Weekly Roundup: L’Oréal co-invests in luxury beauty brand, Eurofins acquires CRA Korea

24 Jun 2022 --- This week in personal care news, L’Occitane collaborated with the Chemistry Institute of Nice to revive forgotten scents. L’Oréal, Hotel Shilla and Anchor Equity Partners signed an agreement to co-invest in launching a luxury beauty brand in Korea. Meanwhile, Beekman 1802 and Perfect Corp. partnered to develop My Skin Biome, a facial scanning tool that assesses the skin.

Business news
L’Oréal teamed up with Hotel Shilla, a Korean travel retailer and hotel chain, and Anchor Equity Partners to co-invest in launching a Korean-based luxury beauty brand. The partnership will bring together L’Oréal’s beauty expertise, supported by Shilla’s luxury retail channel and underpinned by Anchor’s financial and business model. L’Oréal, Shilla and Anchor will own an equal share of the investment. The brand to be revealed will leverage the Korean innovation ecosystem and bring cosmetic naturality and functional efficacy.

Eurofins Cosmetics and Personal Care completed its acquisition of a majority stake in CRA Korea, a South Korea-based clinical testing laboratory. The acquisition extends Eurofins’ global position and accelerates future growth, especially in key markets in Asia Pacific. It will enable Eurofins to expand its presence and service offering to local and regional customers and grow its capabilities in clinical studies. Supported by 21 clinical capabilities and innovation, the Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care laboratory network offers services and clinical studies.

Beekman 1802 unveiled My Skin Biome, a facial scanning tool that assesses the skin and provides education around skin microbiome health. The artificial intelligence technology from Perfect Corp assesses skin attributes. It then offers a custom skincare routine based on skin’s redness, wrinkles, dark spots, hydration and texture scores while teaching users about the microbiome and why it is important to overall skin health.

The My Skin Biome Tool evaluates skin profiles and offers skin microbiome education.L’Occitane collaborated with the France-based Chemistry Institute of Nice and the International Perfume Museum in Grasse in a R&D project that revives historical heritage, offering insights into the link between ingredient sourcing and biodiversity regeneration. In the past, plants were used to create perfumes, which have been forgotten over time. The R&D project seeks to rediscover and explore forgotten perfumery plants and evaluate the possibility of reintroducing them as present-day ingredients.

Hoffmann Neopac advanced its environmental sustainability initiative with a sizable solar power panel installation at its manufacturing facility in Debrecen, Hungary. Spanning more than 10,000 square meters, the project includes the installation of more than 2,700 panels. Once up and running, the panels will produce about 1,500,000 kWh – approximately 15% of the plant’s electricity consumption. The clean energy initiative represents an investment of more than US$500,000. 

Personalized digital brand Revieve partnered with BeLive, a provider of live streaming solutions in Southeast Asia, offering end-to-end top-tier live streaming solutions for brands worldwide. Beauty companies in the APAC region can access BeLive’s live streaming platform and Revieve’s AI/AR technology – as one integrated solution – to experience a personalized beauty shopping experience. Through this collaboration, brands and retailers can reach out to millions of users in Asia, powering real-time live engagement with their customers before, during and after a live stream.

Shiseido Company collaborated with the Institute for Advanced Biosciences (IAB), Keio University, to foster talented individuals who will lead future innovation. Under the agreement, Shiseido and IAB will work together, supporting researchers in identifying issues within their research fields and creating future innovations through unprecedented research approaches and exchanges between experts. In the long run, the goal is to develop new leaders going beyond the conventional frameworks in the R＆D field.

Kiss Products introduced singer-songwriter and model Bia as its brand ambassador for its fashion nails and false lashes. The collaboration will continue until the end of this year. According to the company, Bia’s longtime use of Kiss Products, combined with her fashion and beauty choices, makes her a suitable partner. Bia will also serve as a content creator.

Dial’s products have received Cruelty-Free International Leaping Bunny program approval.Launches and releases
Wright Brand, in its celebration of 100 years of Bacon, the Wright Way unveiled the Wright N°100. The latter “bottles up” its signature real wood-smoked bacon flavor to create a bacon-like fragrance. Inspired by the wood-smoked aroma and history of Wright Brand bacon, Wright N°100 includes notes of bacon, applewood, bergamot, white patchouli and sandalwood. As a tribute to the brand’s founding year, the fragrance also incorporates Mousse de Saxe, a combination of leather and vanilla popular in 1922. 

BIC introduced the “Tickle Your Senses” campaign in support of BIC Soleil Escape, a new sensorial razor that features lavender and eucalyptus-scented handle. The robust campaign, which includes a variety of advertising, social, influencer, sampling and in-store elements, is anchored by a partnership with Julianne Hough, a multi-hyphenate entertainer and wellness advocate.

Community outreach
Firmenich achieved living wage certification across all of its global operations. Firmenich is the second company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve this milestone, ensuring decent living standards for employees globally. Following a rigorous external assessment by Fair Wage Network, a widely recognized international NGO, the group was awarded this certification three years ahead of its target completion date. Living Wage is a set of responsible pay practices to create equal opportunities and build a more inclusive society.

Singer-songwriter and model Bia will be the brand ambassador of Kiss. As a brand that aims to fight against the stereotypes that negatively impact men, this Father’s Day, Dove Men+Care launched #CelebrateBlackDads. This social media initiative will amplify the pages and content of Black fathers, encouraging people nationwide to add these fathers to their feeds and find inspiration in the care they show. This is a step within the brand’s ongoing Commit to CARE (Care About Racial Equity) Now initiative that was first launched in 2020.

Holland and Barrett unveiled its first refugee wellness platform – a free resource for anyone and any organization helping support and settle refugees. The initial focus of the platform is on content and resources to support women’s health, maternal health and adult and child nutrition.

Cruelty-free initiatives
Dial gained approval under the Cruelty-Free International Leaping Bunny program, the globally recognized gold standard for cruelty-free consumer products. The Cruelty-Free International Leaping Bunny is the globally recognized gold standard for cruelty-free cosmetics, personal care and household and cleaning products with requirements that go above and beyond laws restricting animal testing. For Dial to be approved, it had to forensically investigate its entire supply chain, including all raw materials and individual ingredients.

Accreditation and announcements
At the France-based Viva Technology show, LVMH revealed the 6th LVMH Innovation Award winners during a dedicated award ceremony. Toshi, a startup that provides environmentally sustainable and customized solutions for luxury retail brands to better serve their omnichannel customers, was the winner. Six other startups were awarded in specific categories: 3D/Virtual Product Experience & Metaverse, Employee Experience & CSR, Media & Brand Awareness, Omnichannel & Retail, Operations & Manufacturing Excellence and Sustainability.

By Nicole Kerr

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