Unilever and Accenture scale generative AI in Toronto-based partnership

06 Dec 2023 --- Unilever is collaborating with Accenture to explore new applications to help scale generative AI. The work will start at Unilever’s new “Horizon3 Labs” in Toronto, Canada, using assets from Accenture such as AI Navigator or its “switchboard” that lets users select a combination of models to address the unique business context.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says the companies have a decades-long relationship and sees this latest “combination of Horizon3 Labs’ disruptive innovation with Accenture’s deep expertise and strong ecosystem partnerships [helping] Unilever scale AI and generative AI more rapidly and responsibly across its business and discover new pathways to value.”

Accenture is keen to access data from the consumer goods multinational, which has more than 400 brands, including personal and home care businesses, which are reportedly used by more than 3.4 billion people on a daily basis.

Teamwork in Toronto
A Unilever spokesperson tells Personal Care Insights the Toronto location was chosen due to “the city’s dedication to growing expertise and attracting talent in AI. Unilever’s “Horizon3 Labs” will have access to the growing network of academia, start-ups and businesses dedicated to this field in the city, and benefit from the “top-tier talent its ecosystem offers.”

Unilever set up a hybrid model where its employees are working alongside academics, start-ups and bigger industry players. It expects to see two significant benefits from this effort: creating a sustainable talent pipeline to power the growth of the AI Lab, and collaborating to underscore research as the focal point in Unilever initiatives, driving immediate and data-driven business impact.

Unilever scaling AI with AccentureAI impact on personal care and beauty
Unilever tells us the Toronto lab’s goal is to generate new concepts, designs and projects that can be scaled and shared across the business globally. 

It sees the lab as an increase in technology investment that grew out of the company’s focus on the use of AI to increase productivity and efficiency. 

Unilever says it is using the technology across its business including Beauty and Wellbeing and Personal Care Business Groups with generative AI in its customer service and marketing plus advanced analytics and machine learning in supply chain and logistics.

The FMCG giant is targeting “15 areas of focus” it says are aligned with its business priorities with “Horizon3 Labs,” initially focusing on the following three it expects to have the greatest potential for making an immediate impact: forecasting, modelling complex data relationships with graph technology and generating insights on trends, patterns and predictions through generative AI. Unilever hopes this strategy will further accelerate product discovery and development.

When asked about the innovations seen pushing the industry forward, Unilever says “Horizon3 Labs” just launched, [so] the development of brand innovations is currently confidential.”

Our sister platform, Food Ingredients First, recently explored how AI holds the potential to transform the consumer food sector.

By Anita Sharma