A Unilever pilot programme has successfully used AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to make the liquid technology systems that clean its nutrition and ice cream machines more efficient.
The solution developed by emerging start-up H20k Innovations has helped our nutrition factory in Poznan, Poland, cut utility use by 10 percent, reduce machine cleaning times by 20 percent and save 100,000m euros per year.
This is one of the most successful pilots to emerge from 100+ Accelerator, a unique partnership created by Anheuser-Busch InBev and co-sponsored by Unilever, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, and Danone.
Connecting FMCGs and tech start-ups to accelerate supply chain solutions
Each year, 100+ Accelerator’s partners meet to set a series of challenges to solve global issues across supply chains and in R&D.
“Open innovation can be tricky when you’re sitting across the table from your competitors,” said Charlotte Ward, Global Head of Unilever’s Climate and Nature Fund.
“We work to ensure the challenges set are in areas relevant to the entire consumer goods industry.”
She added that 100+ Accelerator provides a mechanism for like-minded businesses to learn from one another and to scale solutions quickly, which benefits their respective businesses and generates transformative impact.”
A low-risk opportunity to test, learn and scale innovation
100+ Accelerator works to matchmake emerging tech start-ups with the challenges set. So far, there have been over 2,500 applications for the 2025 cohort.
Those shortlisted receive up to USD 100,000 of funding to run a pilot with one of the partner organisations. In addition to mentoring and training, they’re given access to FMCG’s supply chain, teams, and purchasing power.
The process is fast and always on. It’s a win–win situation for each party: FMCG partners can test and learn new technologies at low risk, and start-ups can leverage an FMCG’s size and insights to scale their solution and bring it to market faster.
Using AI to revolutionise factory cleaning systems
Of the pilots Unilever has undertaken, its most successful has been with H2Ok Innovations, a start-up specialising in AI and the Internet of Things to understand industrial liquid systems.
The challenge set to H2Ok was to make cleaning times in our ice cream and nutrition factories more efficient, save resources, and get the production lines back on track.
Quality and product safety are top priorities in food, and Unilever’s clean-in-place systems for process lines have always been rigorous.
In the past, this meant taking manual samples. H2Ok’s solution uses an IoT-enabled sensor system and process optimisation software to understand what was happening instead.
AI insights from sensor data showed multiple examples of over-washing. It also identified when the protocol said cleaning was complete and the data said it wasn’t. This ensured we carried on cleaning and didn’t produce a spoiled batch.
Now, H2Ok’s technology, like the AI function on a smart dishwasher, ensures that machines use the right amount of detergent, at the right temperature for the right duration, based on what they see, as opposed to manually choosing a cleaning mode.
Because of its success, the system was deployed across two nutrition process lines in Poznan, Poland. It saved ten percent on utilities such as water and energy and 20 percent on cleaning times to help recoup lost production time and save 100,000 euros per year.
Since its implementation, changeover time has been reduced by 16.7 percent over the previous year. A rollout to another 35 sites by 2026 is planned.
Partnering to deliver sustainable impact at scale
In the six years that 100+ Accelerator has been running, it has partnered with 190 start-ups across 40 countries.
This year, Unilever has been aiming to deepen the programme's impact by connecting with Supply Chain, Procurement, and R&D teams to run pilots across the business. This will help solve our biggest operational and innovation challenges. Unilever also aims to work more closely with Horizon3 Labs, a programme that aims to accelerate AI solutions such as H2Ok in Unilever’s operations.
