London, May 15, 2026, 09:08 BST
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc used an investor session this week to put digital science and generative AI at the centre of its growth plan, saying the tools are being used across its Powerbrand portfolio, including Dettol, Lysol, Durex, Finish and Nurofen. The company said the effort is aimed at speeding product development and improving the odds that new launches work in market.
The timing is not accidental. Reckitt last month missed quarterly like-for-like net revenue forecasts — like-for-like strips out items such as currency and portfolio changes — and warned first-half margins would be about 200 basis points, or two percentage points, lower than a year earlier, hit by high oil prices and a weak cold and flu season.
Its shares remain under pressure. AJ Bell data showed Reckitt stock at 4,558p/4,559p early Friday, up 0.29%, with a year low of 4,518p and a market value of about £29.2 billion.
The “Focus On: Digital Science” presentation took place on Thursday and was led by Chief R&D Officer Angela Naef, Chief Financial Officer Shannon Eisenhardt, Chief Information and Digitisation Officer Nigel Richardson and AI enterprise head Bastien Parizot. A regulatory filing said Reckitt would not disclose new material financial or trading information at the event. Investegate
Reckitt defines digital science as a mix of predictive science, simulation and generative AI. In plain terms, the company is using data models to test ideas virtually before more expensive physical trials; generative AI is software that can create or analyse content based on patterns in data. Naef said the issue is “how quickly you can prove” ideas, while Parizot said AI work must be “business-led, value-proofed” and keep “humans fully in the lead.”
The company said the programme has delivered up to 70% time savings on lower-value R&D tasks, lifted average innovation project size by about 25% year on year, and is now deployed across all Powerbrands in more than 20 countries. More than 2,000 staff in R&D and marketing have been trained to use the tools, Reckitt said.
The target is bigger than a faster lab. Reckitt’s presentation tied the tools to its medium-term goal for Core Reckitt of 4% to 5% like-for-like net revenue growth and a fixed cost base below 19% of net revenue by the end of 2027.
That puts the move in line with a broader squeeze across consumer goods. Unilever has said it would raise prices in “small doses” to offset higher costs from the Iran war, while Procter & Gamble warned of a roughly $1 billion post-tax hit to fiscal 2027 profit from higher oil prices. Reuters
But the risk is simple: better data may not quickly offset weak demand, geopolitics or raw-material inflation. Reuters reported that Reckitt’s core first-quarter like-for-like revenue growth of 1.3% missed the 2.9% forecast in a company-compiled poll, and JPMorgan analyst Celine Pannuti said in a note that expectations for second-quarter emerging-market performance raised doubts over whether annual targets can be met.
Oil remains a live concern. Brent crude was up about 1.7% at $107.49 a barrel on Friday, with prices rising on worries over the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran conflict, Reuters reported.
Reckitt is also still reshaping the portfolio. The company has been refocusing around core health and hygiene brands after selling its Essential Home business for $4.8 billion in December, while it continues to consider options for Mead Johnson, its baby-formula unit.
For investors, the next proof point is not whether the technology sounds credible. It is whether larger projects and faster testing show up in volumes, margins and fewer seasonal misses. For now, Reckitt has put numbers on process change, not a new forecast.
