A responsive and responsible supply chain

The restaging of Elvive (L’Oréal Paris’ bestseller, with over 680 million bottles sold each year), from design to distribution, has been an ambitious project driven by Operations, illustrating the global collaboration and sustainable innovation of our teams.

With the consumer at the heart of our priorities, we design and develop products that anticipate their needs and usage, while guaranteeing the highest standards of quality and safety. Experts in UX design, materials science and packaging engineering collaborated to create a new packaging that combines desirability and environmental performance: 20% lighter, refillable and made from 100% PCR plastic.

To reduce our carbon footprint and shorten time-to-market, while ensuring optimal reliability, Operations prioritises local production in each region. For example, the high-tech Rambouillet factory in France produces Elvive for the European market. Distribution has been optimised, thanks to data-driven planning based on our network of fulfilment centres, as close as possible to markets and consumers.

This restaging is the result of close collaboration across the entire Operations value chain, with the aim of offering consumers beauty that combines an optimal product experience with respect for the environment.

L’Oréal is accelerating the digitalisation of its global distribution network to increase the speed and scale of execution and adapt to market volatility and consumer expectations.

This strategic transformation is based on three pillars: the use of data at scale, AI-enabled decision making and site automation. In particular, the Group is deploying state-of-the-art fulfilment centres designed to keep pace with the rapid growth of e-commerce. These centres, where teams work together with automated systems, optimise stock management and traceability, offering consumers high value-added services such as personalisation and tailored delivery.

For example, the Suzhou smart fulfilment centre in China was inaugurated in 2024 to meet growing demand for e-commerce, delivering an average of 50 million parcels a year directly to consumers and 17 million cases to B2B customers. The 46,000-square-metre centre is a model of technological innovation and sustainability. Distributing products from 10 of the Group’s brands, it brings together all the latest technologies (automated picking lines and vehicles, mobile robots, data-optimised operations, etc.), while implementing strict resource management practices. At the end of 2024, the centre reached 100% renewable energy.

Operations plays a crucial role in achieving the Group’s ambitious sustainability objectives. By the end of 2024, L’Oréal had reached 97% renewable energy for its sites, thanks to a strategy combining energy saving and efficiency, investment in renewable energies and data analysis.

We are working hand in hand with our suppliers to create a more sustainable value chain. We encourage them to set science-based emission reduction targets (SBTi), and help them to analyse and identify ways to reduce their carbon footprint. L’Oréal also supports them through various financial mechanisms, such as its BOLD venture capital fund, which invests in innovative sustainable packaging projects, or the Solstice debt fund, co-created by L’Oréal and Chenavari in 2024, which will facilitate access to finance for decarbonisation initiatives. Finally, Operations shares best practice and incorporates environmental and social performance criteria in its choice of partners to encourage them to invest in more responsible practices.

In 2024, L’Oréal was recognised for the sixth consecutive year as a CDP Supplier Engagement Leader for its commitment to creating sustainable value with its suppliers.

Faced with booming demand for fragrances (up 14% in 2024), L’Oréal is leveraging its long-standing industrial expertise to drive growth.

The Group produces 100% of its fragrances in France, at La Manufacture du Parfum, an agile production model comprising two dedicated manufacturing facilities in Gauchy and Aulnay-sous-Bois. State-of-the-art packaging lines offer flexibility and precision to make thousands of products, from blockbusters to limited editions. This industrial excellence combines high technology, human know-how and craftsmanship.

Working hand in hand with expert suppliers, the teams master the creative process through in-house design that integrates the vision of designers and brands, manufacturing requirements and the Group’s sustainability ambitions.

We are progressively rolling out refillable options for all our best-selling fragrances, reflecting our commitment to sustainable packaging and to encourage new consumer behaviours. The new Armani Sí Passione Eau de Parfum Intense bottle, for example, is an aesthetic demonstration of our expertise: designed to last, its innovative design and lightweight, refillable format have enabled a significant reduction in the use of glass, plastic and metal.