2025-07-29 09:27:52

Unilever opens new US fragrance lab amid €100m boost

2025-07-29 09:27:52

Unilever has opened a new fragrance lab in the US, marking the “next chapter” in its global innovation as part of €100m plans to boost its in-house scent expertise.

The consumer goods giant has opened the doors to the fragrance-focused facility at its existing research and development (R&D) lab in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Unilever said in a statement that the opening marks the next chapter in its “commitment to understanding and delivering on what consumers want through elevated scent experiences, personalisation, and trend-driven product development”.

“The opening of our US fragrance lab is a bold step forward in accelerating how we innovate,” said Paula Campos, Associate Director, Unilever US Fragrance Creative Center.

“This milestone strengthens our local expertise in a key market and equips our teams to move faster, combining cutting-edge science, digital technologies, and consumer insight to craft more meaningful brand experiences with fragrances that truly resonate.”

The new lab will be home to perfumers, scientists and product developers, with access to state-of-the-art tools to “accelerate the creation of unique, future-forward scent experiences”.

As well as research and innovation, there is a compounding facility for blending and evaluation booths for testing, while digital modelling and analytics, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI), will facilitate development. 

Unilever recently debuted its first product with a fragrance created in-house, and “marking a major milestone” for its end-to-end fragrance creation capabilities.

Featured in the Dove Rose Berry Bouquet range, which is part of the brand’s Tea Party Collection, the “vibrant fusion of freshly picked wild roses, juicy raspberries and a hint of sugared vanilla” appears in body wash, body scrub, beauty bar and antiperspirant formats.

The opening is part of wider plans to invest €100m globally in its in-house fragrance capabilities.

Unilever is embarking on a strategy to “accelerate growth and enhance productivity by giving teams greater control over the design and refinement of fragrances” which it says is one of the key drivers of product formulation and consumer preference.

The in-house capabilities will combine with long-standing partnerships that will enable “faster delivery of unmissably superior, premium scent experiences that drive desire at scale across its brands”.

The company partners with external fragrance houses DSM-Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF and Symrise.

Unilever is planning to open a similar £80m fragrance facility in the UK, at  Port Sunlight, Merseyside.

Port Sunlight is already home to one of the company’s three R&D hubs, and is where the Lever brothers first set up a soap-making factory that would later become part of Unilever.

The new site, which is subject to planning permission but expected to be operational from 2027, will add fragrance capabilities to its consumer insights and product development processes.