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- Opening by spring 2029, new global innovation center deepens company\u2019s $15B investment in U.S. market over past decade to drive U.S. and global growth<\/i><\/li>\n
- Advanced R&D capabilities will connect science, technology, and culture to create breakthrough products across personal care, beauty and wellbeing brands<\/i><\/li>\n
- Enables faster scaling of product development via AI capabilities and enhances partnerships via access to leading biosciences and emerging quantum ecosystem of talent, academia, technology partners and consumers<\/i><\/li>\n
- Drives desirability and growth for Unilever brands, which serve 95% of U.S. households and 3.7 billion people globally, every day<\/i><\/li>\n
- Supports Unilever’s strategy to become a sharper, focused personal care, beauty and wellbeing company<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
NEW HAVEN, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nUnilever today unveiled plans to develop a new Global Innovation Center in New Haven, Connecticut, opening by spring 2029. The center will be a leading hub for the company\u2019s research and development for its personal care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the U.S. and globally.<\/p>\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260528022339\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nRendering of Unilever’s future Global Innovation Center in New Haven, opening in spring 2029.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe center further propels Unilever\u2019s growth strategy in the U.S. market, raising the bar for research and development in the consumer goods industry and powering the company\u2019s portfolio of innovative and desirable brands. Centrally located in one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing biosciences innovation clusters<\/a>, the digital-first and AI-powered center will deliver deeper insights to fuel Unilever\u2019s ambition of reshaping product categories. The center will advance how Unilever\u2019s teams of scientists and experts push the boundaries of the fundamental differentiators that make the company\u2019s brands distinct and products desirable: superior science, aesthetics and sensorials.<\/p>\n
\nThe center brings together a new and differentiated combination of assets and capabilities that will accelerate breakthroughs and enable Unilever\u2019s brands to bring the next generation of market-making beauty, wellbeing and personal care products to people faster:<\/p>\n
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- New technologies to drive scale and speed to market:<\/b> Powered by AI and emerging quantum capabilities, the center positions Unilever to be the leadinginnovator in the consumer goods sector. Fueled by the State of Connecticut and private investment, the computational power of quantum will accelerate advanced materials discovery in the coming decades, unlocking new possibilities for market-making products that drive desire by scale.\n<\/li>\n
- End-to-end integration of the R&D process to push the boundaries of desirable products:<\/b> All R&D capabilities \u2014 including formulation, fragrance creation, packaging design and consumer insights \u2014 will be housed under one roof. By co-locating everystage of the innovation cycle, the center will enable deeper collaboration to further accelerate product development.\n<\/li>\n
- Located in the heart of the New Haven biosciences ecosystem:<\/b> With access to dozens of world-class universities, hundreds of companies and some of the brightest minds in the world, the center places Unilever\u2019s U.S. R&D at the heart of innovation in bioscience, building on the company\u2019s expertise in understanding skin biology, the microbiome and the skin-brain axis. The center will enhance Unilever scientists\u2019 use of cutting-edge neuroscience to create the next generation of desirable products, connecting sensory attributes like texture, fragrance and bioactives with emotional, behavioral and wellness responses.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nThe center advances Unilever’s strategy to become a sharper, focused personal care, beauty and wellbeing company, built upon shared capabilities across science-led innovation, demand creation and operational execution. Unilever will invest $270 million in the project over the long term, including $50 million in capital expenditure. Total combined investment of public and private funds in the center will exceed $300 million. This investment builds on nearly $15 billion invested in Unilever\u2019s U.S. business over the past decade, across both acquisitions and capital projects.<\/p>\n
\nApproximately 300 employees will work at the center. It will succeed Unilever’s existing R&D facility in Trumbull, Connecticut, which has operated since 1972, marking the next chapter of Unilever’s long partnership with the State of Connecticut and its scientific community.<\/p>\n
Herrish Patel, President of Unilever USA and CEO of Personal Care North America, said:<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cNew Haven gets us to the future faster. Our Global Innovation Center is where we’ll innovate at the intersection of science, technology and culture \u2014 for the U.S. and for the world. We will build on our deep heritage of innovation to develop the next generation of brands and products that people love. As part of Unilever\u2019s global network of innovation hubs, the center will connect closely with our other leading locations worldwide, sharing technology, insights, and breakthrough ideas to accelerate innovation at scale. As the U.S. becomes a center of gravity for Unilever, we\u2019re harnessing the best of American innovation to match our growth ambition here in the U.S. and around the world.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\nSpecific capabilities to be housed at the center include:<\/p>\n
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- Global center for skin care and cleansing<\/b>, anchoring the site and powering the future of Unilever\u2019s skin care and cleansing business through advanced capabilities, building on its long legacy of product innovation in the U.S.\n<\/li>\n
- Polycultural skin and hair center of excellence<\/b>, specializing in creating ingredients and products that address the unmet needs of millions of consumers\n<\/li>\n
- Human performance lab<\/b>, generating unprecedented new data and insights into human physiology, enabling on-site testing of ingestibles, and accelerating growth across Unilever\u2019s wellbeing brands\n<\/li>\n
- Unilever Fragrance House<\/b>, with perfumists, chemists and packaging designers working together from the earliest stages of development, placing fragrance at the heart of product creation and sensory experience\n<\/li>\n
- Packaging innovation studio<\/b>, incorporating real-time consumer feedback to accelerate the development of prototypes that perform across physical and digital shelves\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Richard Slater, Unilever Chief Research & Development Officer, said:<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cBehind every Unilever product is world-leading science that delivers superior performance, combined with design, fragrance and sensory experiences that make our brands distinctive. Our new Global Innovation Center will bring these capabilities together to develop new, category-defining innovations in the U.S., and scale globally. The real shift here is integration and speed: science, design and sensorials working as one, with AI and partnerships accelerating every stage of innovation.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said:<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cUnilever\u2019s decision to make this investment in New Haven reaffirms Connecticut\u2019s global reputation as a leader in innovation, research and development, and discovery. This innovation center will serve as an important foundational piece for this burgeoning hub that will not only strengthen New Haven\u2019s existing tech centers but will also boost our innovation ecosystem statewide. I am glad we have Unilever as a valued member of Connecticut\u2019s growing business community, and I look forward to this company continuing to succeed here for many years to come.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
About Unilever<\/b><\/p>\n
\nUnilever is one of the world\u2019s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.7 billion people every day. We have 96,000 employees and generated sales of \u20ac50.5 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n
\nOur leading brands in the U.S. include Dove, Hellmann\u2019s, Vaseline, Degree, Axe, TRESemm\u00e9, Knorr, Nutrafol, Liquid I.V., Paula\u2019s Choice, and Dermalogica.<\/p>\n
\nFor more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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View source version on businesswire.com: <\/span>https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260528022339\/en\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
- Polycultural skin and hair center of excellence<\/b>, specializing in creating ingredients and products that address the unmet needs of millions of consumers\n<\/li>\n
- End-to-end integration of the R&D process to push the boundaries of desirable products:<\/b> All R&D capabilities \u2014 including formulation, fragrance creation, packaging design and consumer insights \u2014 will be housed under one roof. By co-locating everystage of the innovation cycle, the center will enable deeper collaboration to further accelerate product development.\n<\/li>\n
- Advanced R&D capabilities will connect science, technology, and culture to create breakthrough products across personal care, beauty and wellbeing brands<\/i><\/li>\n
![\"Photo\"](\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260528022339\/en\/2817171\/3\/24073_street_view_1_opt1-Unilever-perceptual-plus15.jpg\")
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