Netflix

Not so much a single innovation as the successful application and extension of an innovative business model, Netflix has impressed by building on what it already had. Taking advantage of the growing digital economy, it’s changed the way television, in particular, is accessed and absorbed

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

2014 was the year Regeneron’s Genetics Centre became fully operational, and new research collaborations, including with Columbia University, were announced. The centre will allow Regeneron to continue its work in biopharmaceuticals

Airbnb

In 2014, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign – ‘Views’, by agency Pereira & O’Dell – to showcase its offerings around the world. It worked – the company has continued to grow, and Airbnb is now enshrined in tourists’ thinking

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate

Krawcheck’s purchase of women’s networking club 85 Broads, which she rebranded as ‘Ellevate’, has helped open up chances to professional women across the globe. In a world in which equal pay and opportunities have still not been achieved, her efforts are a welcome step

Hampton Creek Foods

Hampton Creek’s dedication to producing healthy, more sustainable foods bore new fruit in 2014, as the ‘Just Cookies’ range was added to the already-popular ‘Just Mayo’. Each packet of cookies uses 2,000 fewer gallons of water, requires seven fewer square metres of land, and contains 3,000 fewer mg of cholesterol than conventional cookies

With governments and private institutions looking for ways to provide greater and more sustainable food sources, several organisations have sprung up to answer the call. Hampton Creek Foods aims to utilise different technologies in order to produce healthier options, without using trans fats or MSGs. The organisation was formed in 2011 in San Francisco and is building a portfolio of products – including Just Mayo, Just Cookie Dough and Just Cookies. Bill Gates is said to be a fan and the products are gaining traction.

Supplements

Innovation 40 - 2014

Netflix

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Airbnb

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate