The event was the kick-off of the new open innovation format ‘Supplier Fair’ from the Nivea skin care maker, and saw its longstanding top raw materials suppliers present innovations, concepts and ideas in areas of textures and formulas, while there was also a direct exchange with over 200 researchers.
“This allows us to give companies with which we have an especially trusting working relationship the opportunity to enter into direct exchange with our researchers to present ideas, concepts and innovations,” says Dr Volker Kallmayer, Head of Raw Material Scouting.
“More than 200 of our researchers learned a lot through intensive discussions and tried out samples brought by our partners. There have already been many requests made to exhibitors for formulas that are of interest for our innovation pipeline.”
The event itself focused on special cosmetic textures and promising trends in skin care, and Kallmayer says that it was a real positive that the partners were so well prepared for the day with specially tailored formulas and ideas for the different Beiersdorf brands, which also include Eucerin and La Prairie.
“Our employees in turn spoke very openly about innovation ideas and concrete questions. This made it possible to further deepen our already close collaboration and we are very confident that with this bundled innovation power we will be able to surprise consumers all over the world with attractive products,” adds Kallmayer.
Having branded this first event last month a success, Dr Kallmayer says that a second Supplier Fair with additional close strategic partners is being considered for 2016.
Open innovation portfolio
Beiersdorf also hopes that the fair becomes an additional established tool in the open innovation portfolio of the company, adding to previous initiatives.
In January 2011, Beiersdorf started the international open innovation initiative Pearlfinder in order to further increase its ability to innovate and to confidentially integrate external partners.
Since then, the initiative has developed into a global network with 270 registered international partners from diverse industries and since the re-launch of the platform in December 2014 has made it even easier to submit innovation ideas and to get in touch with Beiersdorf researchers.
This has also led to the Beiersdorf Innovation Pitch at the annual in-cosmetics event, at which external partners from all over the world have been able to present innovative ingredients and submit concepts since 2014.