The partnership will result in additional impetus for Hello Tomorrow’s 2016 Challenge to discover the leading technology and scientific breakthroughs from start-ups that are targeted at the beauty and wellness market.
The organisation has a focus on science start-ups that are chiefly involved in solving global industrial and societal challenges, falling in line with L’Oréal’s ambition to be a world-leader in scientific and technological innovations aimed at improving a long list of global challenges.
Hello Tomorrow third edition
Hello Tomorrow is currently in its third edition of its science and technology Challenge, having been set up in Paris in 2011 as a destination to help scientists transform ideas into world-changing ideas in a number of areas, including beauty.
“Startups looking for technological challenges will find avenues in the field of beauty and well-being to express their creativity and mastery of big data, biotechs and the microbiome, leading-edge imaging, cognitive sciences or machine learning, etc. These solutions, possible way off-field, will change the face of the beauty industry,” said Jacques Leclaire, Scientific Director of the L’Oréal Group.
Hello Tomorrow focuses on a number of nine key sectors, which include beauty and wellbeing, as well as air quality, transportation and mobility, water and waste, energy and healthcare.
Specific focus on beauty
The fact that the organisation has a specific focus on beauty and wellbeing makes it a good fit for L’Oreal, encouraging the cosmetics giant to scope out new one-of-a-kind partnerships.
While the partnership focuses on the fact that science and technology play an ever-increasing role in the development of increasingly effective cosmetics and personal care, L’Oréal’s strategy is also clued into the fact that start-up flexibility can also significantly reduce lead times – a crucial element in this fast-paced and ultra-competitive industry.
L’Oréal executives will be working closely in the beauty and wellness segment of the Hello Tomorrow Challenge 2016 to get a better look at what science start-ups are doing in this area.
3D printing, robotics and synthetic biology
Specifically the focus will be on a dozen or so emerging areas that will include fields such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, nanotechnology and synthetic biology.
“Startups looking for technological challenges will find avenues in the field of beauty and well-being to express their creativity and mastery of big data, biotechs and the microbiome, leading-edge imaging, cognitive sciences or machine learning, etc. These solutions, possible way off-field, will change the face of the beauty industry,” said Jacques Leclaire, Scientific Director of the L’Oréal Group.
L’Oréal’s input will putting its team of international experts to work with Hello Tomorrow’s investors, researchers and entrepreneurs to help evaluate and support new and emerging technologies and sciences.
Contestants for the Hello Tomorrow 2016 Challenge – which has a grand prize of Euros 100,000 - have until June 17 to apply, while the winners will be announced at Tomorrow’s Global Summit in October.