For the ninth consecutive year of participating in the China International Import Expo, L'Oreal Co. will present more of its beauty technology innovations.
On October 27, at the media preview for the ninth Import Expo, L'Oreal Co. disclosed that 28 brands will be exhibiting this year, setting a record high.
Among them, 29 new products will make their China debut, accounting for more than 20% of all exhibits, and 10 beauty technologies will be unveiled for the first time. The France Pavilion will also bring 44 beauty tech products making their Asian debut.
Against the backdrop of slowing growth in China's beauty market and local brands steadily expanding their market share, L'Oreal Co. has chosen to keep increasing product and technological innovation to compete for Chinese consumers.
In 2025, the all-channel transaction value of China's cosmetics industry reached 1.10 trillion yuan, up 2.83% year on year. Based on a sample of the top 1,000 brands by online transaction value, domestic brands' share reached 57.37%, rising for the fifth consecutive year.
However, the rapid development of local brands in the mass market does not mean that international beauty groups have lost their competitive advantage in the premium market.
A report released by Euromonitor International in May 2026 shows that in 2025, L'Oreal Co. held about a quarter of retail sales share in China's premium beauty and personal care market, while Estee Lauder accounted for about 14%. In this segment, L'Oreal Co. still holds a leading position.
Since the start of this year, L'Oreal Co.'s China business has also shown signs of resuming growth.
Recently disclosed financial results show that L'Oreal Co.'s third-quarter sales reached 11.561 billion euros, with adjusted comparable growth of 7.7%. Among them, comparable sales in North Asia grew 7.8%, and L'Oreal Co. said China's market growth rate was close to three times that of the local beauty market.
From a business structure perspective, growth was not evenly distributed.
In the third quarter, L'Oreal Co.'s professional hair care and dermatological beauty divisions both posted adjusted comparable sales growth of 13.9%, noticeably higher than the group's overall level; premium cosmetics grew 7.0%, while mass cosmetics grew 3.8%.
The growth gap between professional hair care, dermatological beauty, and traditional mass cosmetics reflects the different current development rhythms of L'Oreal Co.'s various businesses. In the North Asia market, the group also lists premium cosmetics, professional hair care, and dermatological beauty as its main sources of growth.
These areas rely not only on brand and product innovation, but also involve professional channels, research and development technology, and consumer service capabilities.
Taking professional hair care as an example, L'Oreal Co.'s 2025 annual report shows that it has about 400,000 partner hair salons worldwide, maintains contact with more than 3 million stylists, and holds about 27% of the global market share in professional hair care products.
Unlike cosmetics that mainly rely on retail channel sales, professional hair care brands can also reach consumers through stylists' testing, care, and recommendation services. Although L'Oreal Co.'s main revenue still comes from product sales, the professional channels accumulated over the long term also form part of brand operations.
Some of the technological innovations at this year's Import Expo are related to these professional care scenarios.
Under the theme "The Odyssey of Beauty," L'Oreal Co. has set up seven themed exhibition areas, covering fields such as longevity science, hair care technology, quality manufacturing, and sustainable innovation.
Key technologies on display include the Lancome Absolue Time-Powering Mask Device, the multi-effect light energy hair styling device, and the Kerastase K-SPA intelligent scalp care service.
Among them, Kerastase K-SPA uses smart devices to detect scalp conditions and combines artificial intelligence analysis to provide consumers with personalized care plans.
Ye Chengda, Digital Smart Beauty Director for North Asia at L'Oreal Co.'s Research and Innovation Center, told Wallstreetcn that Kerastase's intelligent scalp detection devices have been put into use in about 9,000 hair salons worldwide, and the K-SPA care service displayed at this year's Import Expo is also planned to enter Chinese stores after the exhibition.
In addition to improving its own brands' products and services, L'Oreal Co. also uses the Import Expo to seek external technology partners.
Ye Chengda introduced that L'Oreal Co. once met a startup engaged in current introduction technology at the Import Expo, and later applied its technology to Helena Rubinstein's first-class cabin care service. At present, this service has covered hundreds of stores in 10 domestic cities and expanded to markets in Switzerland, France, and Australia.
This year, for the first time, L'Oreal Co. will centrally display 22 open innovation award-winning companies from China, Japan, and South Korea at its booth in Hall 6.1, involving fields such as product research and development, consumer experience, intelligent operations, and sustainable development.
These companies mainly come from the BIG BANG Beauty Tech Co-creation Program. Since the project was launched in China in 2020, it has attracted nearly 2,800 startups from North Asia to sign up, with more than 100 companies winning awards, and has facilitated investment in 3 companies.
Among them, supramolecular technology company Shaihai Innovation once won an award in the BIG BANG R&D track, and later received investment from L'Oreal Co.. Related technologies have been applied to products from L'Oreal Paris and La Roche-Posay.
L'Oreal Co. Group Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Hieronimus will visit the Import Expo in person for the second time and plans to announce a new batch of investments and cooperation projects at the booth opening ceremony on the morning of November 6, involving fields such as beauty and health and youth empowerment.
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