L'Oréal group looking for Spanish tech and beauty start-ups

As part of its Open Innovation programme, L’Oréal, together with Spanish Foreign Trade Institute ICEX, has invited Spanish tech and beauty start-ups to pitch their projects on November 14 in Paris, to be selected to join the Station F start-up campus, of which L’Oréal is a partner.

The French cosmetics giant explained that, among the eligibility requirements to pitch a project, the start-ups must have a service or product that has already been defined, as well as relevant case histories, the ability to develop a pilot version ready to scaled up, and their work must be related to the beauty industry’s retail operations, services, training, data or content generation.

In addition, they will have to be able to present the project in English. The companies chosen on the day will be able to join the world’s largest start-up campus, the Paris-based Station F, for six months.

To participate, start-ups must fill out a form on the ICEX website, which will then be sent to L’Oréal’s Open Innovation programme for the final selection.

Though the companies involved with Station F mostly work in the beauty industry, L’Oréal is “constantly” searching for high-tech start-ups which can contribute to the digitalisation of physical stores and retail services, for the cosmetics group’s more than 34 beauty brands.

Since 2012, the L’Oréal group has been operating a connected technology incubator, designed as a start-up, within its Research & Innovation department.