Unilever invests £80 million in fragrance facility in the UK

Unilever has announced an £80 million investment to develop an in-house fragrance facility at its historic Port Sunlight site in the northwest of England. This initiative is part of a broader £300 million plan to enhance research and development infrastructure, set to unfold over the next two years in the United Kingdom.

The new facility will include advanced laboratories for fragrance research and innovation, a compounding site where new scents will be blended, and evaluation suites designed for rigorous product testing. By incorporating advanced robotics and artificial intelligence, the company aims to streamline the development of fragrances while bolstering collaboration between perfumers and product developers.

Fragrances play a critical role in Unilever’s consumer goods portfolio, which spans across beauty, personal care, and home care. These categories collectively constitute two-thirds of the company’s €60.8 billion revenue. With this expansion, Unilever plans to create at least 60 new jobs initially, including roles for skilled perfumers tasked with blending thousands of ingredients to build market-ready products.

Unilever’s Port Sunlight site holds historical significance, first established in 1888 to produce Sunlight Soap. Today, it serves as the company’s largest innovation hub in the UK, featuring cutting-edge research labs and factories. The new facility, upon securing planning permissions, is expected to be operational by 2027, though production is slated to commence by the end of this year.

Richard Slater, Unilever’s Chief R&D Officer, shared insights into the critical process behind developing fragrances that meet diverse global consumer demands. Factors like humidity, temperature, and water quality must be taken into account for products to perform consistently across various regions such as India, the United States, and the UK.

This latest investment underscores Unilever’s commitment to innovation while maintaining collaborations with external fragrance firms, including DSM-Firmenich and Givaudan. The project is seen as a significant vote of confidence in the UK economy, as highlighted by Baroness Gustafsson, the Minister for Investment.