Friday 18 March 2022

Unilever seeks start-ups to co-create sustainable beauty products

Unilever is seeking start-ups and scale-ups to co-create sustainable beauty products including haircare, skincare and deodorant products.

The London-headquartered consumer goods company has launched a new entrepreneurial challenge and is searching for the best start-ups, scale-ups and academic spin-outs to partner with its teams for the next-generation of biodegradable and sustainable cosmetic ingredients and packaging materials.

The leading ideas will be given the chance to explore partnership opportunities within Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care business, which includes brands such as Dove, Axe, TRESemmé and Vaseline, or potentially pilot their concepts.

It plans to develop the products through its Positive Beauty Growth Platform, which was launched last year to support Unilever's Positive Beauty vision that seeks to champion a new era of beauty that is equitable and inclusive as well as sustainable for the planet.

Its previous challenge attracted applications from more than 300 businesses, with many now kicking off pilot projects with Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care brands.

The project supports Unilever's ambition to make its product formulations biodegradable across 100% of our brands by 2030.

Richard Slater, Unilever’s Chief Research and Development Officer said: “We’re creating the next generation of technologies and ingredients for our beauty and personal care products that are not only highly effective but also natural and sustainable.

“Collaborating with disruptive new players in this space is going to lead to even more breakthroughs as we grow our business and portfolio for a future where people and planet can thrive together.”

Applications can be submitted until 11th April 2022, with the shortlist to be announced on 12th May 2022.