Unilever is investing €100 million in its fragrance development and manufacturing capabilities for its global portfolio. "We are delighted to announce an investment of €100 million in the creation of a leading fragrance house," said Richard Slater, Chief R&D Officer at Unilever. The expansion will serve to accelerate growth and increase productivity. The company will expand its scientific expertise in areas such as neuroscience, artificial intelligence and digital product development, but will continue to combine its in-house expertise with strategic partners. The aim is to bring products with standardised, affordable quality to the market faster for all brands. At the same time, the aim is to achieve greater control over the development and refinement of fragrances, optimise product formulation and take greater account of customer wishes.

A fragrance forge with AI

The global consumer goods group produces shower creams, deodorants and detergents, including names such as Axe, Dove, Lux, Rexona and Vaseline. The company's perfumers already create fragrance formulas from a range of 1000 aromatic ingredients. The internal possibilities should now be expanded and further perfume experts recruited. "We have already started to recruit perfumers in the UK, US and India and will continue to grow our global team for fragrance development, scent evaluation, measurement, testing and data analysis," said Slater. However, partnerships with fragrance houses around the world will remain important.

Exceeding customer expectations

Unilever is thus moving to a hybrid model in which the teams are involved in every step of innovation with digital support. Neuroscience technologies will also help to understand how fragrances influence moods and improve emotional well-being and self-confidence. "This is how we ensure that our products not only fulfil consumer expectations, but exceed them," emphasised Slater. Mathieu Lenoir has been appointed Global Creative Centre Director for Fragrance at Unilever. He has been working in the world of fragrances for more than 30 years and has already worked for several leading perfume houses.

Source: Unilever