Sampling Effect
With 400 brands across dozens of categories, Unilever maintains continuous exposure to emerging trends.
You don't know in advance which capabilities will matter under future conditions, so you maintain many.
If you randomly assemble species into communities, diverse communities are more likely to contain a particularly productive or stabilizing species simply by chance. If you plant a monoculture by random selection from 100 species, you have 1% chance of getting the superstar. Plant 50 species randomly, you're almost certain to include it. Diversity increases the probability of including key species (sampling effect) and increases total function through complementarity and portfolio effects. The sampling effect ensures you maintain the probability of having the right species when you need them - you don't know in advance which species will matter under future conditions.
Business Application of Sampling Effect
With 400 brands across dozens of categories, Unilever maintains continuous exposure to emerging trends. When plant-based eating surged, Unilever already had The Vegetarian Butcher. When prestige beauty boomed, they had Tatcha and Paula's Choice. 3M's technological diversity meant they had filtration capability when COVID created respirator demand. Diverse portfolios increase the probability of participating in whichever trend dominates next.