L’Oréal Amplifies Growth Strategy with Second Investment in Chinese Beauty Market
Beauty giant L’Oréal has announced its second major investment in China’s booming local beauty market, taking a minority stake in mass-market Chinese skincare brand Lan. This strategic move comes just months after L’Oréal invested 442 million yuan ($62 million) for a 6.67% stake in Shanghai-based company Chando.
The investment underscores China’s critical importance to L’Oréal’s global strategy, as international beauty brands face increasing pressure from fast-moving domestic Chinese competitors, known as C-beauty brands. Vincent Boinay, L’Oréal North Asia President and China CEO, emphasized that this investment highlights “how central China is to the company’s global strategy.”
Founded in 2019, Lan has positioned itself as one of China’s first clean beauty brands, focusing on oil treatments that combine “Eastern wisdom” with modern biotechnology. The brand’s collections, including Time Orchid and Phoenix Brightening, emphasize natural and minimalist aesthetics with molecular oil extraction and botanical healing technologies. Both Chando and Lan market natural, clean ingredients as key selling points, aligning with growing consumer demand for transparent, eco-friendly beauty products.
This investment comes as L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus reported the group’s China business grew around 3% in the latest quarter—its first increase in two years. Industry experts note that buying stakes in well-known domestic brands could be a strategic shortcut for L’Oréal to capitalize on C-beauty’s momentum while facing challenges from local brands that iterate products faster and market new skincare ingredients more aggressively.