Unilever's new headquarters in New Jersey puts its product development process on full display

"For consumer packaged goods, the path from product idea to store shelves runs directly through the center of Unilever's new North American headquarters, and not just because the company makes market-saturating products like Hellmann's mayonnaise and TRESemmé shampoo. This new headquarters space was designed specifically to put the entire process of product creation on display in its office, from ideation to development to marketing to retailing."

"Spread across 111,000 square feet in downtown Hoboken, New Jersey, Unilever's newly opened headquarters is centered around an accessible spine of rooms and facilities that are optimized for bringing new products to market. There are "innovation labs" where ideas for new products come to life, workstations where ideas can take shape, a test kitchen and salon where products get sampled and refined, and a retail lab where the company and its retail partners can see the products as they'll look on store shelves."

"Unilever's new headquarters is about a third of the size of the company's previous suburban campus, 12 miles north in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The smaller size prioritizes the collaboration required to develop its wide range of consumer products across personal care, beauty and wellbeing, foods, and home care. In the post-pandemic context, it's also a recognition that the company didn't actually need its big suburban footprint, according to Herrish Patel, president of Unilever USA."

Unilever's 111,000-square-foot Hoboken headquarters arranges product innovation along an accessible spine of rooms designed for ideation through retailing. The space contains innovation labs, workstations, a test kitchen and salon, and a retail lab that simulates store shelves for partner review. The design favors a smaller, more collaborative urban footprint compared with the previous suburban campus, concentrating cross-functional teams across personal care, beauty, foods, and home care. The layout supports post-pandemic hybrid attendance by prioritizing in-office days for connection, creativity, and collaboration while making the company's product-creation process visible and experiential.

Read at Fast Company