Hardware Podcasts

R&D RADIO: Monte Ammons from Liquid Sherpas

The Startup CPG Podcast · 11 May 2026 · 27m · Episode 304

AI in practice: one real use of AI described

What this episode covers

Monte Ammons, founder of Liquid Sherpas, explains why beverage founders should create a technical product brief before starting formulation to avoid costly errors. He shares how one client pivoted their product proposition by 35 degrees after analyzing the competitive landscape, avoiding a saturated market. Ammons emphasizes using AI as a research accelerator for supply chain and ingredient data, while deferring actual formula development to experienced formulators who understand natural ingredient complexities like sedimentation and seasonality.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

DesignChatGPTtwo days to a couple of queries

The speaker used ChatGPT to research new ingredients and identify suppliers, reducing the time required for this research from two days to a few queries.

“I find myself using ChatGPT, not necessarily to bring me new ideas, but if I'm working, say I want to look into a new ingredient that I've never looked at before. Right. Where it used to take me probably two days of research and ferreting out ingredient suppliers and doing all that, now it's a couple of queries.”

Monte Ammons ·

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Liquid Sherpas, Coca-Cola, Community Coffee, Dohler, Sonic, Starbucks, Celsius, Poppi
Tools
ChatGPT

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