Unilever is investing €35m to transform its R&D centres in Mumbai and Bangalore, India, into “next-generation” hubs focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and bioscience-led innovation.
Building on the €20m already invested in these R&D centres over the past five years, the new investment by the Dove-owner will help develop science, automation, predictive modelling and rapid prototyping.
Unilever’s Mumbai location will be further developed into a product innovation centre, bringing together consumer insights, new measurement approaches, product and format science, packaging design, rapid prototyping and scale-up capabilities in a single integrated environment.
The location will also facilitate collaborations with academics, technology companies and innovators.
eanwhile, in Bangalore, €5m of the €35m investment will go towards establishing a strategic Bio-Futures Partnership, aimed at accelerating innovation across human biology, microbiome science, biotechnology and biomanufacturing over the next five years.
At both locations, scientists and product developers will be supported by AI, automated experimentation, predictive modelling and digital twins, to help speed up the process from exploiting possibilities through to scaling innovations.
The fresh investment, which will help shape innovation across Unilever’s beauty, wellbeing, personal care and home care divisions globally, follows the opening of Unilever's fragrance hub in India earlier this year.
“India already plays a central role in Unilever’s global innovation network, and this investment will further strengthen its position as one of our largest R&D hubs,” said Richard Slater, Chief Research & Development Officer at Unilever.
“Over the decades, we have built up an incredible depth of scientific expertise and knowledge here, with fantastic talent across a huge range of disciplines.
“India is also one of our most important growth markets. It is changing fast.
“Consumer expectations are rising, needs are evolving and the pace of innovation keeps on accelerating.
“That makes it an incredibly important place for us to learn, create and scale new ideas.”
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