Brandstorm 2021: L'Oréal invites students to imagine the future of beauty

Clichy, 21 December 2020 – L’Oréal is pleased to announce the launch of the 29th edition of Brandstorm, its innovation competition for students around the world. This year, students will be invited to Invent the Beauty Shopping Experience through Entertainment, exploring the world of retail and e-commerce, mentored by L’Oréal’s digital experts.

Jean-Claude Le Grand, Executive Vice-President Human Relations, says: “At L’Oréal, we are convinced that the younger generations hold the keys to the future. At a time of economic uncertainty in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, L’Oréal is more than ever committed to supporting young people at the start of their professional lives, offering a professional experience that will allow them to develop and grow.”

Brandstorm 2020 in figures:

• 47,800 registered participants, including 12,700 engineers

• 65 countries represented

• 99.5% of participants declared they would recommend participating in Brandstorm

Over the past years, Brandstorm has morphed from a marketing competition into a disruptive tech challenge, mirroring L’Oréal’s own ambition to become a “BeautyTech Company.”

In 2021, L’Oréal aims to go further, inviting students to “Invent the “Beauty Shopping Experience through Entertainment”. Lubomira Rochet, Chief Digital Officer of L’Oréal, says: “Gaming, live-streaming, Augmented Reality and digital services are going to transform the online shopping experience into something totally new, much more engaging, interactive, fun and paced in between a TV show, a live music festival and a video game. For this new edition of Brandstorm, we invite students to crack the challenge of reinventing the online shopping experience through entertainment. I cannot wait to discover the exciting ideas they will come up with.”

What makes this 2021 edition of Brandstorm unique?

- It will be immersive and digitally-driven

- L’Oréal’s digital experts will mentor the students, offering them the benefit of years of experience in the world of retail and e-commerce, challenging their ideas, and making this an enriching and memorable experience.

- For the first time, students have a choice of three subtopics to work on:

#1. Invent new products or services

#2. Invent new business models

#3. Invent new experiences inspired by the entertainment trend-

The finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their projects to a jury composed of L’Oréal Executive Committee members such as Barbara Lavernos, Executive Vice-President Chief Technology and Operations Officer, Lubomira Rochet, Chief Digital Officer and Jean-Claude Le Grand, Executive Vice-President, Human Relations.

- The winning team will receive the L’Oréal Intrapreneurship Award and will have the opportunity to develop their project during an immersive mission in Paris at the L’Oréal headquarters and at Station F, the world’s largest startup campus. Hands-on guidance will be provided by L’Oréal’s digital experts and several external stakeholders from the company’s global tech ecosystem, including the ModiFace team, global leader in AR and AI for the beauty industry .

Spread L’Oréal’s values and commitments Brandstorm embraces L’Oréal values: Passion, Innovation, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Open-mindedness, the Quest for Excellence and Responsibility.

“Whatever the school or university, whatever the major or background, we invite every student to join Brandstorm 2021, and play this exciting game,” concludes Lubomira Rochet, L’Oréal Chief Digital Officer. “With this edition, we look forward to building bridges between the young generation and the professional world, encouraging students to use their creativity, explore their entrepreneurial skills, and learn to work in a team.”

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About L'Oréal

L’Oréal has devoted itself to beauty for over 100 years. With its unique international portfolio of 36 diverse and complementary brands, the Group generated sales amounting to 29.87 billion euros in 2019 and employs 88,000 people worldwide. As the world’s leading beauty company, L’Oréal is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, pharmacies and drugstores, hair salons, travel retail, branded retail and e-commerce.

Research and innovation, and a dedicated research team of 4,100 people, are at the core of L’Oréal’s strategy, working to meet beauty aspirations all over the world. L’Oréal sets out ambitious sustainable development goals across the Group for 2030 and aims to empower its ecosystem for a more inclusive and sustainable society.

More information: https://mediaroom.loreal.com/

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