Ask Ingredion tackles R&D bottlenecks with “conversational” AI formulation support

Ingredion has unveiled Ask Ingredion — a “conversational” AI-powered ingredient assistant that helps R&D and technical teams overcome formulation challenges faster and more effectively. The launch reflects how F&B ingredient suppliers are increasingly using AI to support NPD, moving beyond manual searches for insight-led guidance.

Ask Ingredion invites manufacturers to present a challenge — such as a texture goal, clean label requirement, or cost target — and then refine their search through context-driven follow-up questions.

Ingredion’s new tool comes as consumers cautiously warm to AI’s role in F&B innovation, according to Innova Market Insights. Some 17% of consumers globally say they feel very comfortable with AI being used in product development.

In response, manufacturers are integrating the technology in everything from recipe creation to food safety monitoring. 

Ask Ingredion, which has recently been released publicly on the company’s website, will be showcased at IFT FIRST 2026 (Jul 12–15) in Chicago, US.

AI tackles ingredient selection complexity

Chris Regan, head of the Digital Marketing Center of Excellence at Ingredion, tells Food Ingredients First that Ask Ingredion is designed to address the R&D sector’s various bottlenecks influencing formulation decisions.

“There are changing label requirements, shifting regulatory landscapes, demands for different products, emerging trends, and other market forces. There is never a shortage of information.”

“The challenge is understanding which sets of information to pull from, which factors weigh more heavily on these decisions, and how to get to a place where they can test something. When can they get to a pilot more effectively? How quickly can they get to two side-by-side formulations to work through options and see what might work for their challenge?” he explains.

Chris Regan: AI is not a gimmick or a bolt-on — it has to create value or enhance productivity for users.

How does Ask Ingredion work?

Ask Ingredion works as a conversational AI assistant inside Ingredion’s MyIngredion portal. 

“Instead of customers transacting with websites, pulling information from wherever it exists, and filtering it themselves, they can work through those problems and challenges conversationally,” Regan explains.

It lets R&D teams start with a formulation challenge, such as an application, a functionality need, or a product goal.

“If they are looking for a straight replacement for an existing ingredient, manufacturers can say, ‘I am currently using ‘X.’ Can you offer me ‘Y’ in this space?’” Regan explains.

The tool then asks follow-up questions about the product, processing conditions, and desired functionality, before suggesting relevant ingredient options that users can compare side by side.

The user can then request samples of one or more recommended ingredients, so they can test them in a formulation or speak with an Ingredion technical expert to discuss the shortlisted options.

Training and oversight behind Ask Ingredion

Ask Ingredion draws on Ingredion’s technical data sheets, product specifications, and formulation knowledge.

“There is a publicly available version of Ask Ingredion, which is delivered through the website. It uses information that already exists in the public domain, supplemented by Ingredion-specific application expertise,” Regan tells us.

“It pulls from a number of sources in both the public and authenticated experience to provide additional layers of expertise.”

Ingredion ensures accuracy in the AI-generated recommendations through training, monitoring, and human oversight. “We worked with a partner to build the solution and spent a significant amount of time training the system on the nature of the responses, where to pull expertise from in specific contexts, and how to drive to the next stage of questions,” Regan notes.

Users can give “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down” feedback on recommendations, which helps Ingredion refine the model over time.

An example of how Ask Ingredion can guide clean label ingredient replacement in F&B formulation (Image credit: Ingredion).

Human expertise in AI-supported R&D

As AI use expands into technical workflows, Ingredion maintains that Ask Ingredion is designed to enhance — not replace — human support. 

“We want to balance both human and AI expertise, because no problem is solved by AI alone in this space. We do not anticipate a scenario where AI recommends a product, and that is the end of the story. Our timelines are not that rapid, the process is not that swift, and there is always significant expertise required,” Regan says.

Regan emphasizes that Ask Ingredion differs from general AI tools because it is built around Ingredion’s own technical expertise and product data, rather than using a general AI agent and receiving different recommendations each time. 

“It is not just a large language model placed over what we already have. It is connected to our technical experts and the team behind the scenes,” he says.

“The people behind the scenes will continue feeding Ask Ingredion with the information and materials it needs to provide better access to more relevant information and additional information over time.”

Ingredion eyes broader AI tools for NPD

Future plans for Ask Ingredion include adding more AI-driven capabilities through the MyIngredion portal, such as support for standard Q&A, order management, delivery tracking, and other customer service functions.

“‘Ask Ingredion’ is our umbrella term for the forward-looking, AI-driven solutions that Ingredion hopes to offer customers. The days of customer portals being a single static vehicle, where customers go into a tool and track things themselves, are not necessarily coming to an end, but they are shifting,” says Regan.

The company plans to continue growing the amount of information used to make the AI-powered recommendations. This will help ensure that follow-on conversations provide more context-specific responses and help drive toward a particular area of expertise.Ask Ingredion aims to reduce upfront research time for manufacturers developing or reformulating products.

Ingredion at IFT FIRST 2026

At IFT FIRST 2026, Ingredion will showcase Ask Ingredion as part of its MyIngredion customer portal experience.

“There will be demos and walkthroughs of Ask Ingredion being used to ask and answer questions connected to some of the prototypes visitors can try on the stand.”

“People will be able to connect the dots between the process of getting to a formulation and ending up with a product they can eat or drink,” Regan concludes.