The German Henkel Group is a global leader in both industrial and consumer sectors, with a portfolio that includes top brands in hair care, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings. Founded in 1876, Henkel has production sites in over 50 countries, employing more than 48,000 people and generating annual sales of €21.5 billion.
Henkel’s leadership is driven by its commitment to innovation, powered by extensive R&D expertise and a strong emphasis on open innovation. This approach ensures the company remains at the cutting edge of technology and product development, reinforcing its market dominance in core categories and regions.
As part of their commitment, they have joined EU-LAC Digital Accelerator to connect with Latin American and Caribbean digital solutions. They have shared three cleantech challenges related to salon transformation, digital identities, and sustainable ingredients.
Salon Transformation
Henkel seeks startups that provide innovative solutions for hairdressers to boost conversion rates and sustainability. Specifically, they are interested in water-saving devices, sustainable waste management tools, IoT-enabled color mixers, and advanced hair analytics software. These solutions should also support the development of new business models, such as remote hair services, and help driving the transformation of the salon industry.
Digital identities
Henkel seeks startups that specialize in cutting-edge technologies such as Volumetric Video, Generative AI, and Blockchain to revolutionize the capture and representation of real humans in the digital world.
These innovations should enable the creation of highly accurate digital twins, offering a seamless bridge between physical and virtual identities. Additionally, we are particularly interested in solutions that enhance the cybersecurity of digital identities, ensuring the highest standards of security and privacy.
Sustainable Ingredients
Henkel seeks innovative startups that specialize in sustainable ingredients and products for hygiene and homecare. Our focus is on solutions made from bio-based materials and sustainable substrates. We are particularly interested in (1) Alternative Materials: Startups utilizing Green Chemistry, bio-based materials, CO2-based materials, and other eco-friendly alternatives, (2) Circular Economy Products: Solutions that embrace advanced recycling, waste-to-materials processes, green packaging, and B2B platforms supporting sustainability.
Benefits
By participating in these challenges, you can access Henkel’s investment and partnership capabilities, including the following services:
- Investments: We invest in early-stage, late seed until B rounds.
- Partnerships: We connect value-driven capital with our established ecosystem of internal and external partners to help startups scaling.
- Tech Expertise: Our tech team with state-of-the art capabilities and a unique tech stack co-innovates together with our start-ups and strategic partners.
- Business Power: We co-innovate based on defined use cases together with experts around the globe from Henkel’s business units and functions.
Match with Henkel!
Match your digital solutions and apply for our Open Call #2 to gain our in-kind acceleration services valued at up to 30,000 euros for Latin American startups and 40,000 for Caribbean startups. You will implement a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) project with Henkel to perform a preliminary test of your solution, service, or technology. The PoC will validate part of the functionality of your solution, service or technology or test the complete functionality on a reduced scale. It lasts less than four months, and a contract is signed to regulate the terms and conditions of the PoC and subsequent relations.
Match your solutions by registering to our matching platform!
Learn more about Open Call #2 and the Cleantech area of opportunity!
