Evonik has opened a new science and innovation centre in Shanghai, China, to strengthen its presence across Asia.
The speciality chemicals company’s Asia Beauty Science and Innovation Centre will be home to a number of facilities.
This will range from supporting biotechnology‑driven ingredient innovation and formulation expertise to consumer‑relevant testing and validation capabilities.
The centre will support beauty and personal care brands in China and across Asia through more diversified, collaborative development models.
“Innovation in beauty today is increasingly global and interconnected,” said Ute Schick, head of Care Solutions at Evonik.
“With our new centre in Shanghai, we complement our leading global position, extensive expertise and broad portfolio, while deepening our presence in a market that is setting the pace for many global beauty trends.”
The centre will be home to Evonik’s Asia RD&I Platform, which will enable cross‑functional RD&I activities, from molecular design to industrial scale‑up.
Its capabilities include enzymatic esterification, polyglycerol ester development, and end‑to‑end functional ingredient innovation.
The Asia Personal Care Applied Innovation Lab will also be a hub in the centre, and will work closely with brands across skin care, cleansing, hair care, sun care, and colour cosmetics.
The lab will support the full development journey from trend insights and formulation design to prototyping, stability assessment, sensory evaluation, efficacy testing, and scientific communication.
Meanwhile, the Chinese lab of the global Evonik Skin Institute will focus on understanding and addressing the unique characteristics of Asian skin at the new centre.
Screening, advanced 3D skin models, clinical study design, state‑of‑the‑art skin imaging, and biomarker analysis will take place at the institute to deliver robust efficacy substantiation and credible product claims.
Finally, the Customer Experience Centre will be a multifunctional space designed to enhance customer engagement and interaction.
It will host solution demonstrations, scientific communication co‑creation, and explore more flexible and collaborative partnership models.
“This new centre brings together multiple innovation capabilities in one place,” said Fuliang Xia, President of Evonik Greater China.
“In a fast-evolving and highly competitive market like China, this integrated approach allows us to translate scientific insights into market-ready solutions with greater speed and precision.
“Our centre reinforces Shanghai’s position as a key innovation hub within Evonik’s global R&D network.”
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