Henkel has officially launched its “J-beauty innovation hub” in Tokyo with an investment of more than US$3 million.

The hub includes an R&D lab as well as an advanced product evaluation studio with a colour observation room and “behaviour observation cube”.

The hub is the latest step in the integration of the Shiseido Professional business into the Henkel organisation, with the Schwarzkopf and Shiseido Professional teams sharing the 1400sqm space.

According to Henkel, the hub uses the expertise of Schwarzkopf and Shiseido Professional in strategy, marketing, product development, hairdressing education, and operations, with an international staff of roughly 100 individuals, including 40 R&D professionals.

“We purposefully built the J-beauty innovation hub in Japan, as it is the world’s second-largest hair professional market,” said Wolfgang Koenig, executive VP at Henkel Consumer Brands.

“Together with our Schwarzkopf Professional hubs in Los Angeles and Hamburg, we now have a global ecosystem across North America, Europe, and Asia for our hair professional business. We will tap into this exciting opportunity to elevate our iconic brands and drive new innovations to meet the changing needs of hairdressers and consumers.” 

Henkel said it will considerably expand its capabilities in innovative product development and ingredient formulation in R&D. The teams are collaborating closely to provide Asian salon partners and consumers with a unique combination of Asian and Western beauty concepts, trends, and solutions.

Further reading: Shiseido takes Nars Cosmetics into India