These days, it’s unusual to find a large consumer products company that doesn’t have some sort of venture capital or startup-nurturing mechanism.Unilever is no different: Over the past year, it has invested $6 million in Unilever Foundry, a program for finding potential partners that can “make sustainable living commonplace.
”Now, it’s looking for even more ideas through a crowdsourcing campaign unveiled at this week’s high-profile advertising schmooze-fest, Lions Innovation in Cannes, France.So far, the larger Foundry program has worked with at least 30 companies, mainly those with digital marketing services that can help Unilever drive visibility for its five-year-old Sustainable Living Plan, said Karen Hamilton, global vice president for sustainability at Unilever. One example of a Foundry connection is a relationship with artificial intelligence expert DigitalGenius, which worked with Unilever’s Knorr brand to create a service called “Chef Wendy.”
The idea is to suggest recipes that make use of food items already in a consumer’s pantry, addressing the thorny issue of food waste. “Over time, the software becomes more personalized,” she said.
Source: Unilever wants you to reinvent sustainable living | GreenBiz