Unilever: A world-class partnership in action

The University has a very close relationship with Unilever, and the partnership is a leading example of Knowledge Exchange (KE) practices between academia and industry.

Unilever is a well-established global consumer goods company, and its work within the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) focuses on developing formulated materials. However, the collaborative projects with the University cover a much broader range of activities with equally broad impacts.

The scientific partnership started in 1917, beginning with relationships focused on the then Department of Industrial Chemistry and biochemistry research. Since 2001, the collaboration has become an established, high-level strategic partnership, combining the University’s and Unilever’s research expertise to develop new materials and formulations, spin-out companies and co-funding of cutting-edge facilities.

The MIF is the flagship knowledge exchange centre, providing a centre of research for over 200 Unilever R&D staff, along with a similar number of University of Liverpool researchers. The MIF builds on the success of the University’s Centre for Materials Discovery (2007-2015), whose automated material discovery  programmes delivered significant impacts, including an increase in Unilever product sales >€500 M p.a. from 2018 and accelerating the processes of Unilever molecule discovery to product launch in less than two years.

Unilever has a global footprint and can access academic strength anywhere, but it is choosing to use the University of Liverpool because the partnership has developed, and the University’s impact on Unilever’s R&D approach has made it an ideal location for completing research.

Professor Matt Reed, Strategic Programme Director for Advanced Materials, the Materials Innovation Factory, University of Liverpool

The MIF subsumed the Centre for Materials Discovery when it launched in 2017 and is a world-class centre of materials chemistry expertise and facilities with one of the highest global concentrations of materials science robotics. Professor Andy Cooper, MIF Founding Academic Director and Royal Society Research Professor, led the strategic bid that led to the creation of the £81m facility.

The MIF is an excellent reflection of the distinctive partnership model between Unilever and the University as an open-access innovation facility that provides specialised space, differentiated equipment and methodologies, skilled technical support and academic thought leadership.

In addition to the strong ingredients and materials focus around the MIF, the elements that form the basis of the partnership model have been applied across a number of other key research areas outside of this focus.

World-leading microbiome research

In 2016, Unilever and the University of Liverpool partnered to open the MIF OMICs Facility (covering the scientific study of biological molecules, such as genomics, metabolomics and proteomics), which offers access to genomic sequencing platforms, computational biology infrastructure and technical expertise. As part of the Centre for Genomics Research, with which Unilever has also maintained a long-term partnership, it highlights the importance of high-throughput technologies and multidisciplinary research in new materials development.

Alongside the applications to chemical and materials development, this collaboration offers the opportunity to research the human microbiome, leading to the Microbiome Innovation Centre, established in 2020, and furthering the strategic partnership with Unilever. As a centre for academic and industrial innovation, this collaboration enables in-depth research into the oral and skin microbiomes and has already enabled Unilever to develop first-to-market toothpaste and skincare products.

For me, as a microbiome research leader at Unilever, it’s been a big unlock for us. We have done multiple large microbiome studies with the University that have been hugely impactful. We have a number of studies going forward in collaboration with the University of Liverpool. Because the scientific engine is there, we can point that towards different conditions of interest. It’s allowed us to further increase our ambitions in this space.

Mike Hoptroff, Senior R&D Manager, Unilever

Ground-breaking collaborative research links skin bacteria to psychological well-being

A pioneering Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Unilever and the University revealed a potential link between the skin microbiome and psychological wellbeing – a world-first in this emerging field. Working with the University’s Microbiome Innovation Centre and Brain and Behaviour Lab, researchers identified associations between higher levels of Cutibacterium on the face and underarm and lower stress, alongside links to improved mood. While the gut microbiome’s role in mental health is well established, this study highlights the underexplored influence of skin bacteria.

Published in the British Journal of Dermatology, the research provides new insight that could shape future health and personal care innovations. Supported through UKRI’s KTP programme, the project reflects Unilever’s Positive Beauty strategy and the University’s strengths in applied microbiome and psychological research.

The partners have also secured a new KTP to further investigate skin microbiome–wellbeing relationships, building on wider collaborations in neuroscience and stress research.

Unilever archives

Whilst the long collaboration between Unilever and the University of Liverpool has had an impact on a variety of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields, there have been opportunities to create wider societal impacts.

In 2020, following the growing prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement, Unilever approached the University of Liverpool to support them in undertaking a transparent review of the business practices of one of Unilever’s founders (and one of the University’s benefactors) from 1900-1930 in the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the Solomon Islands.

This collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences builds on previous research at Unilever’s Archives and hopefully opens the door to more such collaboration between Humanities and business. In addition, this partnership helps to build audiences for humanities research outside of academia, as well as contributing to a major issue for companies today.

Unilever has had a relationship with the University of Liverpool for more than 100 years. To compete successfully, collaboration is key, and the University is one of the world’s leading academic institutions for materials science. Increasingly, innovation comes from strong partnerships, which allow the sharing of expertise.

Jon Hague, Head of Clean Future Science and Technology, Unilever Homecare, and Chair of the Liverpool City Region Innovation Board

Sustainable research

The University’s long-term partnership has provided exciting opportunities to establish high-profile sustainability projects with large sources of funding. Across 2020 and 2021, the University’s KE Team led collaborative innovation workshops, enabling academic colleagues to engage in new areas of Unilever’s business. This helped facilitate the process of moving ideas forward to become fast-tracked projects for transformative change.

As part of an £8.8 million EPSRC Prosperity Partnership announced in 2021, the University of Liverpool, Unilever and the University of Oxford are developing new platforms to provide a sustainable global chemical supply chain, helping the UK achieve Net Zero by 2050.

The University’s Research and Partnerships Team were instrumental to the Prosperity Partnership application process through pre-call scoping, bid development and critical support, as well as providing mock interviews and performance feedback for the application team.

Prosperity Partnerships are business-led research partnerships with long-term strategic university partners, and this Cleaner Futures project, led by Professor Matthew Rosseinsky (Department of Chemistry), will be key for developing new materials through the MIF and driving clean growth, helping Unilever to find sustainable routes for the production of chemicals used in consumer products.

The broader picture

Unilever’s long-term partnership with the University of Liverpool has driven a change in its approach to research and development.

Originally, they managed smaller, transactional relationships with universities all over the world. Now they work more strategically, with the University as an exemplar partnership with high-level staff on both sides searching for new opportunities and the best option for completing specific development projects.

To achieve the UK’s Net Zero goal by 2050, we need a transformation of the global chemical supply chain. This partnership is an important milestone towards this, driving forward important research on new renewable and biodegradable materials for everyday products, such as laundry detergents.

Richard Slater, Chief R&D Officer at Unilever