrated by their ongoing collaboration with Barilla showcased in the latest webinar, Nextatlas is a leader in this domain, equipped to deliver practical insights through its AI-driven analysis of emerging trends, consumer behaviors, and cultural shifts.
Utilizing AI and machine learning algorithms, Nextatlas analyses social media data, online content from millions of users, and various other sources to identify emerging trends and consumer behaviors. Due to its proprietary technology, the company offers unparalleled market intelligence and trend anticipation services.
The webinar demonstrated how Barilla integrated Nextatlas data into The Observatory, the Italian food giant’s research center dedicated to deciphering consumer preferences and market dynamics. Alessandra Cervi, Barilla’s Digital Insights & Marketing Performances Global Lead, noted how the data The Observatory found on the Nextatlas platform provided actionable insights.
Turning Nextatlas Insights into Action
Cervi also demonstrated how Nextatlas’ data has been the foundation of Barilla’s recipe innovation and marketing campaigns, providing two key examples.
For their sister brand, Wasa, Barilla wanted to create a new recipe to promote Wasa Crispbread on its official TikTok page. They used Nextatlas predictions on nut flavors and the redefinition of snacking as a treat in increasingly fluid lifestyles. With the goal of opening a new, decadent yet-still-convenient eating occasion for Wasa Crispbread during the day, a new recipe for homemade almond butter was developed and became their best performing TikTok.
Sustainability is a major focus for the food industry and Nextatlas’ consumer sentiment data indicated that it is a cross-industry issue for consumers, with a particular focus on sustainable solutions within the home and with fashion. Barilla launched its #SecondhandBox campaign with Mari Kondo in April, which aims to promote eco-consciousness by repurposing pasta boxes as shipping containers for pre-loved clothing. While the rise of shipping second-hand clothing might not be directly linked to the food industry, Barilla creatively used the strong consumer sentiment data from Nextatlas to address the environmental impact of packaging waste, addressing their audience’s values in an innovative manner.
Eye on the Future
The webinar spoke volumes about the rare value that Nextatlas brings to the table, reaffirming its position as a key asset in Barilla’s strategic arsenal. Cervi underscored the impact of the company’s services in the webinar, stating, “Nextatlas helps us a lot in three areas; definitely understanding our audiences and not only what is trending, but also what appeals to them; understanding a little better our decision journeys, where the decision happens and what is influenced and what are they influenced by, and of course trends and foresight.”
You can watch the webinar in full below.
About Nextatlas
Nextatlas is an AI platform that uses the knowledge of innovators and early adopters. Unique AI-powered algorithms continuously track and analyze data from their social media feeds and complements it with news and other sources to provide insights into emerging trends and changes in consumer behavior. Nextatlas helps companies such as Barilla, Arla, and Lavazza to drive growth, product innovation and success. Nextatlas recently contributed its services to the Mondelez International “State of Snacking: Future Trends” annual report.
Contact
Erich Giordano
erich.giordano@icoolhunt.com / LinkedIn
