L'Oréal's innovation chief says AI rewards established companies with deep data and organizational memory, not just startups moving fast.

What happened

Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, chief innovation and prospective officer at L'Oréal, argued that despite AI's democratizing potential, established companies have a structural advantage. L'Oréal invests 3% of its turnover into research—€1.3 million in 2025—and has built organizational systems (cross-functional matrix structure, clear KPIs, dedicated storytelling capability) designed to turn accumulated knowledge into commercial innovation. AI is accelerating L'Oréal's ability to test formulations: testing 20 molecules on hair that once took several years now takes three months.

What to watch

L'Oréal's innovation role was recently elevated to the executive committee, signaling the company's strategic commitment. The company uses AI-accelerated trend detection—listening to 'weak signals' like early consumer interest in longevity treatments (observed in the U.S., then noticed echoed in China and Korea)—and develops these trends over several years before public launch at its Lyon-based innovation center, Episkin, before issuing anything publicly. This suggests the competitive advantage may lie not in speed of execution but in the ability to combine long-term investment, institutional memory, and cross-functional learning.