Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), largest fast-moving consumer goods company, has inaugurated the new Unilever Fragrance Hub (UFH) in Mumbai, strengthening India’s position as a key innovation and research hub within Unilever’s global network.
The facility, located at the IIT Bombay campus, is the third global fragrance hub established by Unilever after similar centres in the UK and the US. The investment forms part of Unilever’s broader €100 million programme aimed at enhancing its in-house, digitally enabled fragrance creation capabilities.
Hub to accelerate fragrance innovation
The new fragrance hub combines consumer insights, advanced scientific research and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate product innovation, improve consumer experiences and support premiumisation across multiple product categories.
By bringing fragrance design, development and evaluation capabilities closer to one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets, the Mumbai facility is expected to help Unilever respond faster to evolving consumer preferences while developing fragrances with global relevance.
The company said India’s diverse and expanding consumer base offers valuable insights that can be leveraged to create fragrance solutions capable of driving growth across international markets.
Collaboration with IIT Bombay
The co-location of the facility within the IIT Bombay campus is expected to open up opportunities for collaboration with academia in areas such as science and technology, data analytics and digital-first fragrance innovation.
Fragrance has emerged as a critical factor influencing product desirability, brand preference and premiumisation across categories ranging from personal care to home care products.
India’s role in global innovation expands
According to HUL, the Mumbai hub reinforces the strategic importance of India in its global innovation ecosystem. The facility is designed to integrate fragrance creation, application and evaluation processes while leveraging advanced technologies and proprietary digital tools.
Unilever Head of Unilever Fragrance House Vivek Sirohi, said, “India is one of Unilever’s most important growth markets and a critical engine of innovation for our global business. The inauguration of the Unilever Fragrance Hub in Mumbai reflects our continued investment in cutting-edge capabilities that bring together science, technology and deep consumer insights. It enables faster local response, deeper market understanding, improved self-reliance in application and evaluation, and a greater ability to design fragrances from the product and consumer context outward.”
Advanced capabilities under one roof
The company said the India facility is a fully integrated fragrance creation, application and evaluation centre equipped with proprietary creation software, real-time evaluation data capture systems and advanced compounding technologies.
These capabilities will allow teams to design, test and refine fragrances end-to-end while collaborating seamlessly with Unilever’s other fragrance hubs around the world.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd Executive Director, R&D, Vibhav Sanzgiri, said, “Fragrance plays a critical role in elevating the consumer experience and performance of everyday products – from shampoos and body washes to deodorants and laundry detergents. The India lab is a fully integrated fragrance creation, application and evaluation facility, combining proprietary creation software, real-time evaluation data capture and advanced compounding technologies. This enables teams to design, test and refine fragrances end-to-end, while collaborating seamlessly with other Unilever fragrance hubs globally.”