Alon Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Tastewise
Executive Summary
Alon Chen serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Tastewise, a leading AI-driven consumer intelligence platform specializing in the food and beverage (F&B) industry. Based in New York with a global presence, Tastewise is at the forefront of leveraging generative AI and big data to drive product innovation, marketing efficiency, and sales activation for major F&B brands. Chen's background at Google, deep expertise in technology and data-driven business scaling, and his leadership in AI-powered transformation position him as a pivotal figure influencing the digital transformation of the F&B sector.
I. Personal & Professional Background
Leadership & Experience
- Role: CEO & Co-Founder, Tastewise (2017–present)
- Notable Achievements:
- Spearheaded Tastewise's growth to become a trusted platform for leading global brands such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Mars, Campbell’s, Conagra, Givaudan, and Waitrose.
- Recently led a $50M Series B funding round (July 2025), signaling significant investor confidence and enabling further product and market expansion.
- Recognized as a thought leader in AI, predictive analytics, and the digitization of the F&B value chain, frequently speaking at major industry forums, including the World Economic Forum and DLD Conference.
- Prior Roles:
- Senior Google Executive for nearly a decade.
- Chief Marketing Officer for Israel and Greece, where he built a $2 billion online business, emphasizing B2B operations, digital growth, and innovation.
- Founded and launched the Google Partners Channel Program in 27 countries, onboarding 60,000 partners globally.
- Led Google's engagement with the World Economic Forum.
- Chief Business Officer at Voyager Labs, an Oracle-funded AI company, where he developed and scaled deep learning-based marketing-tech and eCommerce solutions.
Education
- BA in Economics – Tel Aviv University
- Master’s in Law (LLM) – Bar-Ilan University
- MBA – University College Dublin
Professional Interests & Activities
- Passionate about AI for good and digital transformation in traditional industries.
- Human rights activist for the LGBTQ community; serves on the Advisory Board of the Tel Aviv Municipality.
- Regular contributor to thought leadership content on AI, data, innovation, sustainability, and consumer behavior in the F&B industry.
II. Tastewise: Company Profile & Strategic Direction
Company Overview
Tastewise (est. 2017; 51-200 employees; HQ: New York, NY; with international offices in Tel Aviv, Madrid, and London) is a privately-held food tech and analytics company providing a GenAI-powered platform for the F&B sector:
- Core Offerings:
- Consumer Intelligence: Real-time, actionable insights based on the analysis of massive, diverse data sources.
- AI-powered SaaS Solutions: Tools for innovation screening, go-to-market strategy, sales enablement, trend tracking, product development, campaign optimization, and menu expansion.
- TasteGPT: An AI solution for generating product ideas and marketing content tailored to evolving consumer trends.
- Data Scale & Sources:
- Leverages 75 billion social media posts, 1 trillion online recipes, 160 million reviews, 4M+ restaurants, and 600,000+ grocery items for comprehensive market intelligence.
- Key Differentiators:
- Generative AI tailored to F&B: Built on seven years of specialized data, Tastewise provides segment-specific insights and revenue opportunities.
- Workflow Automation: Designed to accelerate innovation cycles, reducing time from ideation to execution and shelf placement.
- High-profile clientele: Trusted by top-tier CPGs and food giants, highlighting strong market validation and deep-rooted industry relationships.
Funding & Growth
- Latest Funding:
- Series B, $50M, July 2025; led by TELUS Global Ventures (+3 other investors).
- Strategic Use of Funds:
- Accelerate R&D in generative AI and workflow automation.
- Expand global reach and deepen integrations within F&B client organizations.
- Drive further verticalization and development of specialized solutions for product innovation, sales, and marketing.
III. Strategic Vision, Market Insights & Technology Leadership
AI & Market Innovation
- Mission: To become the “operating system of food and beverage innovation,” empowering brands to ideate, test, validate, and execute rapidly—with AI as a core collaborator, not just a tool.
