Stories about innovation

There are several macro trends currently affecting the workforce. Whether employee or employer, everyone is trying to negotiate post pandemic working. Innovation Analyst, Robyn Wilson has spent the last three months diving into the world of employee engagement and has identified four key workplace areas that can be enhanced through innovation to improve retention, engagement and output.

ShopTalk Las Vegas is a space where the most influential brands, and the rising stars, unite to develop connections, have conversations, learn insights and reimagine the future together. Here are our top three takeaways from this year's event.

According to the founders of the Dry January movement, the charity Alcohol Change UK, nine million people took part in the initiative this year - up from eight million in 2022. With more and more people opting out of drinking, we're seeing a proliferation of low and no-alcohol beverages in the market today. So take a seat, crack open a cold one, and get some insight into what’s happing in the world of booze-free booze.

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future reality - it's here, and it's already changing the digital landscape for businesses and consumers. Learn more about the AI opportunity and how it can support your business and shopping experience...

As part of our Future of Health and Wellbeing pillar at True, we have been keeping a close eye on all things sleep. It’s time to wake up to sleep tech - read more on what we've dreamed up based on the latest products and services developed to help us fall asleep, stay asleep, or improve the quality of our sleep.

Technology can be a powerful force in solving the many climate challenges we face, and the climate startup ecosystem is large and complex, covering a vast range of themes. Always on the hunt for the best tech out there, our Innovation team have taken a dive into some of the most notable and interesting, so read on to find out more.

With climate high on the corporate agenda, many retail businesses are setting ambitious net-zero targets. Setting a commitment is one thing - especially when it’s public - but achieving it is another altogether. In this article, we're uncovering the fundamental role innovation will play in tackling the climate challenge for retail.

Fast fashion retailer Shein is beset by greenwashing claims and accusations of poor labour practices, but it's also valued at $100 billion and ships to 220 countries worldwide. So what does this say about the future of sustainable fashion, and how has Shein managed to outshine the naysayers?

The world is changing fast, economically, environmentally, socially and technologically. But what can businesses do to help tackle some of the most pressing global challenges we are facing? We went to WIRED Impact 2022 to find out.

Once a futuristic, digital space just written about in sci-fi books, the metaverse is really here, with nearly $2 billion spent on virtual land in the last 12 months. But how should brands be thinking about the opportunity the metaverse presents?

In this True Story, we're tucking into the ever-evolving food landscape. As the cost of food rises, we’re seeing new trends appear on supermarket shelves and on our screens, with the emergence of platforms helping shoppers navigate the cost-of-living crisis.

M&S’s Ignite team – the home of open innovation at M&S – is looking for ideas and technologies that can encourage more sustainable behaviours amongst its customers, as well as solutions that can help M&S achieve further efficiencies in its agricultural supply chains.

Grosvenor has launched an innovation challenge seeking to discover new technologies and partners that are putting customer experience at the heart of bricks and mortar retail.

As the price of materials, energy and products soar, it's tempting for retailers and brands to discount to keep their customers, whose disposable income continues to shrink.  For many brands the urge to discount, if not well thought through, can be damaging to your brand and easily spiral in a race to the bottom. In this piece we take a look at how businesses can lean into strategic partnerships, innovative tech platforms and other ways to creatively keep your customers.

NFTs (and applications utilising blockchain technology more broadly) are coming under increasing scrutiny for their impact on the planet, and for good reason. The blockchain technology which enables the creation and trade of digital assets is environmentally damaging due to the ‘mining’ processes required to certify transactions, which use a LOT of power. Having said this NFTs certainly don’t have to be entirely at odds with ESG considerations.

For the past two years most of our community interactions have been virtual – but none were quite like the event we hosted at the end of 2021. We jumped into the Metaverse with our guests to take them around a ‘Truetopia’ of virtual shops, streets and leisure spots as our avatars got together in the virtual auditorium, to discuss realistic opportunities for brands and retailers in our community.

The Metaverse has well and truly landed. All things 'metaverse' have reached fever pitch since Facebook's rebranding to Meta. The October 2021 announcement not only set out a vision for what a fully immersive digital world powered by VR would look like for the company's 2.89 billion monthly active users, but also confirmed a colossal investment in making this a reality – $10 billion this year alone. Since then, everyone's been talking about it.

We have been immersed in the virtual world and metaverse for quite some time but the landscape is still evolving and we're still learning. We've done some of the hard work so you don't have to by putting together a glossary of terms that might help unravel the mystery of the metaverse.

Shell’s latest Innovation Challenge with True aims to find the most exciting businesses and ideas to help its 45,000 forecourts improve their water efficiency.

Johnson & Johnson has chosen to work with True to run its LaunchPad process, using its own international network of startups and investors to identify and filter market-leading solutions capable of adding value to one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.

True co-hosted a consumer and retail trade mission to New York in collaboration with the UK Department for International Trade. Hoxton Analytics, Localistico, Mishipay, Spirable, ADAY, All Shades Covered, Placed and VITL all took part representing the breadth of businesses we invest in.

Here at True we're fortunate to witness the innovation activities of a wide range of players from early-stage brands through to emergent, scaling operators all the way to some of the largest global businesses. In addition to ongoing, organic innovation we are increasingly seeing a trend towards acquisition as a means for larger companies to expand their capabilities and reach. Here Matt investigates why more businesses are turning to investment to innovate.

Giles Humphries, CMO and Co-founder of health-focused food box, Mindful Chef, talks to Rich about how he and his Co-founder built their business to put purpose, people and planet at the heart of their operations. Giles also shares his founder journey from the early stages through to its acquisition by Nestle and discusses some of the challenges faced during the pandemic, which included how to deal with a trebling of demand over a very short period.

With an increased awareness among consumers of the impact a meat-free diet can have on climate change and the environment, allplants has put plant-based eating at the heart of their business. Hear how Jonathan (JP) has built his business to harness not only the vegan target market, but the thousands of consumers who are looking to put plants at the heart of their diet, whether that is for their own health reasons, or for the health of the environment.

Alison Hutchinson CBE, Founder & CEO of Pennies, the UK's leading fintech charity, speaks to Rich about the charity's unique model and challenges in funding the development of such an innovative platform. They discuss everything from having to create a complicated payments platform, with a lean team, through to the huge impact retailers and brands can make to their nominated charities through the micro-donations platform.