UK-based consumer goods giant Reckitt has announced plans to build a new global R&D centre in Shanghai, China.
The company revealed on June 25 that it will invest more than 300 million yuan ($41.2 million) to establish the new facility, which will serve as one of Reckitt’s nine global centres of excellence.
Situated in Shanghai’s Minhang district, the new R&D centre will have a gross floor area of over 8,000 square meters and is slated to begin operations in 2026.
According to Arjun Purkayastha, senior vice-president and managing director of Reckitt China, the new center aims to offer Chinese consumers more locally researched and developed innovative products.
“Our goal over the next years is to enhance the life of 100 million Chinese households,” Purkayastha said. “China first is a long-term strategy to serve the Chinese consumer and then deploy innovations, and a lot of times what we invent in China for the Chinese consumer first gets exported to the rest of the world.”
Reckitt CEO Kris Licht said the new global center of excellence in Shanghai will support the company’s longer-term growth ambitions in China by enhancing its business through more scientific collaboration, capabilities, and talent development.
Currently, 95% of Reckitt’s products in China are designed for Chinese consumers, and 80% are produced locally. The company aims to further increase these figures with the opening of the new R&D center.
“Design for China, in China, is at the core of our long-term strategy to serve the growing needs of Chinese consumers and support their cleaner and healthier lifestyle,” Licht added.
The new R&D centre will include a full spectrum of end-to-end capabilities, enabled by a strong talent pool and supported by cutting-edge digital systems and AI-powered technologies, according to Angela Naef, Reckitt’s chief R&D officer.
“Consumer needs in China are continually evolving, therefore we want to strengthen our R&D capabilities,” Naef said. “We will continue to accelerate our research capabilities to get a deep understanding of Chinese consumers and strengthen collective technical expertise to drive superior and disruptive innovations – much faster than before.”
Reckitt has had a presence in China since 1916 and currently operates two main offices, three factories, three R&D labs, one sourcing hub, and two joint ventures in the country. The company has more than 20 consumer brands in China, including Durex, Dettol, Movefree, Finish, Veet, Vanish, and Schiff.
“The speed in China is much faster than the rest of the world and any other country in everything, in manufacturing, in improvement, in innovation,” Purkayastha said. “And if you want to deliver things at the right speed in China for the Chinese consumer, then you have to have full presence in China.”
