Key Takeaways:
Fragrance is becoming an increasingly important factor in driving growth and consumer engagement across Unilever's beauty brands. In July, the company opened a US fragrance lab within its existing research and development facility in Trumbull, Connecticut, expanding its in-house fragrance capabilities.
This is part of Unilever’s €100 million ($115 million) global investment aimed at accelerating productivity in both ingredient sourcing and fragrance design.
The new lab enhances Unilever’s ability to design, develop, and test scents. It features an innovation lab, a compounding facility where new fragrances are blended, and performance testing booths. Equipped with “state-of-the-art tools and digital-first capabilities,” the lab is digitally enabled from end to end, integrating modelling, analytics, and AI in the development process to focus on personalization and consumer trends.
Located within Unilever’s larger R&D hub—complete with pilot plants, labs, and even an in-house hair salon—the new fragrance lab serves as a “collaborative space” for scientists and perfumers to develop fragrances.
“The opening of our US fragrance lab is a bold step forward in accelerating how we innovate,” said Paula Campos, Associate Director, Unilever U.S. Fragrance Creative Center, in a press release. “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.”
This announcement follows the recent debut of Unilever’s first fully in-house fragrance, developed by its US team. Featured in the Dove Rose Berry Bouquet range, the collection includes body washes, scrubs, beauty bars, and antiperspirants. This underscores Unilever’s “milestone” ability to create complete scent experiences, from conception to consumer.
In a statement, Unilever said this strategy will “accelerate growth and enhance productivity by giving teams greater control over the design and refinement of fragrances, one of the key drivers of product formulation.”
Unilever isn’t just investing in US production; it’s also in the midst of building an £80 million ($105 million) fragrance facility in the UK, similar to the new Connecticut fragrance lab. Expected to be working by 2027, it will be located at Port Sunlight, another R&D facility and factory for Unilever. These investments align with ongoing market trends—fragrance was the fastest-growing beauty category in the first half of 2024, after years of steady growth, according to Circana.
Despite expanding its internal capabilities, Unilever has reiterated that it will maintain relationships with its previous fragrance house partners during this “new chapter” of fragrance innovation.
