Unilever is using artificial intelligence to make its Beauty & Wellbeing business faster, more responsive and more efficient. For investors, including Finsbury Growth & Income Trust, which holds Unilever in its portfolio, the point is clear: the company is using technology to strengthen innovation in a high-value consumer category.
Beauty & Wellbeing is a major division for Unilever, covering hair care, skin care and wellbeing products such as vitamins, minerals and supplements. The company values the business at €12.8 billion, making execution in this area important to the wider investment case.
Unilever says AI is helping its teams identify consumer trends earlier and turn them into product ideas more quickly. Its tools review more than 1,000 external data sources each month, including social media, search, retail and competitor activity. This gives the business a faster read on what consumers want and where demand may be developing.
The company says AI has made consumer insight work 60% faster, while the time needed to move from product concept to R&D brief has fallen from months to days. The technology is also improving product formulation. Unilever says formulation cycles have been reduced from five or six rounds to one or two, while claims generation is now 75% faster.
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc (LON:FGT) invests in the shares of predominantly UK-listed companies, with the objective of achieving capital and income growth.
