R&I North America Strengthens L’Oréal’s Open Innovation Strategy

L’Oréal’s North America Research & Innovation (R&I) team recently strengthened its relationship with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by signing a membership agreement with the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP), which will further connect L’Oréal with the North American innovation ecosystem and help pioneer new territories.

The ILP, the world's oldest and most powerful program, provides L’Oréal with facilitated access to MIT resources. This includes expertise such as the MIT.nano, a 214,000 sq. ft. facility creating the future of nanoscience and nanoengineering, connections to key stakeholders - like the MIT Startup Exchange, which actively promotes collaboration with the 1,400 MIT-connected startups - from biotech to venture capitalists and access to MIT ILP global member companies.

At L’Oréal, we’re constantly exploring how to seize new opportunities to create the best, safe, and most effective products and experiences for our consumers. We believe in the strength of the collective and know that the future of beauty cannot be made alone.

“We need to embrace and nurture innovation, and this is especially true in North America, which has a unique innovation ecosystem with the best academic institutes, universities, startups, and suppliers. Whether we want to focus on wearables and new materials, or personalized beauty and biotech, the sky’s the limit when we’re working with exceptional partners like the brilliant minds at MIT,” says Mohamed Kanji, Chief Open Innovation and Operational Excellence Officer, Research & Innovation North America at L’Oréal. “These connections are just the beginning of our relationship with MIT. We look forward to combining our ideas, attracting talent, and more.”

The membership, effective immediately, complements L’Oréal’s existing relationship with MIT’s Media Lab, which promotes an interdisciplinary research culture that brings together diverse areas of interest. Faculty, students, and researchers work side-by-side on hundreds of projects across disciplines as varied as social robotics, physical and cognitive prostheses, new models and tools for learning, community bioengineering, and models for sustainable cities. 

Access to the next generation of leaders

Similarly, as with L’Oréal, openness, and entrepreneurship prevail at MIT. As one of the world’s best universities, MIT is building the next generation of leaders. While at MIT for an offsite with his leadership team in early November, Sanford Browne, President of R&I North America, presented R&I to a group of enthusiastic MIT students. Talking about his career path, it was an opportunity to share L’Oréal’s robust science and the opportunities within our group.

“Our partnership with MIT is a long-term brand reputation strategy—we need to continue to show up to schools like MIT as a genuine beauty tech company,” says Brittany Ramsey, Director of University Relations and Partnerships, L’Oréal USA. “Students mostly still view us as only a beauty company, so we need to change that misconception to attract new skill sets and support our mission to invent the future of beauty.”