Innovation Pathways
Opening new market opportunities for Tetra Pak: A Pioneering Scale-Up Ecosystem | 2023 -2024
- Scale-Up Club Launch: Successfully launched an industry-first club, originally exceeding targets by selecting six instead of two scale-ups for pilot projects, demonstrating ambition and reinforcing Tetra Pak's innovation leadership.
- Cultural Impact: Significantly enhanced entrepreneurial culture within Tetra Pak, better positioning the company and its partners to meet future industry challenges and trends.
Tetra Pak: Deepening Retailer Relationships in Mid-Europe through Strategic ESG Engagement | 2023 -2024
- New Go-to-Market Strategy: Developed a regional approach tailored to ESG maturity and retailer needs.
- Deeper Relationships: Assigned stakeholder leads to build strategic, long-term retailer partnerships.
- Enhanced Positioning: Shifted Tetra Pak’s role from supplier to sustainability partner.
- Scalable Model: Created a replicable framework for other regions.
Enabling 300% Growth for Bimbo UK | 2024
- Market Coverage: Entire UK bakery market scouted; 150+ profiles analysed, 3,000 data points collected (double the initial target).
- Validated Partners: 7 suitable partners identified, meeting or exceeding expectations.
- Growth Enablement: All critical BUK SKUs are covered, establishing a clear path to achieving the 300% growth target.
- Developed a simple, replicable strategy that can be leveraged for ecosystem building, M&A, and strategic partnerships.
Unilever: Trend Research and Analysis for Strategic Product Development | 2017-2019
- Trend research informed Unilever’s market-driven innovation process.
- Ensured new products aligned with real consumer needs and future trends.
- Market-pull approach helped identify untapped opportunities for brands.
- Positioned brands for success in competitive and fast-evolving consumer goods markets.
- Set a goal of increasing new product revenues by €50 million per brand annually, based on insights.
- Investment in NPD based on emerging trends.
- Exposure to startup founders.
Unilever: Fostering Entrepreneurial Thinking with Design Thinking Workshops | 2017-2019
The workshops were instrumental in cultivating a culture of collaboration and innovation across the company. They not only empowered Unilever employees to think like entrepreneurs but also promoted stronger internal partnerships between departments. This led to more effective and innovative product development processes, directly contributing to the success of flagship brands like Magnum and Ben & Jerry's.
Unilever: Building an Open Innovation Platform to Drive Global Collaboration | 2019
Driving McCain’s Innovation Strategy around Texture | 2023 - 2024
- Insightful R&D Roadmap: Delivered a global insights report that guides McCain's R&D investments, transitioning from internal focus to market-driven strategies.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitated partnerships with startups and experts, accessing new technologies and expertise to improve product texture and quality.
- Cultural Transformation: Fostered an emerging culture of innovation and customer-centricity, positioning McCain to adapt to market trends and consumer preferences.
McCain: Fermented Potato Innovation Strategy | 2024
- 2 Product Concepts: Novel prototypes exploring taste and texture.
- Methodology: Developed and documented a repeatable Challenge Lab process for future innovation.
- Collaborations: Expanded McCain’s external network by scouting 75+ players and actively engaging with 10.
- Repeatability: Summarised the full journey to ensure internal teams can replicate and scale the approach.
- Innovation Mechanism: McCain gained a tested framework (Challenge Lab) to accelerate new product development.
- Strengthened Ecosystem: Partnerships with startups and experts positioned McCain at the center of the fermentation innovation space.
- Strategic Learning: Answered critical exploratory questions around technology, feasibility, and consumer formats for fermented potato products.
- Future Readiness: Opened pathways for long-term sustainability and innovation initiatives, building momentum for further exploration.
Danone Circular Economy: Driving Collaborative Innovation in Food | 2020
In 2020, Danone partnered with Naked Innovations to design and deliver a virtual incubator programme focused on accelerating circular economy solutions within the food sector. The initiative brought together diverse, multidisciplinary teams to co-create innovative concepts addressing real industry challenges.
Outcomes
- Tangible Innovation: Four teams progressed to collaborate directly with Danone, developing solutions with real-world application.
- Capability Building: Participants were equipped with design thinking, rapid prototyping, and pitching skills, strengthening innovation capacity across the ecosystem.
- Ongoing Impact: Continued mentorship supported teams beyond the programme, enabling further development and execution of their ideas.
This initiative demonstrated the power of structured, collaborative innovation; leveraging diversity, digital tools, and expert guidance to accelerate circular solutions in the agrifood system.
Mondelez Ecosystem: Building the Future of Snacking | 2024
In 2024, Mondelez partnered with Naked Innovations to move beyond traditional scouting and adopt an ecosystem-driven approach to open innovation; identifying and engaging high-potential startups shaping the future of snacking.
