Our scientists are extremely talented, and know very well that the world is moving fast. Our goal is to further empower our R&D community by accelerating the integration of external perspectives and fostering a growth mindset, introducing new and modern tools to innovate in fresh and impactful ways.

Driving external collaboration to accelerate consumer relevant innovation

Henkel, a global leader in consumer goods and industrial solutions, has long prided itself on its internal R&D and technologies excellence. As the pace of technological advancement accelerates, Henkel’s Consumer Brands division recognized the need to restructure and improve its approach to external collaborations, launching HENKEL SPARK and building a strategic model to master the external innovation ecosystem. 

“Our scientists are extremely talented, and know very well that the world is moving fast. Our goal is to further empower our R&D community by accelerating the integration of external perspectives and fostering a growth mindset, introducing new and modern tools to innovate in fresh and impactful ways," said Maria Trinchera, Head of Disruptive Innovation and Partnerships at Henkel Consumer Brands.

“Henkel has already an excellent reputation among its strategic partners and strives to grow and consolidate its network of young and agile start-ups as a complementary approach,” said Rolf Bayersdörfer, Director Open Innovation and New Business at Henkel Consumer Brands.

Action

Using Halo to find the right partners and streamline discovery

Henkel chose Halo to power its external innovation efforts, attracted by Halo’s ability to quickly surface high-quality proposals from a broad global network of researchers, startups, and institutions.

“ Speed and easy to digest information are crucial to screen with my R&D colleagues. Halo strikes the right balance—enough detail to evaluate, but streamlined enough to move quickly.”

Henkel posted challenges spanning multiple technology fields and saw immediate traction, connecting with high-potential partners enlarging their geographical innovation footprint. These opportunities are now progressing into active collaborations.

In addition to technical sourcing, Henkel sees Halo as a flexible tool—supporting not just external partnering needs but also technology scouting, emerging landscaping efforts, and the discovery of new academic and startup partnerships.

Henkel’s Consumer Brands team also appreciated Halo’s project management support. “Given that resources are always limited, Halo’s help summarizing proposals and managing outreach was extremely valuable,” said Trinchera.

Henkel has already an excellent reputation among its strategic partners and strives to grow and consolidate its network of young and agile start-ups as a complementary approach.

Building a more open innovation culture with global reach

Within the first year of use, Henkel’s Consumer Brands team launched multiple successful initiatives through Halo, finding valuable new partners to contribute on its evergreen goals from technology roadmaps.

As Henkel continues to embed external collaboration into its innovation culture, the company has started posting challenges publicly under the Henkel name to strengthen its global innovation brand and attract even more proposals.

“It’s part of a broader effort to position Henkel as an attractive partner for startups and academic researchers worldwide.” said Trinchera
Encouraged by the early successes, Henkel is now exploring how Halo can be further integrated into other parts of the business, broadening the platform’s impact across additional R&D teams and categories.

“I was positively surprised by how supportive the Halo team was,” said Trinchera. “They understood our needs, helped us every step of the way, and made it easy for us to focus on building the right connections.”