Our agile and customer-centric approach to business is informed by extensive consumer insights and characterized by cutting-edge application expertise.
Science & Research
With a global network of R&D, creation, and application facilities, and around 1,600 staff employed in R&D activities, we are working to confront some of the world’s biggest challenges. We invest more than €600 million annually in this area and are regularly recognized by LexisNexis as one of the world’s top 100 most dynamic innovators. To achieve this, each of our Business Units draws on the cutting-edge capabilities of our eight research platforms:
Biotechnology
Microbiome research
Receptor biology and sensory sciences
AI and data science
Chemical and process sciences
Formulation and material sciences
Analytical sciences
Nutritional and food sciences
These platforms fuel our innovation pipeline across nutrition, health, and beauty, and guide new directions in innovation-driven growth.
Innovation capabilities
Our expanding portfolio of more than 11,000 patents, together with substantial and ongoing investments in R&D and innovation, empowers our Science & Research team to deliver transformational solutions that the world needs. These colleagues work closely with our Business Unit innovation teams, 36 creation centers, and 50 application laboratories to develop distinctive innovations that create real value for our customers. Collaboration is at the heart of our approach, strengthened by around 100 active and productive partnerships with academic institutions, startups, and established companies. This network allows us to accelerate discovery, share expertise, and bring breakthrough ideas to life. For more information, please refer to the Science & Research section.
Market proximity
We combine a strong global philosophy with deep local understanding and close market engagement. With a network of 234 offices, laboratories, and global manufacturing sites, we provide customers with a broad range of value-adding solutions tailored to their needs. By co-creating with our partners and drawing on our scientific, technical, and operational expertise, we uphold the highest global standards of safety, quality, and reliability — ensuring consistent performance and continuous supply wherever our customers operate.
Sustainability
Our innovations make a difference. They deliver value to customers; the right outcomes for consumers; sustainable returns for investors; and a positive impact for People and Planet. A growing market, our ability to meet new demands, and our responsible production methods differentiate us, drive innovation, and ensure a secure and resilient supply chain. This will help us cement our leadership position for the long term and enables us to shape and drive these trends in the future, delivering returns to our shareholders.
Sustainability and Science & Research are the foundation of our business model. Our customers and consumers demand it, and we embrace it as a responsibility, because it’s good for business and it’s the right thing to do. That’s why sustainability is embedded in all aspects of our operations and across our entire value chain: to stay relevant in the future, and to keep delivering value to customers and sustainable returns for investors, for the long term. It’s deeply engrained in everything we do. We aim to enable best-in-class sustainability performance that will deliver positive impact for People and Planet. That progress must also be concrete and measurable: a significant milestone in 2025 was the achievement of 100% of our purchased electricity coming from renewable sources.
For more details, please refer to Sustainability performance and Sustainability Statements.
Governing principles
The following principles govern our approach:
We are united by a common purpose and set of values
Our priorities, strategy, and policies are set at Group level
We differentiate ourselves through our credentials and capabilities in Science & Research, as well as sustainability
Sustainability is embedded into how we design, source, manufacture, and deliver products and solutions in collaboration with our customers, suppliers, and partners
We give each Business Unit a high degree of autonomy to ensure it stays agile and can create shareholder value. Each Business Unit is fully accountable for cash generation, its financial results, as well as for delivering on the Group’s sustainability targets. The Business Units also control their respective manufacturing plants, supply chains, and regulatory affairs. Our Business Partners – members of key corporate functions such as HR, Finance, and IT – enable excellence and efficiency by partnering closely with the Group and the Business Units. The Business Partners also drive effectiveness through shared service centers. This approach, aligned with global macro trends, ensures smart, impactful progress toward our mid-term targets.