Outcomes
- Expanded Pipeline: 200+ startups scouted across key European markets
- High-Value Connections: 50+ strategic introductions and one curated demo day
- Investment Impact: First European startup investment secured (Urban Legend)
- Ecosystem Growth: New corporate partner onboarded and ongoing collaboration established
This project marked a shift toward a more collaborative, ecosystem-first innovation model; unlocking stronger partnerships, better insights, and faster pathways to investment and growth.
Mondelez Snack Futures: Unlocking Innovation Ecosystems in Snacking | 2023–2024
In 2023–2024, Mondelez partnered with Naked Innovations to explore emerging innovation ecosystems across Europe, strengthening its market strategy in chocolate and snacking through targeted startup engagement and ecosystem mapping.
Outcomes
- Ecosystem Insights: In-depth mapping of two key innovation ecosystems
- Targeted Engagement: Three innovation safaris delivered in Madrid, Cologne, and London
- Strategic Impact: Enabled collaboration and investment in high-potential startups
Approach
Through trend analysis, stakeholder scouting, and curated startup engagement, we connected Mondelez with relevant startups, experts, and research centres across Spain, Germany, and the UK. Innovation safaris created high-value, in-person opportunities to explore technologies, build relationships, and identify strategic fits.
This work gave Mondelez direct access to emerging innovation; supporting a more proactive, insight-driven approach to product and technology development in the snacking space.
AINIA StartBEC Hackathon: From Research to Scalable Bioeconomy Solutions | 2024–2026
Over the past three years, StartBEC has evolved into a strategic platform for transforming R&D into viable bioeconomy ventures, with more focused challenges, higher standards, and solutions closer to real market application.
Outcomes
Stronger pipeline of applied solutions (e.g. byproduct valorisation, resource efficiency)
Deeper alignment between scientific talent, industry needs, and market opportunities
Continued ecosystem growth connecting universities, tech centres, and corporates
Approach
A challenge-driven, intensive hackathon model that connects research, talent, and industry, designed to accelerate the journey from knowledge to application. Naked Innovations has supported the programme from the outset, shaping both its structure and challenges to ensure tangible, scalable outcomes.
Impact
StartBEC is building a replicable model for the bioeconomy, bridging research and market to unlock new value, strengthen innovation pipelines, and accelerate circular solutions across the Mediterranean.
EIT Food EWA: Empowering Female Agrifood Entrepreneurs | 2021–2023
From 2021 to 2023, Naked Innovations partnered with EIT Food to design and deliver the Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA) programme, supporting female entrepreneurs to launch and grow ventures in the agrifood sector.
Outcomes
30 women entrepreneurs supported across three cohorts
Strong pipeline of startups driving innovation in agrifood
Increased access to mentorship, funding opportunities, and networks
Creation of a long-term, peer-to-peer support community
Approach
A 6-month training programme combining mentorship, practical learning, and community building to equip participants with the skills, mindset, and support needed to scale their ventures. Naked Innovations led the programme end-to-end, from design and scouting to delivery and evaluation.
Impact
EWA has become a proven model for unlocking underrepresented talent in agrifood, strengthening entrepreneurial capacity and contributing to a more inclusive and innovative food system.
EIT Food TeamUp: From Matchmaking to Market | 2021–2022
Since 2021, Naked Innovations has partnered with EIT Food to design and deliver TeamUp, a venture-building programme connecting talent and technology to launch high-impact agrifood startups across Europe.
Outcomes
15 startups launched across Eastern and Southern Europe
Strong founder teams formed through strategic matchmaking
Startups equipped with the tools, networks, and support to scale
Continued programme expansion following initial success
Approach
A structured venture studio model guiding participants from matchmaking to business creation. By connecting tech experts with commercial talent and embedding them in a wider ecosystem of corporates, investors, and mentors, the programme enabled teams to develop market-ready solutions.
Impact
TeamUp established a repeatable model for startup creation in agrifood, combining ecosystem building with venture development to accelerate innovation and bring new solutions to market.
Reimagining Innovation Recognition | Mercabarna Innova Awards 2025
In 2025, Mercabarna partnered with Naked Innovations to evolve its innovation awards into a more dynamic, ecosystem-driven experience that better engages the agri-food and logistics community.
Approach
Naked Innovations led the full design and delivery, refining categories and evaluation criteria, activating a multi-channel outreach strategy, and introducing a more engaging event format with stronger storytelling and expert input.
Outcomes
Consistent participation, 75% attendance, broader ecosystem representation, and increased post-event visibility through media and content.
Impact
Shifted the awards from a static ceremony to a platform for ecosystem activation, strengthening collaboration, visibility, and Mercabarna’s position as an innovation leader.
