Flip Sustainability Script in Beauty Industry with Opportunity Mindset

Many wonder which AI company will win. Economic history suggests we're asking the wrong question. 👇 The biggest winners of technological revolutions are often the ones that figure out how to apply it at scale. Not the tech providers. 🚂 Think about railroads. One of the greatest beneficiaries of rail was a brewery 🍺 : Anheuser-Busch. By embracing refrigerated railcars and pioneering nationwide distribution ahead of competitors, the brewery grew 15x in just 12 years 📈 . x15!!!! The only thing that stopped them was prohibition in US 😆 So if you're sipping a Bud or Stella 🍻 🌴 more than a century later, it is partly the result of a bold technology bet made by the managers of a local brewery in St. Louis. The same pattern repeated itself. Electricity transformed manufacturing more than power generation. The Internet turned out to be a much bigger win for Amazon than for many of the companies that built the Internet infrastructure (quite a few of which went bankrupt). Mobile phones biggest winners were arguably Uber, Airbnb, and Instagram—not just the handset manufacturers #nokia. So where are the next trillion dollars of AI value likely to be created? My persona bet is on two, but please drop your thoughts 🚢 🚚 Supply chains & e-commerce Supply chains are giant coordination problems. Every disruption (tariffs, wars, weather, changing demand, supplier failures) creates decisions that humans struggle to optimize quickly. That is a perfect use case for #AI, and we've already seen some of this at Spyrosoft and wins are mindblowing. Transportation and logistics companies sit on enormous, largely untapped datasets. Combined with the continued growth of e-commerce, they could become some of the biggest long-term beneficiaries of the AI era. Think InPost, FedEx, or the companies operating today's less-than-truckload (LTL) networks. 💊 🐶 Biotechnology, pharma & veterinary The undertapped resource is scientific data. AI is making research, drug discovery, and validation faster and more affordable. Regulation remains a significant constraint, which is why veterinary medicine may actually have an edge. I'm still somewhat cautious about pharma, but technically it looks like one of the strongest candidates for an unexpected AI winner. So who will be the Anheuser-Busch of the AI era? What's your bet?

What happened on Day 2 at The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit? See below for the full summary. Quick takeaways: • AI moves from experiment to scale: Day 2 challenged leaders to stop “overtooling” and start scaling AI through ecosystem partnerships, strong data foundations, clear guardrails, and outcome-focused agents that tackle real business activities. • Commerce is getting faster, more connected, and more local: Speakers spotlighted cross-industry growth plays like the Coles Group + Uber Eats expansion to 17,000 grocery items and Mars Snacking’s digital impulse-purchase mode. We also caught lessons from retail in Latin America and China, highlighting omnichannel scale, automation, same-day delivery, and supply-chain resilience. • Protecting the consumer is a growth strategy: Leaders linked health trends, human rights, circular packaging, and sustainability to enterprise value. We heard about GLP-1-driven shifts in grocery spend, worker voice programs, AI-enabled social listening, recycling compliance, and future-ready leadership. #CGFGlobalSummit2026 Kathryn Gramling Till Dudler Nick Diamond Alessandra Zanetti Maria Mazzone Michael Brown Rob Scott Kaustubh (Kaus) Rajnish Katherine Twells Adheer Bahulkar Matt Campbell Jennifer Ducarre (née Evans) Jeanine M. Kent Leonardo Boscardi Tobias Göbbel Oliver Wright Oliver Grange Nevine El-Warraky Dyllis Hesse Jerel Causey Angelo d'Imporzano Rebecca Tully Samuel Holmes Cecily Cohen Paul Prendergast Julian Rubbino Kelly Askew Stéphane Vidal https://lnkd.in/ewqgjf6d

https://lnkd.in/dSQQd4K2 Consumer products industry is undergoing its biggest transformation in decades, driven by changing consumer expectations, retailer power, digital disruption, AI, and the rise of insurgent and private-label brands. Traditional growth models based on scale, price increases, and cost optimization might be no longer sufficient. To create value in the next decade, companies need to focus on six strategic priorities: 1. Rebuild consumer love for their brands and eliminate underperforming “zombie” brands. 2. Develop a small number of distinctive capabilities that become true competitive advantages. 3. Collaborate differently with retailers and adapt to new channels and shopping behaviors. 4. Pursue new growth frontiers through innovation, M&A, and emerging markets. 5. Use AI to combine the scale of large companies with the agility of startups. 6. Build organizational adaptability to thrive amid ongoing uncertainty and disruption. Future winners will be those that make bold, focused bets, leverage AI for business transformation rather than technology alone, and continuously adapt to changing market conditions.

