The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® had an exciting announcement today, revealing that L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus would be making history by delivering the first-ever keynote from a beauty company at CES® 2024. Having received the CES Innovation Award nine times, L’Oréal’s keynote would showcase the company’s continuous technology transformation, ensuring its readiness for a future that blends the physical, digital, and virtual realms.
During the keynote, L’Oréal aimed to demonstrate the crucial role of sustainable, accessible, and inclusive beauty tech in driving positive impact at both individual and collective levels. They planned to highlight various innovations, ranging from a sustainable showerhead using rocket technology to conserve water, AI-powered skincare guidance mobile apps, augmented reality makeup try-ons, and novel forms of beauty expression in virtual environments. For L’Oréal, technology was a powerful tool, backed by advanced data and AI capabilities, enabling them to establish strong connections and personalized experiences for consumers, addressing their longstanding beauty challenges and offering limitless opportunities for self-expression and discovery.
Nicolas Hieronimus, the CEO of L’Oréal Groupe, expressed his enthusiasm, stating that technology enhanced the enjoyment of beauty while opening up a world of possibilities. He noted that the first wave of beauty tech had already transformed how people discovered and purchased beauty products. More recently, they had seen how it could empower underserved communities, democratizing skin health and expanding self-expression through innovations like HAPTA, designed for people with limited arm mobility. Hieronimus envisioned a future where no one felt excluded from beauty trends, as technology would empower them to create their own trends based on their unique stories, experiences, and identity.
Having unveiled new consumer technology at CES annually for nearly a decade, L’Oréal had an impressive track record. In the previous CES event (CES 2023), they introduced their inclusive beauty tech innovation, HAPTA – a handheld computerized makeup applicator designed to assist those with mobility challenges in applying makeup comfortably.
Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association, expressed excitement over welcoming the first beauty company to the keynote stage, emphasizing L’Oréal’s powerful story of its vision for the future of beauty and how technology enabled it to meet consumers’ needs while leading the beauty industry into the future.
In the past, L’Oréal had showcased several award-winning innovations at CES, such as wearables to detect individual exposure to harmful sun rays and handheld devices dispensing personalized makeup and hair color at home. Their success came from a robust global ecosystem of technology partnerships with startups, tech powerhouses, and academic institutions. Additionally, L’Oréal had invested significantly in its in-house research and innovation capabilities and supported startups worldwide through its Open Innovation model, startup accelerators like Station F in France, and the BOLD venture capital fund.
For those eager to hear Nicolas Hieronimus speak, his address would follow the CTA State of the Industry Address at 8:30 a.m. PT on January 9, 2024, in the Palazzo Ballroom at the Venetian. The event promised to be an inspiring look into the future of beauty and technology.