SHERIDAN, WYOMING – July 12, 2025 – Nestlé is teaming up with IBM Research to develop cutting-edge AI tools that could transform how food packaging is designed, bringing new sustainable materials to life while maintaining safety and quality.
The collaboration has already led to a major breakthrough: a generative AI tool that can identify entirely new high-barrier packaging materials—crucial for protecting sensitive products from moisture, oxygen, and temperature changes.
AI Innovation Meets Packaging Needs
Packaging plays a critical role in preserving food and preventing waste. Nestlé has been steadily reducing its use of virgin plastic and increasing the adoption of recyclable, paper-based, and mono-material solutions. But finding packaging materials that deliver performance, safety, and sustainability often takes years of meticulous research.
With IBM’s help, Nestlé scientists accelerated this process using AI-based processing techniques. By building a knowledge base from public and proprietary sources, the team trained a chemical language model to understand the structures of known materials. IBM’s regression transformer then learned the correlation between those structures and physical-chemical properties—empowering the model to suggest new materials tailored for specific packaging challenges.
Nestlé plans to apply this model to explore future materials that align with its sustainability goals, while also meeting cost and functionality requirements.
“This novel AI-powered language model, developed in collaboration with IBM Research, illustrates how Nestlé is leading the digital transformation within the food and beverage industry. In the future, such breakthrough technology could be used to optimize the development of more sustainable packaging solutions across product categories.” — Stefan Palzer, Nestlé Chief Technology Officer
“We do believe that Generative AI will continue to disrupt scientific discovery, impacting the core business of all knowledge-based industries, allowing critical differentiation and sustainable growth.” — Alessandro Curioni, IBM Research VP Europe & Africa
Driving Broader AI Transformation
Nestlé’s push into AI and automation goes far beyond packaging. The company is already using a variety of digital tools to improve operations and product development:
- A recipe optimization tool powered by advanced algorithms helps manage tradeoffs between ingredients, nutrition, cost, and sustainability
- Digital twins simulate production lines and equipment to fine-tune manufacturing efficiency
- Data-driven solutions offer personalized nutrition for both people and pets
And Nestlé’s commitment is growing. The company recently announced the creation of a new R&D center focused entirely on deep tech—the first of its kind in the food and nutrition space. This center will explore next-generation tools including sensors, robotics, coding systems, high-performing AI, and virtual/mixed reality to drive efficiency in research, innovation, and operations.
Sustainability, Speed, and Smarter Solutions
As consumers become more environmentally conscious, Nestlé’s forward-thinking approach shows how technology can meet expectations for both sustainability and performance. By harnessing the power of AI, Nestlé and IBM are not only advancing science but also helping to build a better, more resource-efficient future.
Learn more at https://www.nestle.com