95% of F&B innovations fail. Build the right thing with The BOX.

Yes, when it knows your constraints. The BOX runs reformulation against your production capabilities, cost targets and label rules, so suggestions are buildable, not generic ingredient swaps.

It gives innovation and R&D teams instant, sourced answers to the food science questions that normally take days of desk research. It pulls from USDA nutritional data, 2 million+ real product formulations on Open Food Facts, 225K flavour molecules from FlavorDB, published evidence from PubMed and regulatory databases from the EU, US and UK. It does six things: builds formulation directions for new concepts, finds molecular flavour pairings, identifies ingredient alternatives with trade-offs, checks regulatory status across jurisdictions, benchmarks competitor formulations and finds cheaper ingredient options with relative pricing. Every answer cites its source with a direct link.

Anything from “what ingredient base would work for an ambient plant-based protein shake at 20g per serving” to “what emulsifier options exist for an acidic beverage below pH 4.2”. Every recommendation is anchored to named products already on shelf, and it flags key challenges up front: if pea protein creates haze above 5% and your concept needs clarity, it tells you before your R&D team finds out in the lab. We call these formulation directions rather than formulations: a head start for your food scientists, not a replacement for lab work.

It checks structured databases from the EU (food additives, flavourings, health claims, novel foods), the US (FDA GRAS status) and the UK (FSA post-Brexit data), and returns the exact authorised claim wording you can put on a label, with conditions of use. It also runs a horizon scan via EFSA opinions and the FDA Federal Register to flag upcoming changes. For markets without structured databases (Japan, Australia, GCC), it is transparent about the gap: it shows what it knows from EU/US/UK, searches the specific market’s requirements and flags that web-sourced data needs verification with a local regulatory consultant.

Yes. The FooDB database behind the agent holds 70,000+ food compounds with health effects and food source mapping, which gives it strong coverage of coffee, functional botanicals, adaptogens and novel proteins. For coffee specifically it can pull compound-level data on chlorogenic acids, caffeoylquinic acids, trigonelline and other bioactives. It is most powerful combined with your own knowledge: your approved ingredients, supplier relationships and proprietary formulations sit alongside the public databases.

It handles the desk research so they don’t have to. When a food scientist gets a brief for a new plant-based RTD, they currently spend days pulling competitor ingredient lists, checking regulatory status across markets, reviewing stability and shelf-life literature and mapping formulation paths. The agent does that in minutes. Your scientists review the direction, apply their judgement and take the concept into the lab. Every output is framed as a formulation direction with a clear note that lab validation is required, so your scientists spend more time on formulation, sensory testing and scale-up.

Yes. When you set up a project in The BOX you define your constraints: production lines, equipment, certifications (organic, kosher, halal, BRC), target markets, margin requirements, allergen restrictions and existing supplier relationships. If you ask for alternatives to acacia gum and you have a “no new vendor onboarding” constraint with Kerry Group as an existing supplier, the agent flags which alternatives Kerry can supply and which would need a new vendor. Every recommendation is marked compatible, partially compatible or blocked by a specific constraint.

The structured regulatory databases (EU additives, EFSA health claims, FDA GRAS, UK FSA, Novel Foods) are refreshed monthly from the official EU DG SANTE API and other government sources. Open Food Facts updates continuously; FlavorDB and FooDB update periodically. For anything fast-moving, such as a recent EFSA re-evaluation or a new US state-level ingredient ban, the agent searches live sources (EFSA, FDA Federal Register, Food Navigator) and flags recency and confidence. You always see whether an answer comes from an official database (high confidence) or a live web search (medium confidence, verify independently).

PLM manages formulations and compliance. The BOX handles the front end of food product development: spotting opportunities, developing and proving concepts, then hands off to your PLM.

Both. Go live in days on configurable SaaS, or have modules custom-built around your process and stack. Deployment includes training and coaching.

The more of your constraints and past work The BOX has, the sharper it is. Most teams start with what they have and enrich as they go.

Yes. ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II assured, GDPR-compliant, hosted in the EU.