Singapore – L’Oréal has launched the Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program in the South Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa (SAPMENA) area, which includes Singapore. This open innovation challenge, a key initiative for the beauty industry, allows businesses to develop their discoveries in a commercial pilot and gain exposure to 35 SAPMENA regions.
The competition highlights how crucial it is to collaborate on co-creation and co-development when it comes to beauty technology and marketing strategies. One or more of the following five challenge themes must be addressed by startups: tech for good, consumer experience, content, media, and new commerce.
Since its 2020 premiere in China, the competition has spread throughout Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) to take advantage of the thriving startup scene and substantial untapped consumer market in these regions. Just over ten years ago, this small space with only a few investors and firms had grown into a thriving hub that was experiencing a spike in transaction flow within the larger global startup ecosystem.
The Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program’s regional open innovation competition seeks to identify, foster, and support innovative startups from South Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North Africa, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Startups that take part will have the opportunity to work on their beauty tech innovation pilot projects under one of five challenge themes: tech for good, consumer experience, content, media, and new commerce. The top three SAPMENA Grand Finale winners will receive a year-long mentorship program led by senior executives from L’Oréal and partner companies including Accenture, Google, and Meta, as well as a commercial pilot opportunity supported by L’Oréal.
The three regional online semi-finals in the GCC, India, and Southeast Asia will culminate in an in-person SAPMENA Grand Final. Up to 10 startup finalists from SAPMENA will compete for the top prizes on October 23, 2024, in Singapore. The judging panel will include senior executives from L’Oréal and its program partners.
Speaking about the program, Vismay Sharma, president of L’Oréal SAPMENA Zone, said, “Asia and the Middle East are young, vibrant markets with a strong and dynamic startup ecosystem and opportunities for growth. 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.”
Meanwhile, Chan Ih-Ming, executive vice president of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), stated, “L’Oréal’s decision to orchestrate the Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program here reinforces the robust innovation ecosystem and digital capabilities that Singapore offers to corporates and start-ups in the consumer sector. We look forward to seeing promising entrepreneurs with innovative breakthroughs benefit from L’Oréal’s deep expertise and extensive networks.”