Unilever is to establish a new Global Innovation Centre in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The company is investing $270 million in the long term for this purpose. The research centre is intended to drive the development of new products in the areas of personal care, beauty, and wellbeing from spring 2029 onwards and also includes its own studio for packaging innovations.
With the new centre, Unilever is replacing its previous research and development site in Trumbull, Connecticut, which has existed since 1972. Around 300 employees are expected to work in New Haven in the future. According to the company, all research and development areas – from formulation and fragrance development to packaging design and consumer research – will be brought together under one roof. The development of new products is to be accelerated with the help of artificial intelligence and, in the future, quantum computing.
Packaging development as part of the innovation process
Of particular relevance for the packaging industry is the planned Packaging Innovation Studio. There, packaging designers will develop new packaging concepts together with experts from the fields of formulation, fragrance development, and consumer insights. According to Unilever, real-time consumer feedback will help to optimise prototypes more quickly and design them for both brick-and-mortar retail and digital sales channels.
By pooling all development disciplines at one location, coordination processes are to be shortened and innovations brought to market faster. The centre is being established in New Haven's life sciences cluster and is also intended to strengthen cooperation with universities, technology companies, and research institutions.
Part of the US growth strategy
The investment is part of Unilever's strategy to expand its beauty, wellbeing, and personal care business. In total, more than $300 million in public and private funds are to be channelled into the innovation centre. According to the company, Unilever has already invested around $15 billion in the US market over the past ten years.
„New Haven is accelerating our journey into the future. Our Global Innovation Centre is where we’re developing innovations for the US and global markets at the intersection of science, technology and culture. Building on our rich heritage of innovation, we're creating the next generation of brands and products people will love. As part of our global network of Innovation Centres, the site will work closely with our other R&D centres, sharing technologies, insights and ideas, and scaling innovation faster globally. As the US increasingly becomes the strategic centre for Unilever, we are harnessing the power of American innovation to achieve our growth ambitions both in the US and globally.“
Herrish Patel, President of Unilever USA and CEO Personal Care North America
Richard Slater, Chief Research & Development Officer at Unilever, added: „Behind every Unilever product is world-class science delivering superior performance – combined with design, scents, and sensory experiences that make our brands distinctive. Our new Global Innovation Centre will bring these capabilities together to develop category-defining innovations in the USA and scale them globally. The real transformation lies in integration and speed: science, design and sensory operating as one, with AI and partnerships accelerating every phase of innovation.“
Source: Unilever
