AI-Human synergies driving the “impossible”: A story of NotCo and vegan NotMilk

Key Takeaways:

• AI can swiftly propel innovation into product development
• Sometimes, all it takes is a leap of faith: bold strategies get rewarded
• Brand storytelling is just as important as the technology behind the product

I first heard of NotCo, a Chilean food tech company, about a decade ago through their flagship product: NotMilk. At first, I thought it was simply another form of soy-, almond- or oat-based milk, but as I pried deeper, I was bewildered; “milk” made up of pineapple, peas and cabbage? To be frank, at first I thought it was impossible, I didn’t believe a tasty (or even drinkable) beverage could come out of that combination. It was weird to associate those ingredients with what we conventionally coin as ‘milk’, but curiosity got the better of me and I tried it. It was really delicious: it tasted no different from cow’s milk, unlike other vegan-friendly ‘milk’ options and the more I rummaged the idea, the more I just couldn’t stop thinking: How did NotCo deliver this brilliant innovation?

In 2015, NotCo founders Matias Muchnick and Kim Pichara were visionaries who played their cards in a smart way:

• They saw the power of AI before it boomed in the industry and harness edit to turbo-charge innovation in the conventionally slow-paced food R&D industry.
• They took a leap of faith to kickstart their efforts in the Latin American market, a traditionally meat and animal by-product loving demographic (which was pretty much oblivious to the vegan boom, unlike the European or North American markets) with plant-based products.

Today, NotCo is a food tech unicorn with a current valuation of $1.5B that has raised $466M in funding from investors like Kaszek, IndieBio and The Craftory.

How did NotCo work with AI to challenge what others thought impossible?

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Re-defining paradigms

I’m always on the lookout for interesting R&D, and it’s fascinating how restructuring paradigms allows us to view things from a completely different perspective. Molecular cuisine, for instance, isn’t a new concept, yet, what’s truly molecular about it? NotCo, however, has redefined those boundaries, setting a new standard by demonstrating what it truly means to cook and innovate at a molecular level with their proprietary AI tool: Guiseppe AI.

Guiseppe AI analyses food at a molecular level to design plant-based recipes that replicate the flavour, texture, and nutritional profile of animal-based products, shortening the R&D timeline from years to just months. Giuseppe AI draws on a proprietary database of more than 300,000edible plants, generating novel combinations that the human team, the culinary artists, then test, refine, and adapt to customer flavour preferences. A true AI-human synergy to bring user experience to the next level.

NotCo, with Guiseppe AI, created their own space within the food industry, shifting from the traditional qualitative “trial and error” approaches to a fully data-driven co-creation process, and even more so, with AI as their main driver. Can innovation get more disruptive?

Another leap of faith was their decision to enter the Latin American market head-on, instead of opting for the seemingly ‘safer’ choices of North America or Europe, where vegan alternatives were already established. Their strategy was bold: North Americans and Europeans had grown accustomed to bland tasting vegan products and were content with them. Breaking into those mature markets would have been the ‘safe’ move because of an already existing plant-based culture, but competition in those markets could have crowded out a new startup likeNotCo.

In contrast, Latin America offered new ground with higher stakes. Success required products that were not only innovative but also delicious enough to compete directly against traditional animal-derived foods. NotCo’s AI-human synergy gave them a foothold in Latin America and could serve as a launchpad to expand into other markets. Today, they collaborate with the biggest food industry players such as Heinz, Whole Foods, Shake Shack, Burger King and Starbucks.

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Takeaway lessons for business leaders

NotCo’s journey isn’t just a food-tech story, it’s a strategic masterclass. For business leaders, there are three clear lessons worth drawing:

• AI can reframe what we thought was possible.
  
  • Analysing food at a molecular level took a lot of data processing but it led to NotCo’s success in the development of vegan milk which tastes just like its animal-derived counterpart.
  • NotCo treated AI as a co-creator. Giuseppe AI, collapsed R&D cycles from years to months, proving that innovation can move at an unprecedented pace.
  • The future isn’t about AI replacing humans but about working together to scale innovation to outpace competitors.
    
• Sometimes, all it takes is a leap of faith
  
  • Choosing to kickstart NotCo in Latin America rather than other “vegan-ready” regions could have been seen as counterintuitive, but it’s called Blue Ocean for a reason.
  • Sometimes, less obvious markets can hold greater long-term potential if you enter them early and position your product to dominate that geographical area.
• Brand storytelling is just as important as the technology behind the product
  
  • Doesn’t the idea of NotMilk alone spark curiosity? How did it challenge thousands of years of convention by redefining what milk can be?
  • Innovation needs compelling storytelling that connects with consumers or it risks going unnoticed.
  • In this case, NotMilk (and all of NotCo’s products) have identified a big pain in the market (subpar tasting vegan alternatives). By grasping that and building the right brand identity, even an incredibly disruptive idea, like NotMilk, could breakthrough and thrive.

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Conclusion

Utilise AI to drive growth in Blue Oceans, that’s the essence of NotCo’s bold strategy.

They have demonstrated the transformative power of AI and data to challenge conventional thinking and put it to developing ideas to products in just days.

As CEO and co-founder Matías Muchnick put it, “We built a Trojan horse [NotCo], and we’re just starting to release the soldiers.” Just imagine, with the vast amount of data they’ve collected, the possibilities for expansion into new industries are limitless.

As a final note, I’d like to reinforce what, in my opinion, NotCo has created: true technological synergy. For those still skeptical or hesitant about integrating AI into their businesses, the lesson is clear: don’t wait. Their example shows how GenAI can help you collect, refine, and transform data into brilliant ideas. Yet, success still requires human creativity and leadership to push forward this co-created space, where the fusion of AI and human ingenuity unlocks entirely new frontiers.

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At Binomial Consulting, we focus on strategic planning and innovation that amplify creative ideas and help businesses position themselves firmly among competitive markets. Like NotCo, we have also invested in creating human-AI synergy in our work – ask us about how our BionicAI takes the best from AI and human strategists to help your business grow. Contact us to make your innovation fruitful today!