Nestlé this past weekend celebrated the first anniversary of its global innovation platform Henri@ Nestlé, but in truth, it was more of a transmogrification six years in the making.
Henri@Nestlé, which is named after the company’s 19th-century scientist-founder Henri Nestlé, virtually connects numerous independent innovation labs from London to Shanghai. Via an online channel, the conglomerate’s managers post business challenges that the startups pitch against and then, if they’re lucky, are chosen for a Nestlé-partnered pilot with $50,000 seed money.
In the past year, the program has attracted a slew of submissions that include assessing and diagnosing micronutrient deficiencies as well as finding sustainable materials to replace plastic water bottles.
“It’s just the beginning,” noted Gerardo Mazzeo, global innovation director and CSV manager at Nestlé, who added that he will…
