Unilever Canada wins prestigious Mitacs Award for cutting-edge A.I. innovations that reshape the future of retail, packaged goods

Best-in-class A.I. engines uncover data insights to improve the shopping experience for consumers, increase productivity and growth for retailers

Toronto, Ont. — NOV. 22, 2023 — Unilever Canada is being recognized for its pioneering work to reshape the future of retail and consumer packaged goods, using artificial intelligence (A.I.) to ensure the right product is in the right place, at the right time, in the right packaging.

The innovative work has earned the Toronto-based company the Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership—Industry, awarded by Mitacs, a national innovation organization that fosters growth by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions and supported by the Government of Ontario. The award will be presented at a ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Nov. 22.

Since establishing its North American Data Science team in 2016, Unilever Canada has accelerated the development of several A.I.-driven products, establishing a strong presence in the Canadian A.I. ecosystem and helping to build a solid talent pipeline in the country. Over the past six years, the company has worked with 20 Ph.D. or postdoctoral Mitacs researchers from several leading universities — including the University of Toronto, Western University, the University of Ottawa, Toronto Metropolitan University and Concordia University — to build best-in-class, A.I.-driven data engines that improve precision marketing, demand forecasting and promotional planning, and increase supply-chain efficiency.

The objective is to support the company’s business goals while creating the best possible experience for both its retailer network and consumers, said Gary Bogdani, Unilever Head of Data Science for North America and Canada Data and Analytics.

“Our technology is enabling us to answer questions such as: Are we responding with the right innovations to meet the needs of our respective markets? Are we providing retailers with the best recommendations to execute successful promotions? How do we make our products more visible?” said Bogdani. “These are some of the decisions we make every day, and these newly developed A.I. engines are giving us the data insights we need to do it faster and better, ultimately improving customer engaging and optimizing our promotion strategies.”

Globally, Unilever is making significant investments in developing and deploying A.I. technology across the business, while following its global principles for the ethical use of data. What sets Unilever Canada apart is its ability to quickly and effectively apply research to business activities with a direct impact on planning, growth and investment. Bogdani credits the unique engagement model created by his department and supported by Mitacs, one that brings academic research into the mainstream by fostering collaboration among universities and start-ups.

“Innovation is in our DNA as a company, and the speed with which we’re able to apply these leading-edge projects is a definite advantage for us in the fast-paced consumer packaged goods industry,” he said. “Mitacs research interns are open to new ideas and new ways of working. They’re embedded organically in our team where their work impacts the business directly.”

The award highlights three projects completed with Mitacs interns in 2022: researchers have helped improve existing methodologies in some key areas of focus like promo management, forecasting and digital marketing.

“There are a lot of data correlations that can be built using A.I. that help us better understand what truly impacts consumer behaviour,” Bogdani explained “At the same time, we can test our own market assumptions in these A.I. engines, based on our own experience and knowledge of the business.”

The Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership—Industry is presented to a Mitacs industry partner with an exemplary record of developing collaborations, providing valuable research and training experience to researchers, and initiating research projects with significant outcomes. Mitacs programs are funded by the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments across the country.

Unilever Canada is one of nine Mitacs award winners nationally, chosen from thousands of researchers who take part in Mitacs programs each year. The remaining eight recipients were recognized for outstanding innovation, commercialization or exceptional leadership in other areas of research.

In congratulating the winners, Mitacs CEO John Hepburn reflected on Mitacs’ 25-year history of providing Canadian innovators with opportunities for experiential skills development through strategic partnerships between industry, government and academia. “Mitacs is honoured to play a pivotal role in empowering industry leaders across Canada to foster game-changing ideas, and we couldn’t be more pleased to celebrate their significant achievements with these awards,” Hepburn said.

For more information about the Mitacs awards and a full list of winners, visit www.mitacs.ca/newsroom.

About Mitacs
Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions. It is funded by the Government of Canada, along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Government of Yukon. For information about Mitacs and its programs, visit mitacs.ca/newsroom.