Most retailers are using AI in the wrong place. They are personalising marketing. The leaders are personalising decisions. And that distinction will determine who wins the next decade. Three under-the-radar companies worth watching: → Stitch Fix Not because of styling, but, because they redesigned the operating model. AI doesn’t just recommend products, it also decides what customers should see, what inventory should move, and where human intervention creates value. Lesson: AI is not a channel capability. It is a commercial decision engine. → Zalando Most retailers personalise at checkout. Zalando personalises inspiration. Discovery. Sizing. Content. Assortment. They are moving upstream from influencing conversion to influencing intent. Lesson: The company that shapes demand captures more value than the company that fulfils demand. → Ocado Everyone talks about robotics. Few talk about customer intelligence. Ocado predicts baskets, replenishment behaviour and substitutions before customers think about them. Lesson: The future margin pool sits in reducing friction, not reducing labour. The strategic shift every CEO should understand: Old retail: More products → More choice → More growth New retail: Better decisions → Less effort → More loyalty AI-powered personalisation is becoming invisible infrastructure. Customers won’t notice it. Boards will. Because this is no longer a marketing conversation. It is a growth model and a margin model. And increasingly, a valuation model. The next generation of retail leaders won’t ask: “How do we personalise?” They’ll ask: “What decisions should customers no longer need to make?” That answer may become your competitive advantage. Thoughts?? - Which retailer or brand is quietly ahead of the market right now? #RetailStrategy #ArtificialIntelligence #CustomerExperience #RetailInnovation #FutureOfRetail #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #GrowthStrategy #BusinessTransformation #Leadership #Zalando #Ocaco #StitchFix

AI is helping organizations move faster on sustainability, but technology alone is not what separates the leaders from the rest. The organizations making real progress are the ones sharing openly, building coalitions, and treating sustainability as core business strategy rather than a side initiative. Kara H. Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon, and Felipe Arango, CEO of Fair Trade USA, discuss collective action, applying AI to the world's biggest challenges, and why waiting for a perfect plan is the biggest risk of all.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Randi Larson and Kara H. Hurst (Amazon Chief Sustainability Officer) for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Generative AI Innovation Center podcast. Kara captured something I think about constantly: agency and empowerment are what make change stick. AI is only useful if it puts more power in the hands of the people actually doing the work, the protagonists eliminating poverty and protecting nature. In Fair Trade USA’s case, it is the farmers, workers and fishers we serve across 50+ countries, and their organizations. Thanks to Kara, Randi and the team at AWS for a thoughtful conversation. Full podcast episode here: https://lnkd.in/eXzmWGSJ

