AI to Create Convenience Store Desserts, Too: FamilyMart to Launch 10 Products by Year-End

【Financial News, Tokyo = Correspondent Hye-jin Seo】FamilyMart will become the first company in Japan's convenience store industry to fully introduce generative artificial intelligence (AI) into product development. The system will analyze sales data and consumer trends and suggest everything from a product's flavor and texture to its price. FamilyMart plans to launch its first dessert in late this month and introduce about 10 AI-planned products during fiscal 2026.
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 15th, FamilyMart will launch “Sweet Potato Canelé with Caramel Sauce” in late this month, incorporating suggestions from generative AI.
In Japan's convenience store industry, 7-Eleven and Lawson use AI to optimize product ordering and delivery routes. However, FamilyMart is reportedly the first to fully introduce generative AI into product development, a core area for attracting customers.
FamilyMart will feed its AI sales results accumulated in its point-of-sale (POS) system, along with recent trends. The system will analyze the common features of popular products and the characteristics of poorly selling items. Based on that analysis, AI will suggest concepts and product configurations for new products.
During the development of the first product, Sweet Potato Canelé with Caramel Sauce, FamilyMart analyzed sales results from its annual fall promotional campaign and POS data for all desserts. The analysis showed that “one-hand” products that are easy to eat with one hand, as well as products with contrasting textures inside and out, were particularly popular.
Based on these findings, AI suggested a product with a crisp caramel-coated exterior and a moist sweet potato filling.
AI analysis was also used to set the price. An analysis of the “trial rate”—the proportion of consumers who actually purchase a new product—showed that the purchase rate tends to fall when the price exceeds 300 yen. Reflecting this finding, FamilyMart set the new product's price at 285 yen.
FamilyMart decided to fully introduce generative AI into product development after “Milk Sand Caramel Sauce,” launched in July based on an AI suggestion, performed well in sales.
Until now, convenience store product development has relied heavily on employees' experience and intuition when assessing market trends. FamilyMart plans to use AI to quantitatively analyze past sales results and consumer trends, thereby increasing the likelihood that new products will become hits.
However, the responsible department will make the final decision on whether to launch products suggested by AI. It will determine whether to commercialize them after reviewing practical constraints, including the procurement of raw materials and manufacturing technology.
FamilyMart also expects efficiency gains. The company believes that AI can reduce not only the time spent analyzing the market but also the number of meetings with manufacturers and prototype production runs. A company official said, “Using AI can reduce the work involved in developing ideas and related tasks by about 20%.”

[email protected] Hye-jin Seo Reporter