THE WHAT? Unilever has announced plans to invest US$270 million in a new Global Innovation Centre in New Haven, Connecticut, to accelerate research and development across its beauty, personal care and wellbeing businesses.
THE DETAILS Scheduled to open by spring 2029, the facility will serve as a major R&D hub for Unilever’s global beauty, personal care and wellbeing portfolio. The centre will bring together formulation development, fragrance creation, packaging design and consumer insights under one roof, supported by AI-powered technologies and emerging quantum computing capabilities. Located within New Haven’s growing biosciences ecosystem, the centre will focus on areas including skincare, cleansing, polycultural skin and hair innovation, fragrance development, packaging innovation and wellbeing research. Approximately 300 employees will be based at the site, which will replace Unilever’s existing R&D facility in Trumbull, Connecticut. The investment forms part of nearly US$15 billion invested by Unilever in its US business over the past decade and will contribute to a total project investment exceeding US$300 million when public and private funding are combined.
THE WHY? The investment supports Unilever’s strategy to become a more focused beauty, personal care and wellbeing company while accelerating product innovation, improving speed to market and strengthening its ability to develop science-led, consumer-centric products at a global scale.
Source: Unilever
