AI, machine learning and big data are revolutionising the business potential of biotechnology. Neil Parry, Head of Biotechnology, reflects on three key biotech opportunities that are fuelling business growth and strengthening supply chains at Unilever.

Biotech innovation is moving faster than ever before
We are leveraging the power of AI and machine learning to develop sustainable biotech alternatives for high-cost and hard-to-source ingredients
Partnerships with industry leaders are allowing us to develop new ingredients five times faster than before
Biography
Unilever Head of Biotech Neil Parry in front of the Materials Innovation Factory.
Dr Neil Parry
Head of Biotechnology at Unilever

I’ve never seen innovation move as fast as it does today.

Biotechnology has huge potential to power our growth and strengthen our supply chain, and right now the opportunities feel limitless.

Fundamental science and tools that used to take us five years to develop now only take five months. This means that discoveries of new materials and optimisation of lead opportunities can happen in a timeframe that is engaging many more businesses and markets.

Thanks to large-scale data, machine learning and high-performance computing, we can now run thousands of different virtual experiments in the time it would take to do one in a physical laboratory.

Our biggest challenge is making the right choices about what to prioritise to ensure we’re delivering superior products for our consumers.

We see three key opportunities to strengthen our impact.

What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is the use of biology to develop ingredients and products through modifying living organisms for human purposes - such as solving societal and environmental challenges. By using the latest science and technology at Unilever, we can create consumer goods ingredients with high performance and a lower environmental impact.

Creating high-value premium ingredients
The first is using biotechnology to create cost-effective, sustainable substitutes for high-value ingredients.

We have just launched an initial pilot programme with the University of Nottingham in the UK, exploring how we can use biotech to extract essential oils from plants and flowers that would otherwise go to waste. The ambition is to then use them to fragrance our products.

Many of our beauty brands have already made the switch to other sustainable biotech alternatives. Dove, for example, has launched hair products using biotech-derived vegan proteins like collagen and elastin in products such as Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner.

Similarly, REN has swapped natural bisabolol, an anti-inflammatory ingredient traditionally extracted from wild chamomile, for a fermented alternative for its Evercalm Barrier Support Elixir.

A line up of Dove shampoo and conditioner products
And it is not just in beauty and personal care that we are seeing biotech make an impact.

In Nutrition, we are leveraging biotechnology to find plant-based, sustainable ingredient alternatives for use across our brands.

Most recently, we have been working with The EVERY Company to explore how we can use precision fermentation to create nature-equivalent egg products without hens.

And in Home Care, biotech is accelerating the creation of new enzymes that could halve the number of ingredients we need to formulate our cleaning and laundry products.

AI is powering innovation in this area at a previously unimaginable speed. Working with Arzeda, a leader in protein and enzyme creation, for example, has allowed us to develop new ingredients five times faster than ever before.

Over the last 18 months, thanks to AI-powered Intelligent Protein Design Technology, we have developed new enzymes that can break down different types of stains, use less water and energy and replace petrochemical-derived ingredients.

The focus now is on scaling up production.

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