tech
Exclusive: Inside Yum's effort to predict what customers will crave next
Yum is opening up about how it uses AI, data science and prediction-market research to forecast future menu winners across Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.
TL;DR
- Yum Brands uses AI, data science, and predictive market research to evaluate new menu concepts.
- The Global Innovation Database, developed by Collider Lab, contains over 7,000 evaluated concepts across 35 countries.
- The system uses predictive market research, asking consumers to forecast others' responses.
- This approach has informed products like Pizza Hut Melts and KFC shakes.
- Taco Bell's beverage business is a key growth area, with plans to build a $5 billion beverage business by 2030.
- The database has identified broader consumer shifts, including demand for snackable foods, protein, and specialty beverages.
- Yum views the database as a competitive advantage for connecting learnings across brands and markets.
- The company sees AI as a complementary tool to human creativity, not a replacement.