L’Oréal Groupe has launched the Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program across a huge geographical region stretching from the South Asia Pacific (including India) through the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Startups can enter on the competition website through July 13, 2024 to vie for the chance to develop their innovations into a commercial pilot that will have potential exposure to 35 markets in this SAPMENA region.
“Asia and the Middle East are young, vibrant markets with a strong and dynamic startup ecosystem and opportunities for growth,” said Vismay Sharma, President of L’Oréal SAPMENA Zone in a statement. “Leveraging Beauty Tech, L’Oréal wants to uncover better and more novel ways of connecting with consumers and answering unmet needs through beauty innovations. We are on the lookout for unique solutions that leverage data and tech — we believe augmented tech, online platforms and digital services have great potential to elevate the consumer experience.”
Startups will address one or more of the challenge’s five themes: Consumer Experience, Content, Media, New Commerce and Tech for Good. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with commercial and digital leaders, including strategic partners and mentors. The in-person Grand Finale event will be held in Singapore on Oct. 23, 2024, and the top three winners will receive a L’Oréal-funded commercial pilot opportunity and a year-long mentorship program with executives from L’Oréal and program partners including Accenture, Google and Meta.
The SAPMENA region is home to 40% of the world’s population and includes many of the globe’s fastest-growing, most populous and young markets. Consumers are young digital natives with an average age of 28 (compared to the global average of 33) and more than 60% purchase online every week. L’Oréal first launched this competition in China in 2020.
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