Unilever Foundry
Subject
Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Authors / Editors
Birkinshaw J;Meghani S
Biographies
Publication Year
2016
Abstract
This case focuses on the Unilever Foundry, a platform for Unilever to engage with start-ups and entrepreneurs, providing them with access to Unilever’s brands as a means of enabling their growth while bringing innovative technology back to the company. The case provides a brief description of Unilever’s evolution from the mid-1990s to 2016, focusing on its various attempts to make the business more innovative and agile. With the arrival of Paul Polman as CEO and his “sustainable living plan”, the impetus to innovate was once again very high and a number of initiatives were launched to help the company move beyond its traditional ways of working. In May 2014 the Foundry was launched to create commercial opportunities by connecting Unilever businesses with start-ups. Through a licensing mechanism, the start-up would make its technology available to Unilever to bring innovation to its brand or get the rights to use a Unilever brand within certain guidelines. The Foundry was essentially a platform for collaboration. The case explores how the Foundry functioned and evolved both within Unilever and in the collaborations with external start-ups. By December 2015 its leader, Jeremy Basset, had a team of seven people and operated in several locations across the world. The case closes with various issues facing Jeremy – whether to raise greater awareness of the Foundry within Unilever; how to scale it to make a difference within the huge organisation that was Unilever; and ultimately, where to go from here?
Topic List
Agile approach, Corporate entrepreneurship, Corporate strategy, Technological innovation
Industry
Consumer goods
LBS Case Number
CS-18-015
Location
International
Publication Notes
Available on ECCH
No
