Traditional companies have sometimes been slow to take hold of Web 2.0 technologies and uses. Some seem inclined not to reproduce the same scenario with Web3.
This is particularly the case of L’Oréal, the cosmetics giant with nearly 90,000 employees and a market valuation of more than 200 billion euros. To beauty tech, he therefore adds the string of blockchain technologies.
First venture capital investment Web3 and metaverse
For this, the group takes a stake in an American startup, Digital Village, on the occasion of a seed or seed fundraiser. The transaction is carried out through BOLD.
BOLD (Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development) is the company’s venture capital fund. This investment is also a first in the field of metaverse and Web3.
On the other hand, L’Oréal already has a few initiatives to its credit in this emerging market. Among these, a partnership with Ready Player Me, a service developing virtual avatars. The goal, to offer a range of hairstyles and makeup inspired by gaming for the metaverse.
In early 2022, the brand also launched a collection of NFTs, non-fungible tokens. Thanks to its capital links with Digital Village, it can hope to increase its skills in Web3 uses and identify monetization methods. L’Oréal thus sees Digital Village solutions as “powerful catalysts” for its products.
Uses of NFTs in beauty to be identified
The startup presents itself as a “platform enabling the use of services in the metaverse (metaverse-as-a-service) and NFT marketplace for brands, creators and communities.”
This field is still nascent. Gartner estimates that the maturity of the metaverse will not occur before 2030. The challenge for brands therefore consists in preparing for the potential arrival of new channels and consumer profiles.
“L’Oréal continues to explore the world of beauty in Web3 by continuing to work with the most promising start-ups, offering the highest visual and technical qualities”, reacts the General Manager Metavers and Web3 of L’Oréal , Camille Kroely.
Some fashion and luxury brands are already managing to generate significant revenue from NFT sales and secondary market royalties. Let us mention in particular Nike, Gucci, Adidas or Dolce & Gabbana.