Yuhan-Kimberly's 2026 Innovation Fair, held Thursday at the company's Seocho research center in Seoul [Yuhan-Kimberly]
Yuhan-Kimberly's 2026 Innovation Fair, held Thursday at the company's Seocho research center in Seoul [Yuhan-Kimberly]

2026 Innovation Fair held at Seocho research center

30 poster sessions cover new materials, advanced technology and open innovation

Summer diaper launch in 2015 led to expansion across sanitary pads, masks and more

Yuhan-Kimberly has unveiled a mid-to-long-term product innovation roadmap centered on new materials, advanced technology and sustainable products. The company is targeting a 95 percent share of sustainable products in total sales by 2030 while accelerating efforts to translate research and development results into commercial products and projects.

The company held its 2026 Innovation Fair on Thursday at its Seocho research center in Seoul, sharing the roadmap and a range of advanced technologies with employees across the organization, it announced Friday.

The Innovation Fair is an annual event organized by the Seocho research center to share R&D achievements and future innovation directions with staff. This year's edition was held under the theme "The journey of innovative ideas taking root in customers' everyday lives."

The event featured 30 poster sessions covering the company's future product and technology development directions, including new materials, advanced technology, sustainable product innovation and open innovation. Employees from marketing, sales, manufacturing and sustainability joined researchers to discuss ways to translate R&D outcomes into real business results.

Yuhan-Kimberly said it plans to apply lessons learned from incorporating shifts in consumer lifestyles and climate change into product development to its next-generation product pipeline.

Summer products offer a prime example. In 2015, the company launched a summer-specific diaper in South Korea in response to rising temperatures and changing consumer usage patterns. It has since expanded its lineup of summer-oriented products to include sanitary pads, incontinence underwear, masks and wet wipes.

The company is also stepping up efforts to embed environmental considerations into product development. Yuhan-Kimberly has set a goal of raising the share of sustainable products in total sales to 95 percent by 2030 and is developing related materials and products toward that end.

Notable examples include the Huggies Nature Made diaper, which uses sugarcane-derived biomass material; the Kleenex paper wet wipe, made with plastic-free fabric; and the Bebegrow Pure Baby bottle, which uses castor-derived ingredients. Beyond product development, the company is also running resource-circulation initiatives. Yuhan-Kimberly said it is conducting a hand-towel recycling program with more than 40 companies and organizations, through which it has achieved greenhouse gas reductions of more than 900 tons to date.

Yu Gyu-young, head of Yuhan-Kimberly's Seocho research center, said the Innovation Fair "goes beyond sharing current achievements — it is a platform for innovation where we look ahead at changes in consumers' lives and the market and prepare together for future growth opportunities." Yu added that the company would "continue to introduce products and technologies that contribute to a better lifestyle for consumers."


hong@heraldcorp.com