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LONDON (Reuters) - As commodities - from crude oil to sunflower oil - remain in short supply, Britain's Unilever has changed the ingredient makeup for some of its products like deodorants and packaged food to cut costs and mitigate supply constraints.
The ability to switch ingredients and materials, something consumer goods manufacturers traditionally find difficult, became even more valuable after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to commodity prices hitting multi-year highs.
In April, Unilever boss Alan Jope said the company had begun altering some of its recipes so it could use rapeseeed oil instead of sunflower oil, which had become scarce since the invasion. Ukraine typically produces about half the world's exports of sunflower oil.
According to Unilever's head of research and development, Richard Slater, the maker of Dove soap and Knorr stock cubes is not stopping there.
"Globally, there was a shortage of silicon so we were looking at our deodorant and making sure that we looked at the formulations there...to use less ingredients that are under pressure," Slater said in an interview.
Unilever, which makes Rexona, Dove, Axe and Lynx deodorants, dealt with this issue last year, he said. In its home and beauty care businesses, the company has also been trying to reduce its products' reliance on petrochemicals and make them more sustainable.
"That has a double benefit if you can get a better product that is more sustainable, but also reduce the pressure on some of those ingredients under cost pressure," Slater said.
Many packaged goods makers have tried to wean themselves off palm oil, which has been blamed for deforestation and labor abuses, but is used in everything from P&G's Tide pods to Ferrero's Nutella.
On Thursday, Unilever said it had tied up with San Diego-based Genomatica to build and commercialize alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients.
"We're not talking about a few thousand tonnes here, we are talking meaningful commercial scale," Slater said, declining to provide details about how much of the new ingredient it plans to produce in the near term.
Sourcing alternatives to palm is also "really important from a supply resilience point of view" due to the pricing around the commodity, Slater added.
Unilever no longer relies solely on manual testing when it changes its formulas. Instead, it digitally models how new ingredients would affect products, Slater said.
For instance, he added, as it alters recipes for shampoos, the company uses robots to try dozens of differently modeled potential products on hair in a matter of hours.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Deepa Babington)
LadderUp is aiming for 50% LGBTQ+ and BIPOC participation. Shopify will provide access to its platform.
LadderUp will include an 8-week ecommerce course. (Courtesy photo)
Shipt is launching a new accelerator program designed to provide ecommerce tools for local retailers.Called LadderUp, the program is centered on equity. Target-owned delivery owned Shipt said conversations with business owners have revealed that local entrepreneurs face “gaps” in technology, but they also want to participate in ecommerce platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic was especially difficult for Black business owners, who saw earnings drop between 11-28% in 2019-2020, as compared to the earnings decrease of 5-17% for the rest of the population.
With the new program, the company’s goal is to reach at least 50% LGBTQ+ and BIPOC participation in the program.
Shipt is aiming to serve businesses in Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama, Detroit, Houston and Washington, D.C.
Target categories include: grocery/beverage, health, beauty, and floral/gifts retailers.
“Working with small businesses to build up their capabilities is a key part of our commitment to help create healthier, more resilient and equitable communities,” said CEO Kamau Witherspoon. “We recognize the unique role that we can play in both combating hunger in under-resourced communities and boosting small, local retailers that are so vital to communities across our country.”
Education: Business owners who are selected will receive an 8-week course with industry leaders that covers business-building topics including finances, efficiency, marketing, ecommerce 101, the basics of using Shipt, and legal knowledge.
Funding: Upon completion, retailers will provide $5,000 for businesses to invest in ecommerce.
Shopify access: Shopify, which is partnering with Shipt, is also providing to its access for a limited amount of time to help business owners build an online storefront and manage inventory. The program will also provide technical assistance.
Applications are open Feb. 6- March 6.