L’Oréal BIG BANG Beauty Tech Co-creation Program 2026 Major Upgrade: “AI+” Driven, Shaping an Impactful Beauty Future Together

ShanghaiApril 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On April 27, 2026, at L’Oréal China’s 2025/2026 Annual Strategic Development Communication Meeting, the “L’Oréal BIG BANG Beauty Tech Co-creation Program” (hereinafter referred to as “BIG BANG”) officially launched its 2026 edition. This year’s BIG BANG is themed “Innovation with Impact,” focusing on business growth, consumer experience, and sustainable development. After five years of accumulation, BIG BANG has evolved from a simple competition into a “value amplifier” for startups, leveraging deep co-creation in funding, technology, and global resources to help enterprises achieve commercial success and go global. Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of L’Oréal China, stated: “Over the past six years, BIG BANG has become a key engine for L’Oréal’s open innovation. We look forward to helping startups reach new heights and co-create the beauty ecosystem with us. Looking ahead to 2026, we will be driven by ‘AI+’ to deliver truly meaningful and disruptive beauty solutions for consumers, the industry, and the environment.”

Five-Year Accumulation: Over 80 Projects Launched, Paving a “Fast Track” for Startups to Achieve Commercial Validation and Global Exposure

Since its launch in 2020, BIG BANG has covered all markets in L’Oréal North Asia. As of 2025, it has attracted over 2,500 companies and successfully incubated more than 80 innovation projects. BIG BANG has brought tangible transformations to startups:

1. Stepping onto the Global Stage: Leading winning companies from China, Japan, and South Korea to showcase at Europe’s Viva Technology event, providing direct access to global exposure and resources;
2. Achieving Commercial Implementation: Helping the winning company, Ruiwei New Materials, establish a foothold in Shanghai’s Jing’an District, with dual support from local government and policies.

BIG BANG not only makes startup technologies “visible” but also supports their long-term development from pilot projects to commercialization.

2026 Highlights Upgrade: Responding to the National “AI+” Strategy, Making AI a “Touchstone” for Commercial Implementation

This year, the “15th Five-Year Plan” elevates the “AI+” initiative to a national strategic level, empowering all industries comprehensively. BIG BANG actively responds to this strategic direction by upgrading “AI” from a technical tool to a strategic core—in the project evaluation phase, AI capabilities become a key benchmark, with a greater emphasis on leaps in “value creation.”

Its four major tracks have also undergone a comprehensive evolution:

• New Playful Experiences: AI-driven content creation and localized production, reshaping immersive experiences
• Leading New Operations: AI predictive inventory management, anti-counterfeit packaging, and robotic automation, empowering agile supply chains.
• Foreseeing New R&D: Targeting new active ingredients and materials, using AI or sensors to assess efficacy, accelerating beauty R&D.
• Driving Sustainable Change: Innovative technologies addressing green science, sustainable packaging, low-carbon manufacturing, and sustainable consumption to lead green beauty.

Innovation Summit: Winning Companies Share Insights, Discussing the Long-Term Value of “Impact”

From strategic upgrades to ecosystem resonance, BIG BANG builds an open platform to turn innovative ideas into tangible industry dialogues. That morning, the BIG BANG Innovation Summit Forum, themed “Innovation with Impact,” was successfully held, inviting representatives from winning companies: Shanhai Innovation (Foreseeing New R&D), Ruiwei New Materials (Driving Sustainable Change), Deep Origin (Foreseeing New R&D), and Qianjue Robotics (Leading New Operations), along with other ecosystem partners. The speeches from the four winning company representatives revealed the “lasting impact” that BIG BANG brings to innovative enterprises from different perspectives.

Zhang Jiaheng, Founder of Shanhai Innovation, felt the momentum of standing on the shoulders of giants: “BIG BANG transforms the ‘impossible’ in the lab into outstanding products serving global consumers.” Jia Haojun, Founder and CEO of Deep Origin, noted that BIG BANG makes startups “visible” and drives partners from ecosystem connections to sustained co-creation. For Wu Jiechen, Founding Partner of Ruiwei New Materials, it is a channel for technology to find real application scenarios: “Our new materials have been applied to express cushion packaging, reducing carbon emissions by over 50%.” Zhao Haonan, CTO of Qianjue Robotics, saw a cutting-edge vision here: “By exploring flexible automation in real business scenarios, we accumulate experience in the deep integration of beauty tech and robotics.” The genuine growth of startups confirms the unique value of the BIG BANG ecosystem. L’Oréal also provided in-depth responses to the future direction of this open innovation platform:

