Estée Lauder Companies Inc. recently announced the opening of an Asia Innovation Center, located in Shanghai, China. This new center reinforces the group’s strong commitment to local consumers by developing products tailored to the specific needs of Chinese and Asian skin.

CEO Fabrizio Freda and team

“Skin care represents two-thirds of prestige beauty in China. To have a facility right in the heart of this very important region – a region particularly focused on high-performance products and safety – will drive our creativity on all levels”, explained general manager Carol Shen.

The centre will explore the genetic basis for differences in the response of human skin to environmental stressors and study the safety and efficacy of topical botanical and synthetic materials in order to develop products of the highest quality standards for the company’s many brands. It will also focus on the company’s Green Chemistry program, which is the design and implementation of innovative processes to make products more environmentally sustainable.

“We are bringing to China the best technologies from the U.S. and combining them with top Chinese scientists and researchers”, said Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO. “Through this collaboration, we are gaining critical consumer insights in China, closest to the most demanding consumers who have the highest expectations for beautiful skin and sophisticated, innovative skin care regimes. As a result, we will be able to create even better products for consumers in China and around the world.”

The Estée Lauder Companies’ goal is “to be the global leader in prestige beauty”. The group first entered China in 1993 and, since opening its first research lab in 2005, has been committed to serving consumers in this region by investing resources in research and development, consumer insights and branding capabilities.