Signed for year ten: What L’Oréal’s CIIE presence says about its long-term China strategy

“In Chinese culture, the number nine symbolizes longevity and enduring bonds, a perfect reflection of our firm commitment to China,” said Vincent Boinay, President of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of L’Oréal China, at a pre-CIIE media briefing on October 27. L’Oréal has exhibited at every edition since the first in 2018 and has served as Chairman of the Enterprise Alliance for seven consecutive years. L’Oréal China, which Boinay leads, was the first beauty company to sign for the tenth edition next year. Under the theme “The Beauty Odyssey,” it is the largest beauty exhibitor in the Consumer Goods hall this year, with a record 27 brands and around 30 debuts. The centerpiece is the KALLISTÉ TWINS (龙凤美神), two monumental sculpted figures made especially for the expo. The installation makes its global debut at CIIE and incorporates a two-and-a-half-minute AI-generated ASMR film. The work draws on the phrase “ge mei qi mei, mei mei yu gong” (各美其美，美美与共), roughly “beauty for all and beauty for each.” For L’Oréal, winning in China over the long-term means growing the whole market. A study by independent French consultancy Asterès, published by L’Oréal China, estimates that the company supports more than 330,000 jobs, with one L’Oréal job in China generating 20 jobs through the value chain in the wider economy. Products L’Oréal launched at CIIE have become bestsellers, and the company has gone from exhibitor to investor to partner. AI for beauty is the next stage. A launch window for half its China portfolio “CIIE is a very important exhibition for L’Oréal. We have been a partner since the first edition,” Boinay said. “CIIE is really a platform that goes beyond an exhibition. It’s about mutual empowerment and the development of beauty in China.” Roughly half of the brands L’Oréal sells in China today debuted at CIIE, among them 3CE, Valentino Beauty and Aēsop. Lancôme’s Rénergie Nano-Resurfacer, a beauty tech device co-developed with a BIG BANG winner, launched at the eighth CIIE and has since won a 2026 CES Innovation Award and gone on sale in more than 20 countries. Five brands make their China debut this year, more than at any previous edition. Skinbetter Science and COLOR WOW are new to the market. Creed, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga appear in China for the first time since joining L’Oréal Groupe through its strategic alliance with Kering in beauty and wellness. The booth also carries more than 15 new products, including L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Extraordinary, developed with a Chinese partner. Investing in China, for China China is L’Oréal’s second-largest market and home to its North Asia headquarters. L’Oréal remained the country’s No. 1 beauty company last year, according to its 2025 annual report. “Our commitment to China is stronger than ever, and we are proud to have already signed for the 10th edition of CIIE next year, which will also mark the 30th anniversary of L’Oréal in China,” Boinay said. The Suzhou plant, L’Oréal China’s first factory, turns 30 this year and is now the group’s largest manufacturing site by capacity. It makes CeraVe, another CIIE debut, and L’Oréal produces 64% of what it sells in China locally. In Shanghai, the L’Oréal China Research and Innovation center generated 94 invention patents in 2025. Mexoryl 400, a sunscreen filter filed jointly by L’Oréal and BASF, was approved after a ten-month review, the first new UV filter cleared in China in nearly two decades. La Roche-Posay sunscreens using it were approved at the same time. It was the first time an ingredient and its finished products won approval together. Boinay credits the approval to the National Medical Products Administration’s forward-looking institutional innovations for new cosmetic ingredients. A good business environment means not only easier operations, but also room for innovation to land, efficient support for partnerships and stable expectations for its long-term investment. he said. “We will continue to invest in China. Investing in China is investing in the future.” Building with Chinese partners Every Kérastase K-SPA treatment at the booth starts with K-SCAN, an AI scalp diagnostic developed in-house by the L’Oréal China team. It is used in more than 9,000 professional salons and was named an outstanding “AI+” application case by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce. The treatment itself runs on K-STATION, a device born from a partnership with a Chinese startup that L’Oréal met at the fourth CIIE. Four beauty technologies make their Asia debut at this year’s expo, K-SPA among them. For L’Oréal, China is not just a market but a global powerhouse for innovation. L’Oréal launched BIG BANG, an open innovation program, at CIIE in 2020 to find Chinese startups to build with. It has since drawn more than 2,800 startups and produced over 100 pilot projects. This year, more than 20 winners from the program’s North Asia and France tracks show together at L’Oréal’s main booth. A year after winning in 2022, ShineHigh became the first BIG BANG company L’Oréal invested in, through Meicifang, its venture capital arm in China. ShineHigh’s supramolecular technology is now used in L’Oréal Paris and La Roche-Posay skincare. At the expo, Meicifang announced a minority investment in Pam²L, which won in 2024 and uses synthetic biology and AI to develop biomaterials. With support from L’Oréal’s BOLD fund, the two will co-develop new bio-actives for beauty. During the expo, L’Oréal inaugurated the Joint Laboratory for Skin Barrier Innovation and Translation with Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital. The company signed a memorandum with the Jing’an District government, through its Daning Group, to incubate the top projects from L’Oréal China’s Youth Fun Beauty Techathon. The university contest asks students to “create beauty with AI” (用AI造点美). AI for beauty, from the lab to the factory floor L’Oréal China is building AI into Research and Innovation, operations and how it reaches consumers. From the AirLight Pro infrared hair dryer and Kérastase’s K-SCAN to smart packaging and AI-assisted diagnostics, L’Oréal is applying AI and beauty tech across product development, consumer experiences and operations. The AirLight Pro, co-developed with the Chinese startup Zuvi and launched at the seventh CIIE, was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025. Across the group, AI tests around 10,000 molecules a year. In Suzhou, a new smart manufacturing workshop uses AI to inspect finished products, and employees in China have logged more than 57,000 hours of AI training. At this year’s expo, L’Oréal also runs a separate AI for beauty (AI向美) stand in the French Pavilion. Growing the whole market L’Oréal is releasing a study at the expo on the beauty industry as a whole. Produced with the Academy of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and supported by the China Association of Fragrance, Flavor and Cosmetic Industries, it uses L’Oréal as its corporate case and measures what the sector contributes to China in product safety and quality, jobs, tax and AI-led innovation. After nine editions, CIIE is built into how L’Oréal grows in China. Brands that launched there now make up a large share of its portfolio. Startups from BIG BANG, which began at the expo in 2020, co-develop its products, and some have become investments through Meicifang. Opening the booth, Boinay said: “Beauty is our core business, and Chinese consumers are our obsession.” This year’s theme, “The Beauty Odyssey,” reflects that continued journey in China. L’Oréal has already signed for the tenth CIIE, which will coincide with the start of its fourth decade in China.

Signed for year ten: What L’Oréal’s CIIE presence says about its long-term China strategy

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Signed for year ten: What L’Oréal’s CIIE presence says about its long-term China strategy

TUMI’s new growth playbook: From travel expertise to lifestyle performance