Unilever launches corporate Accelerator for FMCG Startups in Russia

The company is interested in start-up projects in four main directions: production – new recipes for ice cream, sauces and tea, natural conservation and production processes optimization; packaging – new biodegradable materials, inner and secondary packaging (new properties and room for modification); storage – modern refrigerating and freezing chambers, packing and processing innovative technologies; communication with consumers – new structures and package design, interactive programs for smartphones, VR/AR technologies and so on.

Unilever is interested not only in start-ups that have a solution model, but in current projects that demonstrate working business results at the initial stage.

Applications for participation in the Unilever corporate accelerator can be submitted until October 31, 2018. The applications will be reviewed commonly by Unilever and GenerationS experts, about 20 most promising teams will be picked, the teams will be assisted to improve technological solutions for further integration into business processes and find the ways for possible scaling of their businesses to the international level.

"Cooperation with start-up entrepreneurs and their support is one of the priority areas for Unilever within the Plan of Sustainable Development and the Improvement of the Quality of Life that lays a foundation for our business model. We saw plenty of examples of successful implementation of joint projects with start-ups in different countries. Some of such start-ups have become part of our portfolio and are our trademarks now. We are happy to know that our cooperation with GenerationS made possible such initiatives for us in Russia as well," Daria Cameco, Food Products Marketing Manager at Unilever.

"Today, innovations are in demand in many areas: consumer markets and the food industry do not make any exception. The requirements to packaging, storage and promotion of products are rapidly changing. But food producing companies often struggle to find customers. Our goal is to overcome the emerging barriers and provide a background for  bringing new solutions to market. That is way it is very important to combine a start-up that has bold ideas with experience of world experts in the FMCG market in the accelerator format," said Ekaterina Petrova, Director of the corporate accelerator GenerationS.

Participation in the Unilever corporate accelerator is free of charge, the application can be submitted at unilever.generation-startup.ru.

Unilever has been operating on the Russian market for more than 25 years. Currently, Unilever owns four large production clusters: food products and ice cream in the Tula region, tea, cosmetic products and household chemicals in St. Petersburg, cosmetics in Yekaterinburg and ice cream in Omsk. The company's total investment in the Russian economy exceeds 195 billion rubles, and the number of employees in Russia is about 5,000 people. There are such well-known brands as Baltimore and Calve (mayonnaise, sauces and ketchups), Knorr (seasoning), Carte D'Or, Zolotoi Standart and Magnat (ice cream), Beseda, Brooke Bond and Lipton (tea), Dove, Rexona, Chernyi Zhemchug, Chistaia Liniya (cosmetics), Domestos (household chemical products) and many others. Since 2010, Unilever has been implementing its own Plan of Sustainable Development and the Improvement of the Quality of Life through its brand programs with socially significant mission.