PARIS - L'Oréal has taken a minority stake in the Swiss environmental tech start-up Gjosa, which develops water-saving solutions.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the world's largest beauty company said that it had made the investment through its corporate venture capital fund, called Business Opportunities for L'Oréal Development.
L'Oréal and Gjosa, which is based in Bienne, Switzerland, have worked together for the past six years to optimize shampoo rinse technology in order to save water. In 2018, the two companies revealed they had developed a shower head that can rinse shampoo with 1.5 liters of water, rather than the typical 8 liters.
This January at the annual tech trade show CES, L'Oréal and Gjosa presented the L'Oréal Water Saver, a sustainable hair care system for use in salons and homes.
"By combining Gjosa's unique water-tech innovations with L'Oréal's knowledge of beauty rituals, data, tech and personalization, we will invent together new augmented beauty experiences for our consumers, while protecting the coveted and precious resource that is water," said Barbara Lavernos, chief research, innovation and technology officer at L'Oréal, in a statement released on Tuesday.
The cofounders of Gjosa, Amin Abdulla and Luc Amgwerd, said jointly that the L'Oréal investment will enhance their company's roadmap in water technologies to reach people around the world.
L'Oréal has long had a focus on sustainable practices, and in June 2020 revealed its new goals for 2030, called L'Oréal for the Future, to bolster sustainability and inclusion commitments.
For more, see:
L'Oréal Sales Accelerate in Q4
LVMH, L'Oréal Ventures Invest in Replika Social Commerce Platform
How L'Oréal USA CEO Stéphane Rinderknech Will Restore Growth to the Region