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August 08, 2024

Planted combines economic growth and environmental sustainability - with Microsoft Azure OpenAI

Planted is a young company that combines proprietary structuring and fermentation technologies to produce meat from plant proteins, focusing on delicious taste, meaty and juicy texture, while only using natural ingredients. Founded in July 2019 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, the Swiss company now employs more than 200 people in Switzerland and several other countries (including Germany, Austria, Italy, France, UK and BeNeLux). Its meats targeting flexitarians can be found in various supermarkets as well as restaurants across Europe. The main production facility is located in Planted‘s Headquarter in Kemptthal near Zurich.

PLANTED FOODS AG

Planted combines economic growth and environmental sustainability

Planted is the fastest growing FoodTech startup in Europe in the field of alternative proteins and has a clear goal to become the European market leader in this sector. However, for this young company, economic growth is not an end in itself: rather, Planted pursues a vision of contributing to a sustainable and healthy future for all and is equally committed to the well-being of humans and animals. Compared to animal-based meat products, Planted's plant-based meat is extremely resource-efficient, emitting up to 97% less CO2 and up to 90% less water. Planted wants to drive the change from animal to plant-based protein consumption and initiate a fundamental rethink of meat perception, production and consumption. The success of the young company proves that they are on the right track: Planted meats are already available in over 6100 restaurants and more than 8700 retail outlets across Europe including Tesco, REWE, Migros, Coop, etc. and the trend is rising.

Managing successful growth - with a strong partner at your side

As a scaleup, Planted thrives in a dynamic information technology environment, embracing the exciting opportunities that come with rapid growth. Every 6-12 months, the IT requirements shift due to the growth challenges the company experiences. However, Planted is fortunate to have Microsoft as a strong partner on its journey. The initial reliance on Excel sheets and Microsoft Forms marked the inception of the business. Over the years, thanks to Microsoft's robust suite of tools and solutions, Planted has successfully transitioned from Excel to Business Central, making it its ERP system of choice. Power BI is now used for data-driven decision making, and Microsoft Forms, Power Automate and Power BI have been seamlessly integrated to make critical manufacturing operations both efficient and scalable. Furthermore, Microsoft Azure has provided the opportunity to invest in generative AI through Azure OpenAI. This enables the development of data-driven products that significantly improve productivity in various areas of the organization. At its core, Planted is a company that perpetually seeks a partner who not only supports it where it is today, but also possesses the capabilities to grow with it. With Microsoft by its side, Planted has found the ideal collaborator to navigate the challenges of rapid growth and transformation in the digital era. The collaboration with Microsoft has been a partnership from the start, as Christoph Jenny, Co-founder of Planted, points out. Microsoft not only provides the necessary technology, but also supports the company with advice and assistance. "Having Microsoft as a strong, digital partner at our side enables a lot of capabilities for us. We use Microsoft technology to simplify processes and set new standards."  Christoph Jenny, Co-founder of Planted.

“Having Microsoft as a strong, digital partner at our side enables a lot of capabilities for us. We use Microsoft technology to simplify processes and set new standards.”

Christoph Jenny, Co-founder, Planted

Data visibility drives business success

Microsoft and its solutions, especially Power BI, have played a crucial role in improving data transparency in the various areas of the business. Even though Planted doesn’t exclusively rely on the Microsoft Azure Cloud, Microsoft has provided all the essential tools and resources needed to seamlessly integrate various business information systems and non-Azure data products. This integration has enabled Planted to establish and consolidate its data landscape, which has become an integral part of daily business operations. From conducting comprehensive business analytics to generating insightful reports for sales, finance, operations, and quality measurements, Microsoft's solutions have empowered Planted to leverage data-driven decision-making, ultimately contributing to the company’s continued success. "Transforming an organization into a data-driven company is a significant challenge, and we firmly believe that Microsoft and its solutions is the perfect partner to support us on this complex journey. It offers the know-how and the tools to achieve this goal.” Mathias Pawlowsky, Head of Data Science at Planted.

“Transforming an organization into a data-driven company is a significant challenge, and we firmly believe that Microsoft and its solutions is the perfect partner to support us on this complex journey. It offers the know-how and the tools to achieve this goal.”

Head of Data Science, Mathias Pawlowsky, Planted

Generative AI: Unleashing productive and creative potential with Copilot

Since the company’s inception, the founders have always embraced technology and innovation, not only in products, but also in operations. When ChatGPT came to market, it found a home with the forward-thinking Planted employees, who embraced this transformative technology with enthusiasm. Their enthusiasm sparked a demand for customized productivity tools based on generative AI, and Microsoft was quick to help the company with Azure OpenAI and its suite of tools. The journey began with the use of Generative AI to mainly boost the productivity of Planted’s brand and marketing team and usher in a new era of data-driven product development. Since then, Planted has expanded the capabilities of its own Copilot and onboarded more employees. The Microsoft Startup Program in Switzerland played a crucial role in Planted’s success. It has provided the company with invaluable resources and access to experts who have helped realize the potential of this technology and achieve results at an astonishing pace. "We see great potential in the development of AI products based on Azure OpenAI. Azure OpenAI helps us to manage everyday tasks more efficiently and facilitates the search for information for innovative process development." Elena Silingardi, Data Scientist at Planted.

“We see great potential in the development of AI products based on Azure OpenAI. Azure OpenAI helps us to manage everyday tasks more efficiently and facilitates the search for information for innovative process development.”

Elena Silingardi, Data Scientist, Planted

To Planted it is already clear that its Copilot not only helps to make work processes more productive – it could also open a creative and playful approach to the Planted product cosmos. Looking into the future, Planted envisions that for example also consumers could benefit from it, for example with regards to seeking cooking recipes using Planted meats.

Sustainable change through artificial intelligence

Planted is determined to harness the power of artificial intelligence to drive sustainable change in its business. The company firmly believes that AI is a catalyst for higher productivity and the optimization of manufacturing processes, resulting in less rework and the production of higher quality products. In Microsoft, Planted has found an exceptional technology partner who shares the company’s vision and is willing to work together on these important initiatives in the future.

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