• Park Ji-seon, Chief Sustainability Officer of L’Oréal North Asia and China, stated: “If I were to summarize the greatest value of BIG BANG for startups in one sentence, it would be ‘scalability.’ We bring scale in volume, scale in knowledge, and scale in the ecosystem—benefiting not only L’Oréal but the entire beauty ecosystem. This is the essence of ‘Innovation with Impact.'”
• Li Lin, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of L’Oréal North Asia and China, said: “Today, AI’s impact on content generation is evolving rapidly, but we focus more on how AI reshapes the entire consumer decision journey. For us, AI is not just about efficiency but also about maintaining deep connections with consumers. Next, we will build an AI agent application layer on top of our solid digital infrastructure to make the entire marketing chain more efficient and precise.”
• Gregory Arnal, Procurement Director of L’Oréal North Asia and China, noted: “We have high standards for suppliers, but innovation requires speed. We have opened a ‘fast track’ for startups, compressing the certification process and flexibly handling profitability metrics. At the same time, we are collaborating with BIG BANG companies to develop AI inventory algorithms, aiming to make the supply chain both compliant and efficient.”

From left to right: Li Lin, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of L’Oréal North Asia and China; Gregory Arnal, Procurement Director of L’Oréal North Asia and China; Park Ji-seon, Chief Sustainability Officer of L’Oréal North Asia and China, at the BIG BANG Innovation Summit

What L’Oréal BIG BANG envisions is to cultivate long-term impact through innovation and inspire the future with technology. It hopes to stand shoulder to shoulder with startups, skillfully leveraging cutting-edge technology and AI to turn a personalized, sustainable, and efficient beauty tech blueprint into reality, redefining global beauty standards and reshaping consumer expectations of beauty.

Ecosystem Expansion: Honoring Long-Term Partners, Looking Forward to Drawing a Larger “Concentric Circle”

The realization of the BIG BANG vision relies on the support of an open and win-win ecosystem. Over the past six years, the program has partnered with Shanghai Jing’an District, Oriental Beauty Valley, and Business France, forming synergies in resource matching and cross-border innovation. This summit featured a special awards ceremony, presenting “Long-Term Strategic Partner” honors to the three parties to accelerate the two-way flow of resources. Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China, stated that L’Oréal is committed to activating the entire ecosystem, expanding the “pie” of the beauty industry, and gathering more diverse empowerment forces for startups.

At the award ceremony, representatives from the three partners also shared their journeys alongside BIG BANG and the unique value they can bring to startups in the future:

• Mao Lipeng, Party Secretary and Chairman of Daning Group, said: “‘Beauty Creation Jingjie’ will continue to empower startups in four areas: establishing venture capital funds, building laboratories, supporting overseas expansion and introduction, and advancing cosmetics filing policies.”
• Lin Feng, General Manager of Oriental Beauty Valley Enterprise Group, noted: “From the first handshake at the China International Import Expo to the signing witnessed by Chinese and French heads of state, BIG BANG has become a model of beauty industry cooperation. Oriental Beauty Valley will continue to be the ‘best partner.'”
• Xavier CHATTE-RUOLS, Commercial Counselor at the Consulate General of France in Shanghai, stated: “We are honored to participate in BIG BANG annually, working with L’Oréal and the government to build the beauty tech ecosystem. At the same time, we help more startups expand to France and the world.”

Call for Applications: Join BIG BANG to Co-Create an Impactful Beauty Future

Recruitment for the 2026 BIG BANG China region starts today and runs until May 31. L’Oréal invites startups and SMEs with innovative technologies and business insights to join BIG BANG and explore the new chapter of beauty tech empowered by “AI+.” Here, you gain not just a competition but a “fast track” to commercial success, global exposure, and lasting impact.

For more details and to submit your application, please click the following link:

L’Oréal Beauty Tech Co-creation Program

Opportunity awaits, and the future is in your hands. We extend an invitation to every innovator who dares to break boundaries: Join BIG BANG, partner with L’Oréal, and let every co-creation become a force that transforms the industry, warms consumers, and cares for the planet. We look forward to defining the future of beauty tech together with you, making impact transcend borders, benefit every consumer, and illuminate a sustainable tomorrow!