Deeptech for beauty
Ai derived novel materials
Forty years ago, my IIT hostel mate Nandip Vaidya had spend two months in remote forests of Madhya Pradesh. Unilever had hired him to help figure out how to collect Sal and Mahua at scale. These seed oils were to be used as a low cost base to replace mineral oil – a relatively benign sounding word for foamed kerosene.
The project failed. Consumers around the world continue rubbing kerosene on their skin, face and hair. Natural products are hard. Getting supply chain in place can take decades.
Today, I had the honour of meeting my IIT peer Dr Yashodhara Pawar. She is tech for Beauty at Unilever. Speak beauty and her eyes light up. She is all about product. The passion is palpable.
A BTech from IIT and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon. From Shanghai to Bangkok and Mumbai to São Paulo – she is the classic global citizen. Now, as global head of digital, she leads digital transformation.
Digital transformation is no longer about implementing SAP or Salesforce (that is what it is in a Big4 or when you hire a IT Services company)
Here it is about creating an organisation which responds to a need or threat by fundamentally altering its product so as to monetise the need or eliminate the threat. Organisations have to do it themselves. It involves technology and it involves fundamental product redevelopment.
We are at an age where agents are “hearing” the internet. They scan everything from social media posts and research publications to patents and startup funding. Let me share a live example. The Internet ears identified a problem.
Carmine.
A widely used colourant in cosmetics.
It was extracted by killing millions of beetles. The cruelty activists were honing in quickly and aggressively.
Now, one can utilize AI to design and optimise new compounds and formulations. Ai can perform in-silico design, testing millions of recipe combinations virtually to predict interactions, reactions, and properties like biodegradability and product allergies – thus reducing or eliminating reliance on physical trials. It restricts choices to sustainable or vegan materials if required.
When the carmine threat emerged from digital feedback. Red flags got raised automatically.
Using ai, a novel material of vegan origin was developed and deployed. Carmine was simply replaced. There was no need for animal testing. The Carmine substitute is vegan and called Hourglass red. Now, u need to create a supply chain. Traditional Carmine suppliers are eliminated. New ones onboarded. Qc has to be done. Capacity built. Prices negotiated. All alongside a live sales engine selling millions of dollars every month.
Ai has changed the world.
Past tense.
Novel materials are going to be at the heart of industry transformation. You have no idea who is preparing a bullet in some garage with your name written on it.
You have to pre empt the bullet. Else you are dead. Doesn’t matter how old or how big.