Unilever to build state-of-the-art fragrance facility in UK

FMCG giant Unilever is set to build an £80 million fragrance facility near Liverpool that will transform its longstanding facility in Port Sunlight. It should be complete in 2027, although many of its functions will start earlier than that.

It’s part of a £300 million package of R&D spending in Britain over the next two years. It will take in a fragrance research and innovation laboratory, a compounding facility, and testing suites, The Times reported. 

In terms of tech innovation, it will use robotics to blend fragrance oils and the firm’s ‘noses’ will work with AI to develop their scents.

Richard Slater, chief R&D officer at Unilever, told the newspaper: “We’re one of the world’s largest buyers and users of fragrance, which are absolutely critical to the product performance of so many of our brands and categories and the consumer perception.”

Even with the investment in the facility, Unilever intends to continue partnering with major fragrance houses such as DSM-Firmenich and Givaudan.

The news of the plan to spend the money was actually released last year but without the Anglo-Dutch giant disclosing the location.

At the time it said: “We’re investing €100 million to scale up Unilever’s fragrance design and creation capabilities across our global portfolio. This supports our strategy to accelerate growth and increase productivity by allowing Unilever to gain greater control of the design and refinement of our fragrances, a key component of product formulation and consumer preference.

“Fragrance forms a vital part of many Unilever products, from indulgent shower creams to invigorating deodorants and the satisfying scents that our brands leave on freshly washed laundry.

“Historically, we’ve partnered with fragrance houses around the world to create the scents that consumers know and love. Such partnerships remain important to us as we move to grow our capabilities in-house which will see Unilever transition to a hybrid model, where our digitally enabled teams are involved in every step of innovation, formulating fragrances that fit perfectly with our products.

“We’ll combine our own scientific expertise in areas such as neuroscience, AI and digital product development with existing strategic partnerships, to help deliver consistent and affordable product superiority across our brands more quickly.”