THE WHAT: L’Oréal has announced a minority investment in the Chinese biotech company, SHINEHIGH INNOVATION. This marks L’Oréal’s first open innovation investment in China, conducted through Shanghai Meicifang Investment Co., Ltd (Meicifang), and supported by BOLD, L’Oréal Groupe’s strategic innovation venture capital fund company. It is the first investment from L’Oréal’s BIG BANG Beauty Tech Innovation Challenge, initiated four years ago in China.

THE DETAILS   SHINEHIGH INNOVATION, created in 2017 by Prof. Jiaheng Zhang, specialises in supramolecular chemistry. The company’s smart self-assembling technology enables unique ingredient combinations for end products with improved efficacy and sustainability. L’Oréal’s partnership with SHINEHIGH INNOVATION aims to overcome limitations such as ingredient incompatibility, instability, and delivery issues and develop innovative skin, hair, and scalp formulations.

THE WHY: Fabrice Megarbane, President of L’Oréal North Asia Zone and CEO of L’Oréal China, said: “We have long-term confidence in the Chinese market. After 25 years of development, China has become the Groupe’s inspiration cradle of future innovation.