When we think of the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) industry, our thoughts run toward supermarket shelves, colorful packaging and articles filling our homes. Yet, despite the inherent familiarity we all have with these products, there lies a world of innovation. With the advent of digital technology, e-commerce and evolving consumer behavior, the sector is growing at an accelerated pace. In this month’s post, we’ll be delving deep into the world of FMCG, spotlighting startups that exemplifies the spirit of innovation in this sector.
Welcome to “Startup of the Month by Innovatika”, our new series of articles designed to showcase the innovative edge that is shaping the future of business across the globe. Our mission? To highlight, each month, startups that are redefining industries, reinventing technology, and reshaping societal norms.
Innovation – the heartbeat of FMCG
As with many industries, staying stagnant is not an option in FMCG. Consumer preferences change, new trends emerge, and global challenges (like climate catastrophe) push companies to innovate. Innovation in FMCG can mean new product development, process improvement or marketing and branding. Innovation ensures that FMCG companies remain relevant, competitive, and able to meet the evolving needs of their expansive consumer base.
In recent years, startups have emerged as significant enablers of innovation in the FMCG sector. While well-established companies have the advantage of scale and distribution networks, they can sometimes be slower to adapt to rapidly changing technological landscapes or consumer demands.
Startups, with their nimbleness and penchant for disruptive thinking, are creating technologies that are helping these giants to pivot, adapt, and innovate. Some startups offer AI-driven insights into consumer behavior, while others might provide sustainable packaging solutions or efficient supply chain management tools.
The FMCG industry, with its vast reach and immense economic impact, is a testament to the interwoven nature of commerce, consumption, and culture. As the sector continues to evolve, the symbiotic relationship between startups and established companies promises a future of sustained growth, innovation, and value creation for all stakeholders involved.
Innovators in FMCG
Farmer Connect: Blockchain Traceability in Food & Beverage Supply Chains – Switzerland
Farmer Connect offers comprehensive traceability solutions tailored for the food and beverage supply chains. Leveraging blockchain, it seamlessly tracks both products and monetary transactions. Farmer Connect emphasizes the importance of origin data, providing producers with verified records from the global supply chain. These records unlock access to services ranging from education to crop certification. By centralizing data, the trust is fostered, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. Their suite boasts tools for offline data capture, data management, digital identities for farmers, and a QR-enabled app letting consumers trace product origins. Through Farmer Connect, businesses can navigate the complexities of the supply chain with confidence and clarity.
Learn more on their website: https://www.farmerconnect.com/
Paretos: AI-Driven Decision Intelligence – Germany
Paretos offers an AI-driven Decision Intelligence platform tailored for enhancing the precision and efficiency of business decision-making. By seamlessly integrating with all common data sources, Paretos allows businesses to effortlessly identify, plan, execute, and monitor opportunities using automated workflows throughout their organizational structure. It’s specifically designed to address the challenges of volatile markets, intricate supply chains, and the overwhelming volume of data. This software help teams harness the
potential of data without necessitating expertise in data science.
Learn more on their website: https://www.paretos.com/
Basetwo: Digital twins to optimize manufacturing – Canada
Basetwo offers a SaaS AI platform, tailor-made for manufacturers, enabling them to construct digital replicas of their facilities in mere minutes. The intuitive low-code, drag-and-drop interface streamlines the integration with various data sources. Engineers find it effortless to cleanse data, construct and validate machine learning models, and implement them to elevate standard operating procedures. This is pivotal for industries such as food and beverage, where maintaining product consistency is paramount. For those specializing in Process and Quality Control, it offers a comprehensive framework to collect, visualize, and process batch data. This refined batch data management ensures steadfast product quality, maximizes asset utilization, and curtails the reliance on paper records, thereby expediting batch release cycles.
