Unilever Foundry

Unilever wins award for Foundry’s collaborative ecosystem innovation 🏆✨ We are thrilled to announce that the Unilever Foundry has been recognized as a winner at the Corporate Startup Stars Awards for our collaborative ecosystem innovation! Unveiled on 4th December at the ICC Global Headquarters in Paris, the Corporate Startup Stars Awards celebrates the top corporates globally that excel in collaborating with #startups. This prestigious event is run by the #OpenInnovation advisory firm Mind the Bridge and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Thank you to Rocco van den Berg for representing the Foundry at the event! 👉 Check out the Open Innovation Imperative report for more info: https://lnkd.in/eZnxmGTp #Innovation #Collaboration #Ecosystem #CorporateStartupStars #UnileverFoundry #Awards Darren Adams Chris Evans PJ Mistry Gemma Osei-Antwi Huanhuan (Andrea) YAN Qiutong Li Abigail Dogruoz Rocco van den Berg Vivek Chondagar

Congratulations to Cohort 6 of the 100+ Accelerator programme! 🎉 We are incredibly excited to welcome the innovative startups joining this journey. At Unilever Foundry, we believe in the power of collaboration to drive meaningful change. Together with our corporate partners AB InBev, The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive and Danone, we are committed to providing resources, mentorship, expertise, and opportunities to scale these groundbreaking innovations.   As we embark on this new chapter, we look forward to potential partnerships and the impactful solutions that will emerge.   Let’s harness innovation, foster collaboration, and accelerate impact—together! 🌍 PJ Mistry Charlotte Ward Marta Chiapasco Kieran Roberts Dr. Christopher Ellingford Rocco van den Berg Mark Newman #100Accelerator #sustainability #unileverfoundry #startupecosystem #inspiration #innovation #collaboration

Is modern innovation like playing jazz?🎤🎷   We are excited to share that Darren Adams will be exploring this topic at the Innov8rs.co conference in Phoenix, Arizona 8-9th April!   Darren will delve into the Ecosystem Innovation Model and how Unilever is evolving its partnership models to innovate at a faster and more impactful pace. This session will explore the coordination of multiple players with different short-term objectives but shared long-term goals, contributing their unique capabilities to tackle challenges like sustainability and climate change.   Planning to attend? We have a few discounted passes to the conference – comment below or message us for more info. 👇   #Innovation #Leadership #Collaboration #Ecosystem #UnileverFoundry #Innov8rs

Happy New Year from Unilever Foundry! 🎉  As 2024 comes to a close, we want to express our deep gratitude to all our amazing partners and collaborators. Your support and innovative spirit have made this year truly special. We're excited about the opportunities that 2025 will bring and look forward to continuing our journey together. Let's keep pushing boundaries, driving sustainable growth, and creating impactful solutions. Here's to a phenomenal new year filled with creativity, collaboration and innovation! 👉 Visit https://lnkd.in/d5b3-Gk #HappyNewYear #UnileverFoundry #Innovation #Collaboration #2025Opportunities

Ten years of innovation from the Unilever Foundry 🎉 As we wrap up 2024, we reflect on a truly remarkable year for the Unilever Foundry. This year marked our 10th anniversary, a decade dedicated to solving Unilever’s biggest challenges by fostering global collaborations. Over the past ten years, we’ve developed techniques to bring external innovation into Unilever, resulting in some incredible jointly developed technologies. We’ve nurtured over 400 collaborations; testing, validating, and bringing ground-breaking solutions to life. In 2022, we shifted our focus to R&D and we now drive advancements in areas such as microbiome research, biotechnology, material chemistry, and AI-driven R&D. By diving deep into the innovation ecosystem, we have connected with early-stage startups, experts, investors, and accelerators, significantly accelerating our work. The Foundry is about more than just sourcing new technologies. It’s about building a partner ecosystem that enables Unilever to scale the best tech solutions from innovators worldwide. By combining Unilever’s domain expertise with our collaborators’ creativity, we’ve set new standards for innovation and sustainability. Thank you to all our partners and collaborators for being part of this incredible journey. Here’s to another decade of ground-breaking innovation and sustainable solutions! 👉 Learn more at https://lnkd.in/d5b3-Gk #UnileverFoundry #Innovation #Sustainability #Collaboration #10YearsOfInnovation #Microbiome #Biotechnology #MaterialsScience #GenAI Darren Adams Huanhuan (Andrea) YAN Rocco van den Berg Chris Evans PJ Mistry Abigail Dogruoz Gemma Osei-Antwi Qiutong Li Dr. Christopher Ellingford João Pedro Stakonski Ella Giraudeau 100+ Accelerator Inez Fun Dennis Perez