- Market Problem Addressed:
- Industry faces a >90% failure rate in new product launches due to disconnected, manual, lagging consumer research.
- Traditional methods (surveys, focus groups) are being replaced by real-time, behavioral analytics and predictive AI.
- Tastewise Impact:
- Enables instant alignment with emerging consumer preferences, allowing brands to launch products and run targeted campaigns with higher confidence and lower risk.
- Facilitates reduction in food waste and improved profit margins through precise demand prediction and innovation fit.
- Supports the move towards healthier, tastier, and more sustainable food choices, directly influencing product portfolios at major brands.
AI Technologies Employed
- Machine Learning Techniques:
- Analogizers: For unsupervised clustering and segmentation (e.g., classification of store chains).
- Connectionist models (Neural Networks): For demographic and behavioral group identification.
- Symbolyst’s tree/forest models: For cross-platform entity matching (ensuring data integrity).
- Generative AI:
- Leverages proprietary, food-specific datasets to deliver granular, high-reliability trend and consumer insights.
- Ensures accuracy and bias mitigation via cross-referencing outputs with established historical data.
Industry Insights & Trends (Recent Findings)
- Trend Drivers:
- Flavor Innovation: Rapid rise of Middle Eastern influences (e.g., Yemeni hawaij, black lime poised to rival pumpkin spice).
- Affordability & Youth Influence: Growth of Filipino cuisine driven by Gen Z’s cost-consciousness and search for rich flavors.
- Health & Wellness: Personalized nutrition and interest in functional foods have increased, especially post-GLP-1 drug adoption.
- Sustainability: Notable surge in consumer preference for products with eco-friendly credentials (regenerative agriculture, sustainable beverages).
- Culinary Techniques: Rise in techniques like soaking (+30% YoY), tenderizing (+25%), hibachi cooking (+18%), and miniaturization (+14%). These respond to evolving demands in texture, experience, portioning, and entertainment.
IV. Professional Reputation & Industry Influence
- Thought Leadership: Chen is featured in leading AI, food tech, and marketing journals, cited for his expertise in AI commercialization, rapid innovation cycles, and industry disruption.
- Strategic Partnerships: Under Chen’s leadership, Tastewise has developed deep partnerships with F&B associations (e.g., IFMA) and is regarded as an innovator and trusted solution provider among both global enterprises and fast-growing challengers.
- Event Participation: Frequent keynote and panel speaker at sector-leading conferences (Adweek, DLD, World Economic Forum), and organizer/participant in key industry summits focusing on AI-driven F&B strategies.
V. Relevant Details & Actionable Insights
- Key Contact Attributes for Engagement:
- Highly data-literate and expects quantifiable, ROI-driven value propositions.
- Interested in partnerships and solutions that enhance or extend AI-driven workflows within F&B innovation, marketing, and sales.
- Responds to opportunities that align with digital transformation, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
- Tastewise’s Buyers & Users:
- Marketing, R&D, insights, and sales enablement teams at multinational CPGs, ingredient suppliers, foodservice operators, and fast-innovating food brands.
- Recent Strategic Focus:
- Embedding AI tools into client workflows to provide instant answers, complex integration, and real-time execution capabilities.
- Expanding market positioning as the “digital cockpit” for CPG growth and innovation.
Further Profile Links
- [LinkedIn: Alon Chen](http://www.linkedin.com/in/alonchen)
- [Company: Tastewise](https://www.tastewise.io)
- [Crunchbase: Alon Chen](https://www.crunchbase.com/person/alon-chen-db5a)
- [Public Interviews & Thought Leadership](https://datainnovation.org/2025/06/5-qs-with-alon-chen-ceo-of-tastewise/), [Unite.AI Interview](https://www.unite.ai/alon-chen-ceo-and-co-founder-of-tastewise-interview-series/)
In summary, Alon Chen is positioned as a visionary and influential executive in AI-powered food tech, capable of driving deep organizational change for F&B enterprises through data-driven, scalable, and sustainable digital solutions.
