What was the biggest challenge of 2021 for Research & Innovation? Why are consumer aspirations a source of inspiration? How is R&I inventing the beauty of the future? Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO, in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology, answers all of these questions and more.
L’Oréal was born out of science; it was forged by a chemist’s hands and vision. And science has remained at the heart of our model ever since. Because it is undoubtedly the performance, the safety and the superior quality of our products that have ensured our success for over 110 years.
What role does science play at L’Oréal?
Our 4,000 scientists around the world have a single obsession: innovating to provide our brands and consumers with the best of science and create unequalled beauty experiences that meet their infinitely diverse needs and aspirations.
What major challenges did Research & Innovation rise to in 2021?
Seizing new opportunities. In a world undergoing major scientific and technological revolutions in which health and well-being are more important than ever before, L’Oréal Research was able to capitalise on the incredible advances of the world made in biotechnologies, artificial intelligence and cognitive sciences to open new frontiers for formulation and invention, and exponentially increase our ability to innovate.
How are consumers' aspirations inspiring Research & Innovation?
The increasingly demanding aspirations of our consumers are an incredible source of inspiration. Magnifying and celebrating our consumers in their infinite diversity and multiple types of skin, hair and beauty rituals enables us to explore new fields in formulation thanks to a more personalised and inclusive approach. And our international presence, with seven research centres spread across the globe—a unique structure in the beauty industry—gives us a competitive advantage with this proximity to consumers all over the planet.
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Research & Innovation for beauty in all its diversity
How is Research & Innovation inventing the beauty of the future?
First, by seizing upon the great shift towards Green Sciences —science inspired or powered by nature. This major scientific revolution is opening up a new field of invention and discovery around the world.
By combining our historic expertise with discoveries made possible by green chemistry, biology, and biotechnology, we are reaching unprecedented levels of performance and unequalled sensory experiences. Green Sciences are also instrumental in achieving our very ambitious commitments in terms of sustainable development. All our teams are joining forces to reduce the environmental impact of our formulas every day and in every step of our innovation process.
New tech capabilities are the second lever in inventing the beauty of the future. New tech has brought us into a new era of computational chemistry, AR modelling, and even discoveries through digital twins. Thanks to the data L’Oréal has collected over the past century on skin, hair, biomarkers, etc., we definitively have a goldmine in a time of algorithms and artificial intelligence. To move even further, this year, we signed very strategic partnerships to combine and augment our own data with specialised external data from the best tech players in the field of hormones, pollution and sleep to unlock new discoveries and innovation.
Third, we continue to invest and lead “augmented” beauty to amplify science powered by digital technologies to offer our consumers new and disruptive experiences. In 2021, for example, we launched Rouge sur Mesure by Yves Saint Laurent, which lets consumers create more than 5,000 personalised shades of lipstick at home with a connected device. Another example is the Water Saver shower head, which will reduce water use in hair salons.
None of all this would have been possible without our partners: academics, suppliers, vendors, startups, and research institutions. We co-create many of these breakthrough discoveries, new solutions, services and beauty experiences with this rich external innovation ecosystem.
At the heart of the incredible adventure of Research & Innovation at L’Oréal are our 4,000 scientists. Thanks to their passion and their unique scientific and technical expertise, we are constantly pushing the limits of science to create the beauty that moves the world.
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