L’Oréal’s corporate venture capital fund BOLD has announced that it has made a minority investment in Japanese beauty startup SPARTY, Inc.
Commenting on the investment, Jean-Pierre Charriton, chief executive officer of L’Oréal Japan, said, “Japan is one of the most sophisticated and influential beauty markets. In Japan, personalised consumer experience is highly valued, and we are seeing new trends and innovations when it comes to personalisation, especially in beauty.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with SPARTY, a pioneer in personalised beauty as well as a game changer within Japan’s growing D2C market.”
Direct-To-Consumer Model
SPARTY, based in Tokyo, created a direct to consumer business model (grounded in personalised beauty), incorporating the brands Medulla (shampoo product) and Hotaru (skincare).
Yosuke Miyama, founder and CEO of SPARTY Inc. said, “With SPARTY’s proven track record in personalisation and L’Oréal’s leadership in the worldwide beauty market, we are confident that we will be able to embark on the next chapter of our growth journey and scale our business even further, both in Japan and overseas, to the fullest potential.”
L’Oréal's BOLD fund invests in startups relating to data or tech-augmented innovations in the beauty industry, biotech and green science, software platforms and services (retail), and brands.
The beauty and cosmetics giant boasts 20 research centres across 11 countries and a research and innovation team of more than 4,000 scientists and 3,000 tech professionals.
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