Background

Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer products businesses with a brand portfolio in home, personal care, foods and beverages. Unilever’s brands include household names such as Dove, Persil, Calvin Klein, Knorr, Flora, Birds Eye, Brooke Bond and Lipton. They are a market leader in innovation in these areas, and invest heavily in R&D. Unilever has laboratories in Europe, India and China plus a global network of regional innovation centres.

How we were involved

One of Unilever’s most established laboratories is at Colworth House in Bedfordshire in the UK. It is the focal point for research on beverages and ice cream. Innoval Technology has been closely involved in some of the packaging development for the Lipton brand, specifically helping with the development team with problem solving.

Working with our Materials Development team gives you access to world-class aluminium knowledge, combined with expertise in polymers, surface treatment and joining technologies. Supplementing your technology team with our aluminium expertise could speed up problem solving, shorten your development time and increase your speed to market. We’ve had years of experience leading development programmes, and we’re currently responsible for managing several high-profile, government-funded projects.

Services Involved

  • Materials Development
  • Materials Testing
  • Surface Treatment

Innoval has been able to assist us in a particularly thorny problem on packaging where there was a complex interaction between an aluminium closure and sealant. We approached them as they were recommended to us for their expertise in aluminium, but they were able to offer much more from the creative way that they embraced the problem.

Dr. Phil Evans, Science and Technology Leader, Unilever Research Laboratory