Global skin care company Beiersdorf, with an impressive portfolio of renowned brands such as Aquaphor, Eucerin, NIVEA and Coppertone, is marking its investment in North America with the grand opening of its new Innovation Center and research & development facility in Florham Park this week.
The opening demonstrates the German-based firm’s strong commitment to the North American market that will help drive growth. Already a globally recognized leader in sun protection, Beiersdorf will gain further local insights to help identify unmet consumer needs and further fuel innovation by establishing this new regional center.
Beiersdorf’s newly built, state-of-the-art Innovation Center, in Florham Park, is only 35 miles west of New York City. The area is considered a “science hotbed,” and is also home to other large R&D centers, plus excellent access to talent and universities, suppliers and testing institutes.
This Innovation Center is one of only two Beiersdorf regional Innovation Centers in the world; the other is in Shanghai. The Innovation Center in Florham Park is the first global center of excellence for over-the-counter and sun care products outside of Hamburg.
Beiersdorf’s R&D division sets industrywide global standards on formulating, analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of skin care products, thanks to more than 900 scientists globally in the Consumer Business segment, including 45 in the new U.S. facility.
“Regional Innovation Centers are a vital part of our global R&D strategy. With this new center, we significantly enhance our R&D capabilities, allowing us to accelerate innovation as well as to facilitate close collaboration with our local partners. It therefore enables us to fuse and fully leverage internal and external skin expertise in order to identify unmet consumer needs, and to develop innovative, therapeutic skin care products,” said Dr. Gitta Neufang, corporate senior vice president, global R&D. Apart from the two regional Innovation Centers in China and, now, in the U.S., Beiersdorf has regional development labs in Brazil, India, Japan and Mexico.
The new LEED-certified center in New Jersey spans about 32,000 square feet of office and laboratory space with room for expansion, and includes collaboration spaces, a consumer sensory panel focus room, and state-of-the-art GMP laboratory suites for the development of OTC products.
“The Beiersdorf Innovation Center will be our powerhouse in North America,” said Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery. “The U.S. represents the world’s largest skin and sun care markets. A strong R&D presence in North America and an enhanced position in skin and sun care is vital to expanding our business in the region and fully pays into our C.A.R.E.+ strategy.”
Separately this week, Beiersdorf also announced it moved its North American headquarters from Wilton, Connecticut, to Stamford, Connecticut. The new space sits within a 1 million-square-foot scenic campus, which comprises 2.5 acres of green space in the center of the city of Stamford. In total, 180 employees will work out of the new Stamford office.
“The opening of our new headquarters in Stamford and our new Innovation Center marks an exciting new beginning for Beiersdorf North America,” said Mauricio Valdes, general manager, Beiersdorf North America. “These new hubs — positioned in fast-growing, business and science centers close to New York City — demonstrate our deep commitment and investment in North America, and will expand our capabilities, open up exciting possibilities, and be at the heart of our continued growth in this pivotal region.”
