Our challenge is to find ways to make ice cream an integral part of the meal experience right from the start of the journey when the user opens the website or app ordering page to place their order.
Our mission
We’re on a mission to make our much-loved ice cream brands a must-have dessert option on fast food delivery globally. We partner with fast food chain websites and apps to list our iconic ice cream brands, like Wall’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, building strong brand partnerships and exciting activations which boosts the operator’s profit and average order value without introducing added complexity. We focus on online orders and food delivery where we can provide true incremental value.
More about the challenge
Our challenge is that ‘dessert’ is the final stage in the user ordering journey and consideration, and therefore becomes a nice-to-have:
- Consumers might not be aware that ice cream is available or forget about it by the end of their journey unless actively promoted to purchase.
- They might choose not to add ice cream by this point as it adds to the overall bill.
- Also, they may have spent so much time choosing their main meal that they have no patience left to browse desserts.
Some things to consider
- Online-ordering first: Focus on a solution which works for the world of online food ordering (e.g. the online menu, online via aggregators, on fast food chain apps). This challenge is not about finding solutions for in-store ordering.
- Brand leverage: How can we leverage the power of brands like Wall’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum?
- Inspiration: Consider community-building, brand power, online ordering process, product innovation, scarcity tactics and experiences in more detail. Examples such as recipe creation and “bringing the tempting freshly baked bread smell in a grocery shop” into the online world to trigger the idea of ice cream from the start. The solution could also include the design of a new user experience on the fast food chain’s ordering page or a new tech solution. Think bold and disruptive!
- Consumers: Users in this space are value-conscious. The total order price can vary from €9 to €40+, but they all want value for money.
- Customer: Consider leading burger and pizza chains.
- Market: Focus on European markets as our priority for this challenge.
If you need more details or have any questions about the innovation challenge, please reach out to maud.bollen@unilever.com.
Application timeline
We’ve created a fair and transparent process for submitting, evaluating and selecting ideas, fostering creativity and bringing concepts to fruition.
20 June – Entries open
It’s time to tell us about your bold and disruptive idea.
Make sure to include a description of your idea, tell us how it addresses one of our challenges and how we can bring it to life.
31 August – Entries close
The deadline is extended to August 31st, giving you more time to share your great ideas.
Our digital commerce experts will review each idea based on uniqueness, feasibility, market potential and how well it meets our challenge. If your idea makes the shortlist, we might get in touch for more information.
2 October – Winners announced
Once we’ve selected our three winners, we’ll get in touch to share the good news and details about the prizes, which are:
– A pitch to our Chief Digital Commerce Officer
– Digital award for Best Disruptive Idea
– 1 year of free ice cream delivery!