Learn more on their website: https://www.basetwo.ai/
HowGood: Sustainability Insights – USA
Delving into the realm of sustainability is simpler with HowGood’s Latis, user-friendly SaaS platform. Latis enables a swift and comprehensive analysis of the environmental and social impact of products and ingredients. This robust tool not only streamlines decision-making processes but also reinforces goal tracking and sharpens marketing strategies, all rooted in data-driven insights spanning 33,000 ingredients. With Latis it’s easy to monitor carbon emissions, manage supply chain vulnerabilities, and gauge progress towards ESG benchmarks. Underpinned by 16 years of meticulous research, a rich tapestry of 600+ accredited data sources, and the latest in scientific methodologies, HowGood ensures that their assessments are always precise, thorough, and current.
Learn more on their website: https://howgood.com/
Notpla: Seaweed-Based Sustainable Packaging – United Kingdom
Notpla is redefining packaging with their innovative use of seaweed and plants. Distinct from traditional plastics, Notpla’s products are naturally biodegradable and home-compostable, akin to a fruit peel. Harnessing the eco-friendly properties of fast-growing seaweed—a resource that doesn’t require freshwater, land, or fertilizer—Notpla offers environmentally conscious solutions across industries, from electronics to food.
Learn more on their website: https://notpla.com/
Dragonfly AI: Creative Asset Analysis – United Kingdom
Dragonfly AI presents an advanced platform powered by artificial intelligence aimed at optimizing creative assets for FMCG brands. Using a unique biologically driven AI, it predicts consumer attention on different elements such as packaging, shelf displays, or digital ads. This facilitates brands in fine-tuning their design and messaging to resonate more effectively with their audience. Their tool offers real-time creative testing and in-depth analysis on a desktop interface. It’s a game-changer for brands striving for improved return on investment from their creative endeavors.
Learn more on their website: https://dragonflyai.co/
ROAR: Merging Digital and Physical World – USA
ROAR is an augmented reality (AR) agency tailored for brands in FMCG sector. They provide a self-service platform, which streamlines the creation and deployment of AR experiences without the complexities of coding or design. Through this platform, brands, educators, and even students can effortlessly launch AR content that blends the physical and digital worlds through the lens of a smartphone. The versatility of ROAR’s services includes features like Web AR, image scanning, object scanning, and spatial AR, all designed for users with minimal to no technical expertise. Beyond creation, the platform offers a Data Analytics Dashboard that allows businesses to monitor user engagement, fostering better customer conversions and generating actionable insights.
Learn more on their website: https://theroar.io/
Algori: Redefining Consumer Panels – Spain
Algori offers a fresh approach to consumer panels and data analysis. Algori provides SKU-level insights at a speed that’s 7 times faster than traditional panel from 50,000 weekly shoppers, effectively capturing 1 in 400 grocery receipts in Spain. Through a user-friendly app users submit a receipt, which Algori then deciphers down to the product level without depending on retailer system integrations. What emerges is a clear, real-time picture of consumer behaviors and trends, granting FMCG brands a newfound agility in a fast-paced market. The cross-retailer SKU-level data from 25,000 daily basket data is enriched with demographic, psychographic, and store location details, positioning them as a trusted partner for many top FMCG brands.
Learn more on their website: https://algori.ai/
NotCo: Revolutionizing the Food industry with AI – Chile
NotCo is a food tech startup that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to craft plant-based alternatives to traditional animal-based foods. Their proprietary AI program delves deep into the molecular structure of animal-based foods to replicate their taste, texture, and aroma solely with plant-based ingredients. The result is not only a remarkable mimic of the original, but is also more environmentally friendly. Beyond mere imitation, the company’s goal is to provide consumers with healthier food options that are both effortless to incorporate into their diets and delectably satisfying.
Learn more on their website: https://notco.com/
Our October 2023 start-up of the month
AI Palette: Predictive Analytics Empower FMCG – Singapore
AI Palette is a predictive analytics platform tailored for FMCG brands. Drawing from an impressive 61 billion data points across 24 countries, companies can discover opportunities, create and validate concepts in a single day with a few clicks. Multiple services cover anticipation of emerging consumer trends, product concepts development that align with a brand’s ethos, and evaluation against consumer preferences and competition. And for the F&B realm, Food GPT steps in as a specialized AI assistant, helping brands seamlessly navigate trend identification and product innovation.
Learn more on their website: https://www.aipalette.com/
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