Innovation at HUL is shaped by how people live, what they value and the experiences they seek from our brands every day. As consumers increasingly look for products that deliver superior performance, sensorial delight and meaningful value, we continue to rethink how innovation happens. With this ambition, we have created the Liquids Lab of the Future (LLoTF) at our R&D centre in Mumbai — a space designed to help us deliver premium, technology‑led, SASSY innovations at scale for an aspiring India.
Designed as an advanced, AI and digital‑enabled facility, the lab represents a major step forward in how we build future‑fit R&D capabilities in India. We’ve built the LLoTF to accelerate innovation in fast‑growing liquid formats such as body washes, shampoos and laundry liquids — spaces where performance, sensorial excellence and speed to market matter more than ever to consumers.
Reimagining speed, science and scale in liquids R&D
Our ambition with the Liquids Lab of the Future is simple but bold: to dramatically shorten innovation and scale‑up timelines, while continuing to raise the bar on product superiority. By bringing together automation, high‑throughput skids and advanced data science, we can experiment faster across materials, formulations and processes — without losing scientific rigour or consistency.
Compared to traditional manual batch-making, the lab allows us to prototype, test, and iterate on formulations up to 6 times faster. This gives our R&D teams the speed and precision needed to unlock format‑driven premiumisation and deliver desire‑led innovation at scale — firmly grounded in strong science and deep consumer relevance.
AI and digital-led experimentation, by design
From the outset, we designed the Liquids Lab of the Future around AI and digital‑first ways of working. Every stage of experimentation is digitally enabled, with end‑to‑end data capture built into the process. This ensures that learning is never lost and that dark data does not slow down innovation.
With this rich, connected data backbone, we can deploy AI‑led predictive models and simulations that help us anticipate product behaviour, performance outcomes and scale‑up challenges much earlier in development — allowing us to make better, faster decisions with the consumer always at the centre.
Bringing the factory closer to the lab
One of the most powerful aspects of the LLoTF is its close mirroring of real manufacturing conditions. Through advanced phygital twins — scaled‑down versions of factory equipment — we simulate production environments directly within the lab. These systems are supported by smart sensors and advanced analytics to generate deeper insights earlier.
By identifying potential scale‑up challenges upfront, we significantly reduce the need for repeated factory trials. This helps us move more confidently from development to manufacture, enabling smoother transitions, faster production roll‑outs and quicker access to innovation for our consumers.
Connected to Unilever’s global data ecosystem
The data generated within the Liquids Lab of the Future in Mumbai is seamlessly connected to Unilever’s Global Data Lab. This allows us to collaborate and share insights across markets and teams. Through this connectivity, we can run in‑silico predictions on key product parameters and in‑use performance, helping inform decision‑making across the global R&D network with speed and confidence.
A blueprint for future global R&D capability
Designed as a reference model for future R&D sites, the Liquids Lab of the Future reflects how we see the future of innovation — AI‑enabled, digitally connected and deeply consumer‑obsessed. It brings together science, technology and data to build future‑fit R&D capabilities that help us deliver superior, premium liquid innovations at scale.
The Liquids Lab of the Future marks an important step in strengthening our R&D’s AI and digital‑led innovation capabilities. By combining advanced science, automation and data‑driven experimentation, the lab enables us to respond faster to evolving consumer expectations and continue creating technology‑led, SASSY innovations that deliver desire at scale.
Dr Vibhav Sanzgiri, Chief R&D Officer and Executive Director, R&D Hindustan Unilever Limited
