Beauty products maker L'Oréal has inaugurated a new research & innovation centre to study Indian hair and skin specificities as well as the beauty routines and expectations of Indian consumers.
It plans to invest Rs 970 crore in India. The R&I centre in India is the group’s sixth R&I hub globally.
The centre includes both a product development centre in Mumbai and an advanced research centre in Bangalore, and will employ over 100 Indian researchers and scientists from the fields of Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Physics and Biology by the year-end.
Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, said: “With one of the highest growths of the group in Asia-Pacific, India is a key contributor to L’Oréal's objective of reaching one billion new consumers.”
Present in India for 18 years, L’Oréal has been growing at a rate of over 20 per cent and recorded sales of Rs 1,580 crore in 2012. Its brands are distributed in approximately 750,000 points of sale.