AI-powered solutions with real-world results
brightblue – creating AI data-driven services for consumer goods companies
About brightblue
brightblue uses AI and data science for insights into sales, marketing, and asset management in the world’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Our first service, brightspark, provides unprecedented insights into the performance of millions of refrigeration assets owned by companies such as Coca-Cola, HEINEKEN, AB InBev, Pepsico, Danone and others.
Our Aim
Our goal is to be the leading provider of AI-powered services to FMCG companies globally.
Our Team
The brightblue team consists of seasoned executives, engineers, scientists and business specialists with decades of global experience in FMCG and retail, both formal and informal. We have worked internationally on solutions deployed at scale with our clients in developed countries (including the USA, UK, Germany, France …) and developing countries (including India, South Africa, Mexico, Nigeria …).
Our Skills
Our brightblue team is skilled in AI and machine learning, data science, cloud computing, electronic, mechanical, communications and software engineering, fintech and value-added-services. It is the special fusion of these capabilities that creates the business-centred innovations our clients depend on.
Our Solutions
brightspark
Refrigerator performance monitoring
Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies rely on millions of refrigerators, draught dispensers and ice-makers in outlets around the world to present their products at the right temperature and to prevent spoilage in perishables.
Our Solutions
brightspark
Real-time data
brightspark can be retro-fitted in 60 seconds to provide real-time data on the fridge, its energy use and health. brightspark is a novel monitoring service that works on any refrigerator or electrical appliance.
Our Solutions
brightspark
AI-Powered Analytics
brightspark – an all-inclusive managed service: hardware, software, communications, cloud, AI analytics and interfaces.
Using detailed real-time data from coolers, brightspark gives AI-powered insights into the cooler fleet reporting on Status, Energy, Activity and Failures.
Our Solutions
brightspark
Our Solutions
brightspark
Our Solutions
brightyellow
Data Analytics
Data on what consumers like, buy and are interested in drives marketing and sales activities, and the digital advertising engine. But consumers are tiring of irrelevant and intrusive advertisements and promotions, yet companies still spend billions on this despite it having little to no influence on buying behaviour. This is particularly true among younger consumers where persistent unsolicited advertising results in negative sentiments towards those brands damaging brand equity.
Our Solutions
brightyellow
A permission-based platform
At brightblue we realise that consumers actively want to engage with brands that are relevant to them and actively seek their content. With brightyellow, we are building a permission-based platform that entrenches consumer rights to signal what they love, control what they are exposed to, while reducing the irrelevant ‘noise’ of brands they don’t like.
Our Solutions
brightyellow
Unparalleled Insights
Using big-data, analytics and AI, brightyellow provides unparalleled insights into the primary and adjacent interests of consumers, their active dislikes, and preferred means of engagement. As a platform we are able to connect consumers with the brands they love and wish to engage with, and for those brands to have deeper and more lasting connections with their consumers.
Why brightblue?
Reliability
The brightblue team has a 35-year history of providing scalable technology solutions for global clients. We helped build the Blue Label Telecoms business in which Microsoft invested in 2007. They partnered with Grupo Bimbo in Mexico to provide point-of-sale technology into 200,000 Qiubo outlets. In India, we helped grow the Oxigen business into a nationwide value-added services company in retail. Also in India, the team launched the Touchsides business in partnership with the Smollan Group and brands such as Hindustan Unilever and Coca-Cola.
In China, we built a successful FMCG model with Postmart (now known as Ji Hui Duo) partnering with local and global brands such as Coca-Cola. Most recently, the team built Touchsides into the largest single retail group in South Africa with 17,000 outlets in the informal sector. We also expanded to Nigeria and Ethiopia. Touchsides was wholly acquired by the global FMCG giant, HEINEKEN International in 2021. brightblue was formed in 2021 to build on our experience and leverage untapped opportunities we see in the retail and FMCG data analytics space.
Innovation
At brightblue our problem-solving approach is to identify the common assumptions, break the problem into fundamental principles while questioning each one, and then create novel solutions from the ground up.
At brightblue we start with the objectives in mind (the “why” of the problem) and craft solutions to resolve them. Every solution has engineering and performance constraints – it is our innovation and experience that is the secret-sauce to optimise them at scale.
Our innovations include novel non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) techniques, sensor-fusion based AI modelling, balanced edge and cloud-based processing, managed LTE data systems, a high-volume IoT+ event-driven and continuous real-time data backend, scalable down-stream analytics, AI predictive modelling and multi-consumer outputs to CRM, API’s and visualizations. We package our solutions as wrapped-services bringing plug-and-play usability to our clients – they don’t need to manage hardware, software, communications or back-ends to use our services.
About us
brightblue was founded by the pair of serial-entrepreneurs: Gary Kaplan and David Fraser. David and Gary have been business partners for over 20 years, and before then, founded and grew entrepreneurial businesses themselves. They complement each other’s skills sharing the same approach to ethical innovation.
Dr David Fraser
Joint CEO & Co-founder
David has over 30 years’ experience in high-tech innovation, entrepreneurial businesses and listed companies. His businesses have operated across 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
David loves connecting innovative technology to business to drive commercial and competitive advantage. He loves creating novel solutions to problems that benefit from technology – but always with a strategic commercial intent.
He is an engineer and scientist by training with a PhD in space physics and AI. He is a registered Chartered Engineer in the UK, a Fellow of the IET (UK), a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (UK), a Fellow of the SAIEE (SA) and a Senior Member of the IEEE (USA). He is also a member of the Royal Society of South Africa.
Gary Kaplan
Joint CEO & Co-founder
Gary brings relationship-driven leadership to our dynamic company. He is a seasoned businessman and entrepreneur having started and grown multi-national companies, mostly in high-tech and services.
With over 40 years’ experience, Gary relishes the challenges of growing international businesses and has a solid track record in mergers and acquisitions, and listed companies. His entrepreneurial flair for innovation is backed by his rigorous approach to the structural, financial and legal aspects of business.
Gary is a professional accountant by training with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree and is professionally registered as a Chartered Accountant (SA).
Our Offices
1st Floor
3 Hornton Place
Kensington
London W8 4LZ
United Kingdom
Suite 102
25 Richefond Circle
Ridgeside Office Estate
Umhlanga Rocks 4319
South Africa