The consumer goods giant has announced its intention to invest EUR 100 million to scale up its in-house fragrance design and creation capabilities.
Unilever said it aims to “gain greater control of the design and refinement” of its fragrances, which are “a key component of product formulation and consumer preference,” when it comes about products such as shower creams, deodorants or laundry detergents.
“Historically, we’ve partnered with fragrance houses around the world to create the scents that consumers know and love. Such partnerships remain important to us as we move to grow our capabilities in-house which will see Unilever transition to a hybrid model, where our digitally enabled teams are involved in every step of innovation, formulating fragrances that fit perfectly with our products,” said the group in a press release.
Unilever aims to combine its own scientific expertise in areas such as neuroscience, AI and digital product development with existing strategic partnerships, to accelerate consistent and affordable developments across its brands.
The group said it has already started to hire expert perfumers across the UK, US and India and will grow its global team to focus on fragrance creation, fragrance evaluation, measurement, testing and data analytics.
Last October, Unilever appointed Mathieu Lenoir as Director for Fragrance at the group’s Global Creative Centre. The executive has an extensive experience in the fragrance world, including roles at several leading perfume houses such as Givaudan, Firmenich and CPL Aromas.
