Unilever has announced an additional investment of €35 million (approximately ₹370 crore) to strengthen its research and development (R&D) capabilities in India, transforming its Mumbai and Bengaluru facilities into advanced innovation centres. The investment will focus on artificial intelligence, digital modelling, automated experimentation, product development and biotechnology, reinforcing India’s position within the company’s global research network.
The announcement, made on November 3, 2026, also includes a €5 million investment over five years to establish a strategic Bio-Futures partnership in India. The initiative will focus on human biology, microbiome science, biotechnology and biomanufacturing. Through these investments, Unilever aims to accelerate product innovation, improve research efficiency and develop technologies that can support its global brands.
Unilever Allocates €35 Million to India’s R&D Infrastructure
The additional €35 million investment will build on more than €20 million that Unilever has invested in its Indian research capabilities over the previous five years.
The company’s existing infrastructure includes specialised facilities such as the Liquids Lab of the Future, Unilever Fragrance House, Advanced Manufacturing Centre for soap bars, Packaging and Flexibles Design Lab, and AI and digital modelling platforms.
The latest investment will connect these capabilities more closely and expand the role of Indian research teams in developing products for both domestic and international markets.
India is already one of Unilever’s largest global R&D hubs, with more than 800 scientists, researchers, digital specialists and designers working across its research ecosystem.
The company sees India as an important source of scientific talent, consumer insights and technological capabilities that can support innovation across its global portfolio.
Mumbai R&D Centre to Become a Product Innovation Hub
A major part of the investment will transform Unilever’s Mumbai research facility into a new Product Innovation Centre.
The facility will bring several stages of product development together in one integrated environment, including:
- Consumer research and market insights.
- Product and format science.
- Packaging design and development.
- New measurement and testing technologies.
- Rapid prototyping.
- Manufacturing scale-up capabilities.
The objective is to reduce the time required to move from an initial product concept to commercial manufacturing.
Traditionally, different stages of product development can take place across separate teams and facilities. Bringing scientists, product developers, designers and digital specialists together could improve collaboration and shorten development cycles.
The Mumbai centre will also provide collaborative spaces for partnerships with universities, technology companies, suppliers, startups and other innovators.
This could allow Unilever to combine its internal research capabilities with external scientific expertise and emerging technologies.
Bengaluru to Become a Global Science and Technology Partnership Hub
While Mumbai will focus on integrated product innovation, Bengaluru will continue evolving as a global science, technology and partnership hub.
The facility will combine foundational research, application science, digital capabilities and India Foods R&D.
It will also support collaboration with academic institutions, startups and Unilever’s global innovation network.
Bengaluru’s established technology and biotechnology ecosystem provides opportunities for the company to work with researchers and businesses developing new scientific applications.
The centre will also play an important role in connecting Indian research capabilities with Unilever’s international product development programmes.
€5 Million Bio-Futures Partnership to Focus on Biotechnology
Alongside the wider R&D investment, Unilever will allocate €5 million over five years to establish a strategic Bio-Futures partnership in India.
The programme will focus on several emerging scientific areas:
| Research area | Potential application |
|---|---|
| Human biology | Understanding biological processes relevant to consumer products |
| Microbiome science | Developing innovations related to microorganisms and their interactions with the body |
| Biotechnology | Using biological systems and processes to develop new ingredients and technologies |
| Biomanufacturing | Producing ingredients and materials through biological manufacturing processes |
| AI-enabled biology | Applying computational tools to accelerate biological research |
The partnership will connect Unilever’s global research capabilities with India’s growing bioscience ecosystem.
The company expects collaboration with scientific institutions, startups and specialised research organisations to help accelerate discoveries and translate them into commercial applications.
Biotechnology and microbiome research could eventually support new ingredients, formulations and product technologies across beauty, wellbeing, personal care and home care.
However, the partnership is a research and innovation initiative. Unilever has not announced specific commercial products or revenue targets linked to the €5 million allocation.
AI and Digital Twins to Accelerate Product Development
Artificial intelligence will be integrated across both Indian research centres.
Unilever plans to use AI, automated experimentation, predictive modelling and digital twins to help scientists explore more product possibilities before conducting physical experiments.
Digital twins are virtual representations of products, processes or systems that allow researchers to simulate different conditions and evaluate potential outcomes.
For example, scientists developing a detergent could use predictive modelling to examine how different ingredient combinations perform under varying water temperatures and washing durations.
AI-assisted experimentation could help identify promising formulations more quickly, reducing the number of physical tests required during early development.
The technologies could also improve packaging design, product performance testing and manufacturing scale-up.
Richard Slater, Unilever’s Chief Research and Development Officer, said the investment would create a more connected innovation environment, bringing consumer understanding, scientific research, design and digital technology together.
The company wants to move beyond simply accelerating existing research processes and use these technologies to discover products and solutions that may have been difficult to develop using traditional methods.
Existing Innovations Demonstrate India’s Research Capabilities
Unilever has already developed several products that demonstrate how scientific research can translate into consumer-facing innovation.
One example is Surf Excel Matic Express, a laundry detergent designed to deliver cleaning performance during short, cold washing-machine cycles.
The product addresses a specific consumer requirement: achieving effective cleaning in approximately 15-minute wash cycles rather than relying on longer programmes.
Another example is Dove Hair Care’s Peptide Bond Strength Technology, which is designed to help repair damaged hair by targeting bonds within the hair structure.
These innovations illustrate the company’s approach of combining consumer research, formulation science and advanced technology to improve product performance.
The expanded Indian research infrastructure is expected to support similar developments across Unilever’s beauty, wellbeing, personal care and home care businesses.
India Strengthens Its Position in Unilever’s Global Innovation Network
The investment also reflects India’s increasing importance as a research and innovation destination for multinational consumer goods companies.
India offers a combination of scientific talent, engineering expertise, a growing startup ecosystem and a large consumer market with diverse product requirements.
According to Hindustan Unilever, its Indian R&D network includes more than 800 experts, including over 450 professionals with master’s degrees or PhDs.
The research teams contribute to innovation across more than 50 brands in the Hindustan Unilever portfolio and also support products developed for Unilever’s international businesses.
The latest investment strengthens this role by expanding the infrastructure available for research, product testing and commercial deployment.
For India, the development also highlights opportunities in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and AI-assisted scientific research.
The Bigger Picture
Unilever’s investment reflects a wider shift in the consumer goods industry, where competition increasingly depends on scientific differentiation rather than only brand recognition and distribution.
Companies are investing in AI, biotechnology, advanced materials and digital research tools to develop products with improved performance, new ingredients and more specialised consumer benefits.
For Unilever, strengthening its Indian R&D network provides access to a large pool of scientific talent while bringing research closer to one of its most important consumer markets.
The combination of AI-led product development and biotechnology research could also help the company build innovations that can be scaled across international markets.
India’s growing role in this strategy demonstrates how the country is moving beyond being primarily a manufacturing and consumption market to becoming an important centre for global scientific innovation.
Looking Ahead
Unilever’s €35 million investment will strengthen its Mumbai and Bengaluru research centres, while the additional €5 million Bio-Futures partnership will support collaboration in emerging areas of bioscience. The use of AI, digital twins and automated experimentation could help reduce product development timelines and improve the efficiency of scientific research. The company will look to translate these capabilities into innovations across its global consumer brands.
The longer-term impact will depend on how successfully Unilever converts research investments into commercially successful products. Its ability to combine Indian scientific talent, advanced technology and global distribution could strengthen its innovation pipeline. The investment also places India in a more prominent position within the company’s international research and development strategy.
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