IBM & L'Oréal Using AI to Transform Sustainable Cosmetics
The quest for sustainability in the cosmetics industry gains momentum as IBM and L'Oréal announce a groundbreaking partnership. By harnessing IBM's generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), this collaboration is set to advance L'Oréal's ability to discover and procure sustainable materials for its products.
The focus of this initiative is clear: to reduce energy usage and material waste in cosmetics manufacturing.
Through a custom AI foundation model, the partnership seeks to streamline the process of formulating cosmetics, enabling L'Oréal to innovate while reducing its environmental footprint.
According to both companies, the AI tool will “significantly increase the ability of L'Oréal Research & Innovation teams to reach extra performance and consumer satisfaction in every cosmetic category and every region of the world.”
Prioritising sustainable sourcing in procurement
This AI foundation model, which IBM describes as the first of its kind in the industry, is designed to transform the way L'Oréal approaches the procurement of raw materials.
The model combines L'Oréal's expertise in cosmetic science with IBM's advanced AI capabilities, aiming to identify and prioritise ecologically responsible solutions.
One major objective of the collaboration is to help L'Oréal meet its ambitious sustainability goals. As part of its L'Oréal for the Future programme, the company has pledged to ensure that most of its product formulas will rely on bio-sourced ingredients or materials derived from the circular economy by 2030.
Stéphane Ortiz, Head of Innovation Métiers & Product Development at L'Oréal Research & Innovation, highlights the strategic importance of this partnership, saying: “As part of our Digital Transformation Program, this partnership will extend the speed and scale of our innovation and reformulation pipeline, with products always reaching higher standards of inclusivity, sustainability and personalisation.”
Matthieu Cassier, L'Oréal’s Chief Transformation & Digital Officer, adds: "Building on years of unique beauty science expertise and of data structuring, this major alliance with IBM is opening a new exciting era for our innovation and development process."
AI and procurement: A powerful alliance
IBM's leaders are equally optimistic about the collaboration.
Guilhaume Leroy-Méline, IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Business Transformation Services at IBM Consulting France, describes it as a turning point for both industries: “This alliance between highly specialised expertise in artificial intelligence and cosmetics seeks to revolutionise cosmetic formulation.
"It embodies the spirit of AI-augmented research, emphasising sustainability and diversity.”
The AI system developed by IBM will analyse vast amounts of formulation and raw material data. According to IBM, this will accelerate key processes for L'Oréal, including creating new formulations, reformulating existing products and scaling up production.
This efficiency is expected to significantly enhance the company’s ability to procure and use renewable ingredients on a global scale.
Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow and Director of IBM Research Zurich, sees the partnership as a prime example of AI’s role in advancing sustainable practices: “This collaboration is a truly impactful application of generative AI, leveraging the power of technology and expertise for the good of the planet.
"At IBM, we believe in the power of purpose-built, customised AI to help transform businesses.
"Using IBM's latest AI technology, L'Oréal will be able to derive meaningful insights from their rich formula and product data to create a tailored AI model to help achieve their operational goals and continue creating high quality and sustainable products."
How does it work?
IBM explains that the foundation model operates by processing a wide array of data points, including ingredient behaviours, formulations and manufacturing requirements. This capability allows L'Oréal to identify new ways to optimise its production process, ensuring sustainability goals align with procurement needs.
In practical terms, the AI model will help L'Oréal’s global team of 4,000 researchers develop formulas more efficiently and scale them up for production. By analysing renewable ingredient behaviours, the model also facilitates the creation of product lines that balance sustainability with personalisation and inclusivity.
Redefining procurement with AI
The use of foundation models, a specific type of AI trained on large and diverse datasets, is central to this innovation. Traditionally used in natural language processing (NLP), foundation models have evolved to tackle challenges in areas such as chemistry and supply chain management. IBM is at the forefront of adapting this technology for industries beyond language and its application to cosmetics formulation is a first.
Through this collaboration, IBM's AI capabilities aim to transform how L'Oréal sources and procures its ingredients, providing the company with the insights needed to prioritise sustainable choices while maintaining high performance and consumer satisfaction.
IBM Consulting said it will support L'Oréal in its aim to rethink and redesign the formulation discovery process.
It added: “Understanding the behaviours of renewable ingredients in cosmetic formulas will help L'Oréal build out more sustainable product lines with greater inclusivity and personalisation for its consumers around the world.”
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