L'Oréal inaugurated today its new R&I Center to study Indian hair and skin specificities as well as the beauty routines and expectations of Indian consumers. L'Oréal plans to invest a total of €140 million (Rs. 970 Crores) in India from 2011 to 2016.

The R&I Center in India is the Group's 6th R&I hub globally. It includes both a Product Development Center in Mumbai and an Advanced Research Center in Bangalore, and will employ over 100 Indian researchers and scientists from the fields of Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Physics and Biology by end 2013.

The Bangalore Advanced Research Center is a 2,000 square meter site in Whitefield. The scientific environment of Bangalore is favorable to the exploration of phytochemistry, biotechnologies and bioinformatics to screen active ingredients able to address pigmentation disorders, scalp concerns and hair breakage. A specific focus will be on decoding Ayurveda roots thanks to modern biological, chemical and analytical methods.

Other R&I hubs are located in Europe, USA, China, Japan , Brazil and also work in coordination with global R&I teams based in France

Present in India for 18 years, L'Oréal is one of the fastest-growing beauty companies in the country with a growth rate above +20% and sales which could reach €230 million in 2012. Its brands are distributed in approximately 750,000 points of sale.