Unilever's Innovation and New AI Course Empower Brazilian Businesses
Unilever enhances product innovation and marketing in Brazil, while a new free AI course boosts competitiveness among small businesses.
- • Unilever invested over €900 million in R&D over two years, focusing heavily on fragrance and consumer product innovation.
- • Brazil is a critical market for Unilever's innovation, including the launch of OMO Ciclo Rápido in 33 markets by 2025.
- • Unilever's 'Desire at Scale' marketing strategy involves cultural engagement and influencer partnerships, with 16% of revenue spent on marketing.
- • The Academia Rocket de Inovação launched a free AI course for small Brazilian businesses, with 78% of entrepreneurs optimistic about AI adoption.
Key details
Unilever has significantly bolstered its global innovation with over €900 million invested in Research and Development over the past two years, including €180 million dedicated to fragrance development alone. The company highlighted Brazil as a top-five market crucial to its innovation strategy, notably launching the OMO Ciclo Rápido—a laundry product with a fast wash cycle preference—planned to reach 33 markets by the end of 2025. Giovanna Bressane, CMO of Home Care for the Americas at Unilever, emphasized fragrance as a key consumer attribute influencing product appeal, while the company's marketing strategy leverages cultural engagement and influencer partnerships to create compelling consumer desire. This strategy, branded as 'Desire at Scale,' revolves around the pillars of science, aesthetics, sensory experience, social sharing, and youthful spirit, with 16% of global revenue allocated to marketing, half of which targets digital platforms.
Complementing this corporate innovation, the Academia Rocket de Inovação has launched a free course titled 'IA na prática para pequenos negócios' designed to help micro and small Brazilian business owners adopt artificial intelligence. Amid growing optimism—78% of Brazilian entrepreneurs favor AI adoption according to Microsoft Brazil—the course offers five modules covering AI fundamentals to practical applications such as brand building and administrative task automation. Renowned AI and automation experts, including Arthur Igreja and Adriel Araújo, facilitate the course, aligning with aims to democratize innovation and enhance local business competitiveness.
Together, these initiatives reflect a dual approach in Brazil's business landscape: large multinationals like Unilever leverage significant R&D investments and marketing prowess to lead innovation, while educational programs empower small businesses to integrate cutting-edge technologies such as AI, fostering competitiveness across diverse market segments.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.