L’Oréal USA will be opening a new Research & Innovation (R&I) Center in Clark, New Jersey, in 2024, replacing its existing facilities that it has occupied in the area for more than six decades. The USD 140 million development project represents the most significant investment in an R&I facility in the company’s history.
Hair, skin, and makeup innovation
With this new project, L’Oréal aims to strengthen its capacity to advance the scientific and technological research behind the products and services aimed at meeting the diverse beauty expectations of consumers in the U.S. and worldwide. The R&I Center will focus on beauty innovations across the spectrum of hair, skin, and makeup categories with a specific focus on the group’s strategic scientific fields such as Green Sciences and Beauty Tech.
“This historic investment in our new Research & Innovation Center is an important milestone for L’Oréal USA as we continue to put science at the heart of all that we do to serve our American consumers with more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable beauty products,” says David Greenberg, President & CEO of L’Oréal USA. “New Jersey has served as our scientific hub here in the U.S. for over six decades, and we are excited to expand our footprint in the state and bring all our scientific teams together in a beautiful and modern new research facility.”
More than 550 employees
The nearly 250,000 square-foot R&I Center will bring together more than 550 employees across all areas of the company’s North America Research & Innovation Division, from Advanced Research to Evaluation and Product Development, under one roof.
“New Jersey is home to the largest concentration of scientists and engineers per square mile in the United States, which makes our state a prime location for businesses seeking top talent to help them remain on the cutting edge of innovation and development,” said Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey. “This significant project represents L’Oréal’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a presence in New Jersey, and I am thrilled their company has chosen to continue investing in the future of our state.”
The site will also house the capacity to scale formulations through a dedicated team, which will accelerate the creation and development of new products. The R&I Center will also be the home for external partnerships and scientific collaborations under L’Oréal’s Open Innovation strategy.
“Our new campus will serve as the Research & Innovation epicenter for our North America scientific teams across product innovation, development, and testing,” explains Sanford Browne, North America President of Research and Innovation at L’Oréal. “The U.S. is a unique market, and our strong presence in this highly collaborative environment will empower us to provide an even higher standard of quality, efficacy, and safety for our consumers. With cutting-edge science and technology, advanced digital tools and data, and a focus on green chemistry, we will continue to invent the future of beauty.”
L’Oréal also announced the new R&I Center, which is currently under construction and is expected to be fully operational in 2024, will be designed to the highest sustainability standards in order to reduce energy use, resource consumption, and waste production.
