Good-Loop is the 2017 winner of The Next Big Thing start-up pitch competition after successfully winning over Nestlé and scooping the top prize at ad:tech London.
Fourteen finalists pitched for the opportunity to collaborate with Nestlé via the HENRi@Nestlé open innovation platform. Good-Loop was crowned the winner for their tech-for-good solution to the challenge, which will use the power of advertising to make a charitable donation to the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. Good-Loop’s Founder and CEO, Amy Williams, has seen her company grow enormously in the last year – the platform having already piqued the interest of some of the biggest brands and advertisers around.
The Next Big Thing 2017 focused on the KITKAT Sustainability Project, an effort to give consumers the opportunity to experience and participate in KITKAT’s global sustainability efforts and their positive impact on society and the environment as part of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. Through the HENRi open innovation platform, Good-Loop will aim to work with Nestlé on a partner-pilot-proof-of-concept model to test their technology in field. Each successful pilot through HENRi is funded with $50,000 and given senior support and access to market.
Launched 4 years ago, previous winners of The Next Big Thing include Fluid Ads, Relative Insight, Seenit and native ads platform Avocarrot, who exited for $20m last year. This year’s competition was a partnership between Nestlé, global ad agency McCann, and ad:tech London.
Amy Williams, CEO and Founder of Good-Loop, winners of The Next Big Thing: “We’re all about empowering consumers and giving them the choice to engage with advertisers in support of the causes they care about. With KitKat and the Good-Loop platform, we’re able to donate 50% of ad spend to the Nestlé Cocoa Plan and support suppliers, communities and consumers around the world. We’re really looking forward to seeing this come to life.”
Gerardo Mazzeo, Global Innovation Director, Nestlé: “Bringing together a global brand like Nestlé and some of the world’s most creative entrepreneurs is a fantastic way to drive innovation and encourage collaborative solutions to real problems. Good-Loop had a clear vision for helping us to bring home the work we are doing with KITKAT and sustainability and we’re excited to see where the partnership leads.”
Florence Audoyer, Global Strategic Marketing and Communications – KITKAT: “Through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan programme, we work hard to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and the quality of their products. We were looking for the right startup to bring our sustainability initiatives to life in a creative, exciting, and engaging way that truly connects with people. We’re excited to work with Good-Loop to help shine a light on the Nestle Cocoa Plan in a new way.”
ad:tech London took place on 29-30 November at The Old Truman Brewery, London.
About HENRi@Nestlé
HENRi@Nestlé is an open innovation platform where early-stage companies can partner with us to pilot high-potential solutions to some of the most challenging issues across our FMCG portfolio. The HENRi platform brings together the creative spirit and ingenuity of innovators with the scale and expertise of a global, 150-year-old company. We post real business opportunities for companies to collaborate with us on production innovation, sustainability initiatives, creative brand campaigns and more. Selected companies receive $50,000 and senior business support to fund pilots to bring their products and ideas to customers. It’s named after our founder Henri Nestlé, who combined an expertise for scientific innovation with a passion for nutrition and a global ambition. For entrepreneurs, it starts with a simple click. Visit www.henri.nestle.com to start working on projects that matter.
About ad:tech
ad:tech London is the UK’s longest-running advertising and marketing technology conference and exhibition – a marketplace for buying and selling, a community for networking, a forum for exchanging ideas and insight.
ad:tech London is part of a portfolio of more than 50 global marketing and advertising technology events run under the ad:tech, iMedia and MMS brands. All three events are run by the Comexposium Group, the world’s fourth largest organiser of trade shows, conferences and one-to-one meeting events.
