United Kingdom-based consumer goods company Reckitt announced on June 25 that it will build a global R&D center in Shanghai, with an investment of more than 300 million yuan ($41.2 million). The new center aims to offer Chinese consumers more locally researched and developed innovative products via its operation in 2026, according to senior company executives. 

Formally known as the global R&D center of excellence, the facility situated in Shanghai's Minhang district will have a gross floor area of more than 8,000 square meters, and upon completion it will become one of Reckitt's nine global centers of excellence.

The building of the center aims to further strengthen the company's innovation and localization in China, so as to better serve Chinese consumers, said Arjun Purkayastha, senior vice-president and managing director of Reckitt China. 

According to Purkayastha, China is already one of the most important markets for Reckitt, and it has been growing in the last few years, ahead of the group's average expansion. 

"Our goal over the next years is to enhance the life of 100 million Chinese households…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," he added. 

Kris Licht, CEO of Reckitt, said establishing a global center of excellence in Shanghai will support the company's longer-term growth ambitions in China. 

"It will enhance our business through more scientific collaboration and capabilities and talent development," he said.

According to Purkayastha, currently 95 percent of the company's products in China are designed for Chinese consumers, and 80 percent are produced in China, while Reckitt looked to raise the figures higher with the opening of the 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," added Licht. 

The global R&D center of excellence will include a full spectrum of end-to-end R&D capabilities, which will be enabled by a strong talent pool for development, growth and succession, further supported by cutting-edge digital systems and artificial intelligence-enabled technologies, according to Angela Naef, the company'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," she added.

The company has two main offices in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as three main factories, three R&D labs, one sourcing hub and two joint ventures in China. 

Tracing its history in the country back to 1916, Reckitt has more than 20 consumer brands in hygiene, health and nutrition 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," explained Purkayastha. "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."