Calling all AI-driven sustainability innovators! 📢 A big shout out for Bright Tide’s new Sustain.AI accelerator programme, which seeks AI-driven sustainability companies across sectors like #biodiversity, #agriculture, #oceans, #energy, #climatehealth and #climatechange. Bright Tide has successfully run multiple accelerators in areas relevant to Unilever, such as Regenerative Agriculture and Blue Carbon. They collaborate with global organizations to tackle urgent climate and biodiversity challenges. The Foundry has had the privilege of engaging with previous cohorts, who brought immense energy, knowledge, and a collaborative spirit. We strongly encourage early innovators to participate in this programme! 🌱 👉 Apply by December 31st: https://lnkd.in/d-XFRYEb #SustainAI #AIForGood #Sustainability #Innovation #UnileverFoundry #BrightTide

Collaborating for a more sustainable future 🌟 Last week, Unilever Foundry joined AB InBev, The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, and Danone for the 100+ Accelerator Demo Day in London. The event was a hub of innovation and inspiration, where start-ups pitched their solutions and showcased the results of their pilots with these program partners. Unilever Foundry are proud to co-lead Unilever’s participation in this exciting program, with the themes for this cohort including #circulareconomy, #sustainablevaluechain, #waterstewardship and #climateaction. Well done to our very own PJ Mistry for moderating the panel session - Innovate to Collaborate: Powering a Sustainable Future Through Strategic Partnerships with Pablo Costa, Ann Tracy, Daniela Zahariea and Brian Perkins. The event was truly inspiring, brimming with energy and creativity. With 22 start-ups presenting, there were some remarkable solutions on display, with just a few examples including: 👉 BUYO Bioplastics: Offering a 100% nature-based bioplastic solution 👉 Kaffe Bueno: Championing multifunctional bioactive ingredients derived from upcycled coffee 👉 The Supplant Company: Creating unique ingredients through the upcycling of agricultural products 👉 erthos®: Re-imagining the fundamental components of plastics Check out the full list here: https://lnkd.in/edz9hr2r A huge thank you to the 100+ Accelerator team for organizing such a fantastic event and to all the start-ups and partners who joined. We are more committed than ever to drive positive change through collaborative innovation! 🌍💡 #UnileverFoundry #100PlusAccelerator #Innovation #Sustainability #DemoDay #London #Collaboration Willem Uijen Charlotte Ward Alberto Prado Vanessa King Ella Giraudeau João Pedro Stakonski Zoë Long Sarah Hosking Simon Duchatelet Adrian Jervis Abigail Dogruoz Gemma Osei-Antwi Kieran Roberts

🌱 Advancing sustainable packaging with The Better Futures Net Zero Innovation Challenge We’re pleased to join other well-known businesses in the Mayor of London's Better Futures Net Zero Innovation Challenge. Our focus in this challenge is on circularity and sustainability in packaging, as we strive to find solutions that help achieve net zero. Led by Sustainable Ventures and supported by the Greater London Authority, this challenge is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It offers a unique opportunity for SMEs and established businesses to collaborate and explore scalable, cutting-edge solutions to achieve net zero. 👉 Find out more about the challenge: https://lnkd.in/e-Qw4AmV 👉 Find out more about Unilever Foundry #netzero #innovation #climatechange #London #UnileverFoundry #sustainability #startups Dr. Christopher Ellingford Rocco van den Berg PJ Mistry

"...our microbiome science is now driving real consumer innovation." The Foundry team are honoured to work alongside the talented people solving Unilever's biggest scientific challenges. 🌟 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJ9UA3Jy #SkinHealth #MicrobiomeScience #PersonalisedSkincare #Innovation #UnileverFoundry

Accelerating Impactful Innovation in China 🌟  In our quest to help solve Unilever’s biggest scientific challenges, the Foundry recently worked with our Shanghai R&D team to delve into China’s vibrant market for innovative solutions in life sciences, clean future technologies, digitization, and new product formats.     By co-hosting an Innovation Challenge to uncover these technologies, we witnessed first-hand the remarkable potential of China’s tech landscape: 👉 AI and GenAI: China is rapidly advancing with significant investments from tech giants and strong government support. By 2027, China’s generative AI spending could reach 33% of the world’s total, highlighting its growing influence.   👉 Deep tech in consumer goods: AI, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology are transforming consumer goods, enhancing efficiency and personalization. China’s booming beauty and wellbeing industry is driving this innovation, pushing companies to adopt advanced technologies to meet growing consumer demands and stay competitive. - Beauty e-commerce in China nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2022, with its share now exceeding 20%. - The beauty market in China is expected to reach approximately $580 billion by 2027, growing at a projected 6% annually.   The Foundry is committed to helping solve Unilever’s biggest scientific challenges through a systematic approach with our network of partners, going beyond the usual answers.     Our collaboration with China’s tech ecosystem is a prime example of this commitment. By working together, we are not only enhancing our capabilities within China but are also sowing the seeds for superior products that could revolutionize industries worldwide. By implementing our collaborative process across the globe, the Foundry ensures that Unilever remains at the forefront of global innovation.     ✋ Want to get involved? Get in touch if you have solutions that address our innovation priorities! www.theunileverfoundry.com   #Innovation #SustainableDevelopment #Collaboration #UnileverFoundry #China   Darren Adams Huanhuan (Andrea) YAN Qiutong Li Richard Slater