Mars is a private and family-owned business, with more than 150,000 Associates across its Snacking, Petcare and Food & Nutrition segments. The company produces some of the world’s best loved brands and has a 110-year heritage in science, technology and innovation.
This makes Imperial a valued partner for future developments in areas as diverse as packaging and logistics through to nutrition, agriculture and healthcare.
The Mars Corporate Science Discovery team recently held a strategy meeting across both the White City and South Kensington Campuses. During the visit, Dr Sophie Bradley, Emerging Science and Technology Horizon Scanning Manager at Mars said: “We’re excited to join Imperial Business Partners to explore how Imperial’s expertise can help Mars continue to innovate to meet the evolving needs of people, pets and the planet.”
Collaborating with global companies such as Mars is at the heart of Imperial’s commitment to generate impact from the university’s world-leading research, as outlined most recently in its Science for Humanity strategy.
Julia Zanghieri, Director of Imperial Business Partners, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Mars to our growing network of exciting industry partners. Their focus on innovation at the heart of business strategy speaks strongly to our community throughout Imperial, and is aligned with many of our other IBP members.”
Initial discussions have already explored the impact of different packaging and recycling methods and taking lab-based experiments into real-world testing, recognising different approaches and regulations across the world.
By tapping into Imperial’s ecosystem, Mars will be able to explore holistic opportunities to tackle major challenges in the food and healthcare sectors in which it operates.
Academic leaders including Professor Gary Frost, Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and Professor Kim Jelfs Co-leader of the AIchemy consortium and Co-Director of DigiFAB were among the visionary experts from Imperial’s community presenting their world-leading research and its potential for industry applications.
Dr Bradley continued: “As a truly global company, we know that our innovation can make a huge difference to human, animal and environmental health at local, regional and international scale. Whole-systems thinking is important for this, and Imperial’s network of deep tech researchers alongside policy-level approaches to deploying innovation are an exciting combination to help our business grow.”
This article was first published on 5 March by Imperial College London.
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