This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2023 report
Agriscience is the use of scientific technologies to enhance agricultural productivity, sustainability, and profitability. The industry is highly driven by intellectual property, developing new technologies to improve crop yield, quality, and protection.
Bayer (brand value USD3 billion) is the most valuable brand in the Agriscience industry in 2023. Agriscience represents 55% of the Bayer brand’s total brand value (USD5.5 billion). This total value also includes Bayer’s pharmaceutical and consumer health segments.
Interview with Tom Armitage
Bayer's brand value has increased for the second year in a row, with the Crop Science division representing half of Bayer’s total brand value. What are the successes and initiatives you can attribute to your continued brand growth?
We are committed to investing in growing the reach and impact of the Bayer brand so that it can continue to act as a halo across all our divisions, from Consumer Health, through Pharmaceuticals to Crop Science. Our data shows that, just like consumers, patients and doctors, our farmer customers associate the Bayer brand with innovation, efficacy, and reliability. In the agricultural sector, the imperative to produce more food with fewer available resources means that innovation and new technologies are highly valued to increase farm output while minimising the impact of operations on the environment. This technology focus forms the basis of our latest creative execution, “Investing for Better”, which itself builds on the recently introduced overarching Bayer brand platform “Science for Better” where we aim to both reinforce the relevance to society of scientific innovation as well as to highlight the customer-centricity of our brand and company.
Bayer has set ambitious sustainability goals, especially within the crop science division. What role do you hope Bayer can play in future global sustainability?
The need to increase food security while also tackling climate change is a very real requirement and one that farmers all over the world can contribute to. Bayer expects to play a leading role in transforming agriculture for a more sustainable future. The agricultural sector has a disproportionate impact in helping to mitigate the causes of climate change while also holding the keys to climate adaptation. For instance, by tracking and measuring the carbon stored in soil as a result of soil-friendly agricultural practices, we can help farmers use their fields as a carbon store, creating new revenue streams for them and new opportunities for other companies to decarbonise. And, with seed breeding and genetics being at the heart of our operations, we are well-placed to help farmers grow crops that can better cope with changing weather patterns such as increased drought or flooding. Alongside the environmental benefits that our portfolio brings, we are committed to reducing the emissions from our own operations, increasing water quality and conservation on farms around the world, as well to reduce the environmental impact of our portfolio of crop protection products.
“technology focus forms the basis of our latest creative execution, “Investing for Better”, which itself builds on the recently introduced overarching Bayer brand platform “Science for Better” where we aim to both reinforce the relevance to society of scientific innovation as well as to highlight the customer-centricity of our brand and company.”
How does Bayer see the importance of investing in innovation to stay ahead of other brands?
Innovation has been the backbone of this company for 160 years. In the agricultural sector, Bayer is out in front in terms of innovation with an industry-leading portfolio of seeds, traits, chemistry and digital tools that together create systems that benefit farmers in crops all over the world. More than anyone else, we invest significantly in innovation so we can continue to deliver value to farmers in the decades ahead, both in terms of increased productivity but also increased efficiency and reduced environmental impact: We spent approximately 2.9 billion euros in 2022 on innovation in Crop Science alone, both in our own internal programs to develop new products but also in external partnerships with other leading biotech and digital players in the agricultural industry. This gives us the opportunity to explore fields outside our traditional portfolio, such as biological alternatives for synthetic fertilizer. Beyond the Crop Science division, we also have a program designed to take bolder moves in emerging technologies called Leaps, which focuses on early-stage investments in life sciences start-ups and innovation-driven companies. Through the initial $1.7 billion funding, Bayer has invested in numerous successful ventures in areas ranging from cell and gene therapy, plant nutrition, digital services for agriculture and consumer health, as well as alternative proteins and cultivated meats. Everything that Leaps invests in is tied to the 10 major challenges facing humanity and how we can overcome them, helping Bayer to work towards its overall vision of “Health for All, Hunger for None.”
