Unilever’s Positive Beauty Growth Platform invites start-up partnerships to drive brand expansion

29 Sep 2021 --- Unilever is launching an initiative called Positive Beauty Growth Platform, seeking to partner with scale-ups and start-ups to accelerate innovation and brand growth.

“Collaboration in the mega-trends of the future is a strategic imperative for Unilever,” says Sunny Jain, president of Beauty & Personal Care at Unilever.

“Building a thriving two-way relationship with the global start-up community helps power innovation and experimentation, deliver business solutions and fuel growth.”

Ushering a new beauty era
The initiative reflects Unilever’s positive beauty vision for a new era of beauty that is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable for the planet, the company supports.

Collaboration in the mega-trends of the future is a strategic imperative for Unilever. Using its beauty science, technology programs and innovation partnerships, the platform will also help drive a transformation in how Unilever’s products are designed and marketed.

This is so that they do more good for both people and the planet, deliver a superior product experience, and tap into consumer trends, the company says.

“The Positive Beauty Growth Platform has been designed to do just that. By harnessing start-ups’ disruptive approach, we will help future-proof our brands by pioneering into new spaces shaping the beauty industry,” Jain adds.

The Unilever Foundry
The platform is led by Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care Division, home to global brands such as Dove, AXE and Love Beauty & Planet, and The Unilever Foundry – the company’s collaborative innovation network.

The Foundry has piloted over 400 start-up projects to date, including collaborations with AI-powered skincare engine HelloAva and cleaning services marketplace Helpling.

“Through a series of pitch competitions and entrepreneurial challenges, the Positive Beauty Growth Platform invites the very best scale-ups and start-ups globally to collaborate on projects at the forefront of innovation and technology in the beauty industry,” the company notes.

Social commerce rises
Unilever is also reaching out to scale-ups and start-ups operating in the fast-growing and evolving world of social commerce.

In its broadest form, social commerce is the integration of social media and eCommerce, using social platforms to sell and promote products and services.

The initiative reflects Unilever’s vision for a new era of beauty that is inclusive and sustainable for the planet.According to Unilever, the global social commerce market is expected to reach nearly US$3,370 billion by 2028. Within it, the beauty and personal care segment is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 30% between 2021-2028.

To bring this growth opportunity to life, the Positive Beauty Growth Platform is especially interested in partnering with entrepreneurs, from seed start-ups to late-stage scale-ups, in the field of Livestream commerce, shoppable media, group buying and gaming commerce.

Successful teams will be given the opportunity to pilot their idea in collaboration with some of the world’s leading beauty brands. Submissions opened on September 28 and closes on October 19, (23:59 BST).

Making an impact
Unilever has made an array of impactful industry moves lately, notably by joining a consortium along with Henkel, L’Oréal, Natura &Co and LVMH, which is urging industry to co-develop an environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products.

The company also took a stance against animal testing in Europe and spoke to PersonalCareInsights on the matter. Unilever enlisted 27 of its PETA-approved brands to join an initiative against the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)’s proposal to allow animal testing.

In growth moves, the company recently acquired digital-led skincare brand Paula’s Choice from TA Associates. Unilever seeks to boost the skincare company’s reach as digital beauty and direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce are flourishing due to COVID-19.

By Kristiana Lalou

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