Over the last months, I’ve been reading a lot of industry reports and reflections trying to answer one question: what will actually make #fashion #circular? Recent work and discussions from Fashion for Good, Ken Pucker, Patrik Frisk, Victoria Scholz, as well as broader market signals from McKinsey & Company, increasingly point in one direction: #circularity is moving from aspiration to #operational necessity. But while most conversations still focus on design, sourcing, materials, manufacturing, recycling, and compliance - I kept arriving at a slightly uncomfortable conclusion: I think one of the biggest untapped opportunities (and blind spots) in fashion sits after the #sale. Europe generates around 5.8 million tonnes of #textile waste annually. Around 23-24 billion pairs of shoes are produced globally each year, while close to 90% still do not enter effective circular recovery loops. At the same time, regulation is accelerating - Digital Product Passports, Extended Producer Responsibility, separate textile collection, #ESG obligations - all pointing toward a world where brands will increasingly be expected not only to sell products, but to understand their lifecycle. And this is where I think AI becomes much more interesting than another chatbot or recommendation engine. Every returned product contains a signal: Was it damaged? Worn? Poorly manufactured? Wrong fit? Wrong expectation? Wrong material? Wrong customer? Most brands still process these signals manually or lose them completely. My view is simple: the companies that win the next decade will not necessarily be those producing more - but those learning faster from what comes back. That’s exactly why I wrote this new reflection on the CIRQUEL blog - connecting circularity, AI, regulation, textile waste, and why I believe reverse logistics may quietly become one of the most strategic infrastructures of the next decade. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ebcTFeEm Curious whether others working across retail, supply chain, VC, fashion, and policy are seeing the same shift. #CircularEconomy #FashionTech #FashionForGood #AI #ReverseLogistics #ESG #SupplyChain #DigitalProductPassport #Innovation #WomenInTech #CIRQUEL

Latest on International Logistics: Multimodal Exhibition 2026 kicked off yesterday with a series of lively and informative keynotes looking at the future of the industry and the challenges and opportunities it faces globally. Keynote sessions from topics as diverse as AI and mental health ran throughout today’s event including Ben Garratt, Philip Roe and Alexandra Herdman of Logistics UK, Chris Ashley of Road Haulage Association (RHA) and James Rothwell of IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution). Robert Jervis, Event Director at Multimodal and Gary Jeffreys, SVP EMEA at Zencargo, used a fireside chat as an opportunity to talk about why integrated logistics matter now more than ever. Sustainability and Net Zero targets remained an important and much discussed topic throughout the day, including talks from Kelly Hobson of Shape Tomorrow, Hilary Tam of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Nicholas Mazzei of DP World. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eKBqd76E #Logistics #Multimodal #SupplyChain #Sustainability #AI

As someone who spent years in technology, it's been really interesting to find myself right back where I started. It's my full-circle moment as I prepare for 2027. Before Jocelyn & Co., my world revolved around systems, process improvement, automation, and solving complex problems. Then I spent the last several years immersed in specialty foods, packaging, product development, and gifting. Now those two worlds are colliding and I am sooooo here for it. Lately I've been spending a lot of time learning about autonomous retail and retail automation. The more I learn, the more convinced this is going to become a fun and important ecosystem for us. What fascinates me isn't the technology itself. It's what happens when you rethink the retail experience. Early on, I made the decision not to chase traditional grocery distribution. It wasn't because I wanted to stay "specialty." It was because I wanted to be different. I had no interest in fighting for shelf space, paying slotting fees, and competing in a sea of products that all looked the same. I wanted to build products people would discover, remember, and actually be excited to buy. Looking at autonomous retail today, that decision feels more relevant than ever. Coming from specialty foods and gifting, I see opportunities that I don't think many people are talking about. Most autonomous retail today is still centered around convenience. Drinks. Chips. Grab-and-go basics. What happens when you apply the same technology to premium specialty foods, curated gifting, hotel retail, airports, luxury residential properties, and other high-touch environments? I want to figure that out.

Today, Zalando comes on board as a strategic investor in our Series B, bringing the round to $116 million. Back in 2021, when we started Sereact, we made a simple bet: real physical AI doesn't get built in a lab. It gets built where the actual work happens. The number isn't what matters most to me here. It's who's standing behind it. Zalando operates one of Europe's largest fashion platforms, the kind of operational scale and real-world complexity that's the true proving ground for physical AI. Nearly half of everything ordered in fashion gets returned. Every single item has to be unpacked, checked, folded, and processed, and most of that is still done by hand today. That's exactly the problem Cortex was built to solve. 200+ systems already live across Europe. Over a billion real production picks. A robotic brain that keeps getting smarter with every deployment. When a company defined by operational excellence chooses to invest, that's a signal: we're building the right thing, in the right place. This isn't just capital, it's a partnership. And we're just getting started, ready to build something meaningful together.