Unilever sets up India fragrance hub powered by AI and neuroscience

Unilever has announced it will open a fragrance hub in Mumbai, India, strengthening its footprint in the burgeoning Indian beauty market. The lab will leverage consumer insights, neuroscience technology, and AI feedback to produce fragrances that drive growth as part of the company’s Desire at Scale marketing strategy.

The consumer goods conglomerate states that India is one of the most lively fragrance markets globally. It cites the country’s rapidly changing consumer preferences and growing demand for premium products.

The fragrance hub will aim to enhance consumer experiences by focusing on the role of scent in product performance. The company underscores the universal importance of scent in an array of products ranging from shampoos and body washes to deodorants and detergents, stating that it is a proven factor in product preference and repeat purchases.

“Fragrance is one of the most powerful ways we create desire for our brands,” says Jane Maciver, incoming head of Unilever Fragrance House (UFH) at Unilever. “It shapes first impressions, influences product preference, and helps turn everyday routines into memorable experiences.”

The UFH will combine sensoriality, aesthetics, and scientific vigor to produce premiumized products that are preferred among consumers and bolster business growth.

Unilever’s international investments

The upcoming UFH hub in India is the latest development in Unilever’s €100 million (US$116 million) global investment in its fragrance capabilities. It is expected to significantly widen Unilever’s global innovation capabilities, bringing fragrance development to the foot of “one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.”

In addition to recognizing India as a priority high-growth market, the move banks on the country as a global center point for R&D excellence.

“The new India hub strengthens our ability to combine science, creativity, and digital technology to create fragrances that are locally relevant, globally scalable, and developed faster than ever before. It’s an important step in building the capabilities that will help Unilever deliver Desire at Scale,” says Maciver.

Unilever opens new fragrance hub in Mumbai.Unilever’s Desire at Scale is part of a broader strategy to “premiumize” everyday brands and focuses on emotional connection to make everyday products feel aspirational.

Tapping tech and neuroscience

The UFH will be equipped with a 400 square meter lab with fragrance creation, application, and evaluation capabilities. It will combine “proprietary creation software, real-time evaluation data capture, and advanced compounding technologies.”

Unilever will use a team of experts in neuroscience technologies to examine how scents impact emotional well-being and moods to enhance its products. “Equipped with this understanding, we’ll use AI, digital modeling, robotics, and real-time data analytics to speed up fragrance development,” says the company.

Incorporating neuroscience in fragrances or creating “neurofragrances” is growing in scent development. Companies like dsm-firmenich and Eurofragance have leveraged human emotion to produce scents that resonate with consumers on a more personal level.

Located at the Indian Institute of Technology, the UFH lab aims to foster collaboration between academia and industry. The comprehensive capabilities of the hub are projected to enable end-to-end fragrance production in the design, testing, and refinement phases.

AI and neuroscience power fragrance innovation in the lab.Dedicated evaluation spaces will be used to reproduce market conditions to adjust the products to real-time local buyer demands. The hub will also allow the company to respond to changing consumer demands more dynamically by developing and evaluating fragrances faster, creating more personalized and distinguished products. 

“This new capability helps us stay closer to our consumers, move faster from insight to innovation and create fragrances that make our brands more distinctive, desirable and relevant,” says Vibhav Sanzgiri, chief R&D officer, India at Unilever.

Booming India

Whether it be its dynamic consumer market or its comparatively stable status as a region due to political volatility in the South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, India is garnering attention from global beauty big hitters.

“India is one of the most exciting growth markets in the world, with rapidly evolving consumer tastes and growing demand for premium fragrance experiences,” says Sanzgiri.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the country’s beauty industry is projected to grow from US$28 billion in 2024 to US$34 billion by 2028.

India’s beauty market and its fast-growing consumer base are reeling in major players in the global cosmetics industry. Multiple international brands such as Fenty Beauty and La Roche-Posay have recently made moves to capture and strengthen their local footholds.