Speaking to public relations and communications expert Liat Simha, Horsky tackles some of challenges facing the food industry, innovation, personalization, 3-D printing, and more…

1. Horsky on innovation, personalization, 3-D printing, and more
Speaking to public relations and communications expert Liat Simha, Horsky tackles some of
challenges facing the food industry, innovation, personalization, 3-D printing, and more…
1. What are the biggest challenges large food corporations are facing today?
Horsky: The food industry has been going through significant changes in the last few years. Private
equity groups and activist investors have taken large stakes and powerful positions in many food
companies, driving costs down and pushing for M&A and further consolidation. The acquisition of Kraft
Foods by Heinz, followed by a failed attempt to acquire Unilever, is a good example. Another
challenge: The food industry is busy reformulating existing portfolios in order to meet the tightening
regulations in many countries with regard to reducing sugar and salt intake and food
labeling. Meanwhile, the retail environment is changing with e-commerce and direct-to-consumer
channels growing at pace and changing the rules of the game. Finally, consumers are demanding
heathier, authentic, and personalised brand experiences, with a slew of small food brands successfully
meeting these demands and gaining significant sales and market share. In the past five years, more
than US$18B in sales have shifted to small- and medium-sized companies.
2. Gil, you talk a lot about personalisation in food products. What does that mean?
Horsky: Today’s consumers are demanding special products and new experiences. This new
“paradigm of personalisation” is somewhat counterintuitive for big food manufacturers, as they’re all
about scale and making the same product faster and cheaper. Yet recently, the fast technological
evolution of e-commerce, “big data”, 3D printing of food, and digital printing of packaging opened up
new possibilities for food manufacturers in terms of personalising products and packaging in an agile
and efficient way. Especially, the “Millennial” demographic expects FMCG’s to enable them to
purchase and create personalised product experiences. The drive of the Millennial demographic
towards personalisation is linked to sharing one’s possessions and demonstrating social status via
social platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat. For this generation, personalisation is not just a
fad—it is, in fact, a way of life. Successful personalisation campaigns can have a big impact on sales
and consumer engagement, and should be viewed as part of a brand’s strategy, not just a one-off
promotion. For example, the “Share a Coke” campaign enabled Coke to gain 25 million new Facebook
followers, and a more than 7% increase in consumption. The campaign was so successful, the
company followed up with other, similar campaigns.
3. What’s the difference between the personalisation and customisation of food?
Horsky: Good question! It’s important to recognise the difference between these, as they are two
different things. Personalisation is automatically adaptive; it’s when the product or system you’re using
tailors itself to your behaviours, wants, and needs without active input. Customization requires
consumer participation, allowing shoppers to manually choose or adjust elements of a product to their
preference. My favorite example that demonstrates the difference between the two is that
customisation is when you’re getting into your car and you adjust the climate control to the desired
temperature. Personalisation is when the car knows it’s you, and then automatically adjusts the climate
to suit you.
4. Personalisation is a key topic at Fi Europe 2017. Nuritas and Leatherhead will be
presenting on the topic at the Summit and the Conference. Please give us a few
examples of both of these concepts in action in nutrition, food, and packaging.
Horsky: One would be in the highly emotional engaging snacking category: The Oreo cookie “Colour-
filled” platform. It enabled consumers online, with just a few simple clicks, to personalise their beloved
Oreo snacks as special gifts. Mondelēz International, the company I work for, owner of the Oreo brand,

2. is able to execute Oreo personlisation in scale, by strong internal e-commerce and fulfillment
capabilities, while leveraging the HP Indigo digital printing capabilities. Another great example is a 3-
D chocolate printer for chocolatiers and consumers who want to create unique chocolate items as
gifts. It can even make a chocolate “selfie”! In the same vein, the Ripples coffee maker, by Steam CC,
can get you a selfie printed on the milk foam in your cup of coffee. The system enables you to
customise a cup of coffee by printing photos, messages, or any other visual content on the milk foam.
This provides consumers with the coffee experience they know and love, but with a surprising,
personalised element, that takes the product beyond consumer expectations. Finally, I am very excited
about the advancements in science and big data that now enable us to make personalised food and
nutrition recommendations that are tailored to an individual’s unique DNA or gut microbiome. This is
a relatively new space, with several startups, including Habit Food Personalized LLC—based on DNA,
lab results, and body metrics—, and Day Two Ltd., which provides food recommendations to balance
blood sugar based on the client’s microbiome. I believe the industry is merely beginning to scratch the
surface of the concept of personalised nutrition and that this will impact the entire food chain. In the
coming years, we will see a significant jump in science-based solutions for personalised nutrition.
Horsky speaking at this year’s DLD Conference in Tel Aviv
5. What kind of innovation do you expect to see at Fi Europe?
Horsky: Start-ups are a driving force in the food industry, bringing in exciting innovation and gaining
share, so my first choice would be to attend the Start-Up Innovation Challenge. It will be interesting to
see the different pitches and get a glimpse of some of the exciting new products and ventures that
might shape the market in the coming years. I also recommend joining one or two innovation tours on
the show floor. They give a real sense of the food industry’s creativity and capabilities. For example,
the Reduction & Reformulation: Sugar, Salt and Fat tour; the Clean Label tour; and the “Everything
Protein” tour all sound very interesting. Finally, I personally think the Future of Nutrition summit is a
must-attend event, both for industry leaders and food and beverage company professionals.
6. Before you go, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself. How does one become an
innovator in the food industry?

3. Horsky: Working as an innovator in the FMCG industry is a dream job. From a young age, I enjoyed
the tactile experience of physical products and the challenge of trying to assess their design,
functionality, and what drives people to buy and use them. As I pursued my career interests, it was
clear to me that I would focus on marketing and innovation in the FMCG industry. I was specifically
attracted to the food industry—what can be a more personal connection to an object than consuming
it? Especially, the highly emotional chocolate category which I work in now. I started my marketing
career in PepsiCo, in the US the best “marketing school” one could experience. After a few years, I
had the fortune to join Kraft Foods—which later split off Mondelēz International—in a global innovation
role for chocolate. It has been exciting to create innovation for some of the most iconic global brands,
such as: Milka, Cadbury and Toblerone.
7. What makes you “tick,” personally, as an innovation leader?
Horsky: My real passion is developing products that delight consumers by solving problems or fulfilling
unmet needs in their daily lives. The creative process in large corporations is not an easy one, and
requires persistence, risk-taking and a strong belief in your vision. It also requires a strong and
supportive cross-functional team, as there are going to be many ups and downs along the way. It
actually calls for similar traits and skill sets as for entrepreneurs. I think that large corporations should
change the title of “innovation manager” to “intrepreneur”, and should aspire to innovate like
startups. As an innovator, the biggest moment of pride for me, is when a new product I was directly
involved in developing is on shelf and I walk down the store aisle watching consumers pick it up from
the shelf or consume it with a smile!
About Gil Horsky
Horsky is a Global Innovation Platform lead at Mondelēz International, the world’s biggest snacking
company. His passion is growing brands and creating innovative products that will delight consumers
around the globe. Throughout his career, Horsky has had the privilege to work on some of the most
iconic global brands: Milka, Cadbury, Toblerone, Pepsi, Quaker Oats & Tropicana