Latest news with #Unilever-owned
The Star
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
How AI is helping to curb food waste
According to the UN, food waste amounted to 1.05 billion tonnes worldwide in 2022. — AFP Relaxnews Could artificial intelligence help us throw away less food? Every year, over a billion tonnes of food end up in the trash – a colossal waste, which some are trying to curb thanks to the power of AI. This Earth Day, let's take a look at three initiatives that use this technology to achieve the simple goal of curbing food waste. Dynamic pricing adjusts as the expiry date approaches In Tel Aviv, a startup has developed a system of dynamic price labels that adjust as the food's expiry date approaches. It's then up to the consumer to make a conscious choice, preferring to spend less and/or choose a given product to help reduce waste. Logically, it's often the less successful products that benefit from this kind of price adjustment. According to Wasteless, this technology could reduce food waste by at least 40%. To achieve this, the company uses artificial intelligence, which, based on a sum of data, can determine how to adjust prices according to stock levels, the nature of the product and the expiry date. Making smart use of the contents of your fridge What refrigerator contains no leftovers? There might always seem to be some leftover pasta lying around, or some zucchinis and peppers for that soup you never got around to making. Packed in airtight boxes, or worse, shoved into the bottom of the appliance, things can quickly get forgotten or overlooked. That's why Hellmann's has launched the Meal Reveal app. Powered by Google Cloud's artificial intelligence technology, the app recognizes all the contents of a fridge when scanned by your smartphone camera. Recipes are then generated to encourage consumers to use up what they've got and reduce food waste. The app is free and can be launched directly via a QR Code on the Unilever-owned brand's website. Offering retailers a fresh approach to sourcing Consumers are often entrusted with the responsibility of limiting food waste by better adapting their purchases and planning their meals. But responsibility also lies with industry, in this case retailers. That's why a Berlin-based start-up called FreshFlow has developed software that provides precise information on how to restock shelves with perishable foodstuffs, particularly fruit and vegetables. These goods are a particular source of food waste, due to their short shelf-life, but also because of the need to keep shelves stocked with enough produce to tempt consumers with fresh, appetizing-looking food. This new system is powered by artificial intelligence, which determines which varieties of food to add to the shelves and which orders to place. According to FreshFlow, €50bil (RM250.98bil) worth of fresh produce is thrown away by retailers in Europe every year due to poor stock management. – AFP Relaxnews
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Unilever Acquires Wild, UK's Leading Natural Deodorant Brand
Wild Cosmetics, a UK plastic-free cosmetics brand founded less than six years ago, has been acquired by Unilever for an undisclosed sum. Reports indicate that the two founders and childhood friends Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon own approximately 40% of the company—suggesting a total transaction value of £250 million, (around 300 million USD). Launched in the UK in 2020, Wild Cosmetics became popular thanks to its refillable, plastic-free deodorants and lip balms as well as natural hand and body wash. Inititally sold though its direct-to-consumer channel only, the brand positioned itself as a premium, eco-friendly personal care brand and rapidly gained traction amongst shoppers. In 2021, it expanded into grocery retail through Sainsbury's, Boots and Holland & Barrett and quickly became UK's number one natural deodorant brand. A key driver of Wild's success became its positioning as 'the water bottle of the bathroom', as co-founder Freddy Ward explained it for Brightpearl a few years back: 'The way I like to explain it is 80% of customers in the UK now use a reusable water bottle but less than 5% of people have a sustainable solution for their bathroom products'. He shared his vision of consumers making the shift to refillable personal care products the same way they do with refillable water bottles, as long as it is made easy thanks to convenient, sustainable solutions. Less than four years after becoming widely available in the UK, Wild grew at a staggering +151% over three years to become the most popular deodorant brand, with sales of £46.9 million in 2023 (+77% YoY) and a pre-tax profit of £509,000 according to its annual report. Partnering with Unilever is seen as a strategic move to scale this vision, leveraging Unilever's global reach and distribution network to drive widespread adoption. Bowes-Lyon, Wild's chief marketing officer, told The Guardian that having access to Unilever's distribution network and R&D would help accelerate its 'ultimate mission to remove plastic from the average Joe's bathroom' and to 'make sustainability mainstream'. There is no reason to believe that Unilever would fall short of honoring this vision, especially as it is very aware of growing consumer and societal pressures around sustainability. Wild deodorants have grown faster than Unilever-owned deodorant brand and has gained strong eco-friendly credibility, making it an obvious strategic fit for the group. According to Fabian Garcia, the president of Unilever's personal care division, 'the brand's innovative approach to formulations and packaging, and social-first marketing, has made Wild an unmissably superior brand and a perfect complement to our personal care portfolio.' Wild Cosmetics' strong brand equity, eco-friendly credentials, premium positioning and strong financial position made it a clear acquisition target for Unilever, especially as the company looks to move towards more premium, high-growth segments. Zooming out, this acquisition marks a broader trend within the consumer goods space: established industry leaders acquiring young, agile brands that excel in product innovation and create desirable, authentic brands born to be close to the consumer. The rise of consumer interest in health, wellness and sustainability has also fueled this shift, highlighting an industry-wide push towards more agile, forward-thinking brands. Overall, this signals a positive shift and an encouraging future for brand founders and the consumer goods space, as it demonstrates how evolving consumer needs and behaviors are driving positive change, and ultimately rewarding innovation.
