Last week in beauty Unilever is doubling down on beauty, Puig has a new CEO and L’Oréal continues to dominate beauty tech.
Subscribe to my newsletter for more weekly insights: https://lnkd.in/evr8EFGG
NATURA GROUP SALES UP 1.8% IN 2025 AT CONSTANT RATE
Natura Group reported full-year 2025 revenue of €3.7 billion, up 1.8% at constant currency, though reported sales declined 5% due to the appreciating Brazilian Real and hyperinflation in Argentina, while underlying EBITDA margins expanded 190 basis points through efficiency gains.
UNILEVER CONFIRMS TALKS TO SEPARATE FOOD DIVISION
Unilever has confirmed it is in discussions with McCormick & Co. Inc. regarding a potential deal for its foods business, following the recent spin-off of its ice cream division into a stand-alone publicly traded company. The move aligns with CEO Fernando Fernandez’s strategy to transform the consumer giant into a beauty and wellness powerhouse, with beauty and personal care currently accounting for approximately 51 percent of sales and expected to reach two-thirds in the medium term.
JOSE MANUEL ALBESA APPOINTED PUIG CEO AS MARC PUIG BECOMES CHAIRMAN
Jose Manuel Albesa, formerly deputy CEO, has been named chief executive officer of Puig, effective March 17, while Marc Puig transitions to executive chairman after leading the company since 2004. Albesa, a 28-year veteran of the company who played a key role in building top fragrance brands including Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier, will focus on continuing organic growth and outpacing the premium beauty market following Puig’s 2025 results which saw net sales surpass €5 billion for the first time.
L’ORÉAL & NVIDIA EXPAND PARTNERSHIP FOR FORMULATION DISCOVERY
L’Oréal has expanded its partnership with Nvidia to develop a beauty and skincare AI engine that integrates Nvidia’s Alchemi machine learning framework to accelerate molecular discovery and formulation development, making the process up to 100 times faster by simulating ingredient performance at the atomic level. The collaboration, initially focused on photoprotection and skin tone management using L’Oréal’s proprietary molecules and over a terabyte of research data, aims to bring the first AI-powered products to market within one to two years.
AMOREPACIFIC LAUNCHES AI-POWERED SHOPPING APP ON CHATGPT PLATFORM
Amorepacific has introduced “Amore Mall,” an AI-powered shopping app on OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform that enables users to browse and purchase products through conversational AI with personalized recommendations based on skin type and concerns. The launch, which marks the first ChatGPT app from a Korean beauty company and makes Amorepacific accessible to over 900 million global ChatGPT users, advances the company’s “AI First” strategy following previous beauty tech initiatives including its AI Skin Analysis solution showcased at CES 2026.
SEPHORA TO ENTER BELGIAN MARKET WITH FIRST STORES IN BRUSSELS
Sephora will make its Belgian debut in June 2026 with a store at Docks Bruxsel, followed by a second location at City 2 in July, marking the LVMH-owned beauty retailer’s expansion into a market dominated by competitors like Ici Paris XL and Douglas. The stores will feature over 90 brands including exclusives like Gisou and Makeup by Mario, digital services, and themed beauty hubs, as Sephora continues its strong global growth trajectory.
SEPHORA PARTNERS WITH F1 ACADEMY TO SUPPORT WOMEN IN MOTORSPORT
Sephora has been named Official Partner and Official Beauty Retail Partner of F1 Academy, bringing its Glam Bars to 18 Grand Prix events in 2026 and sponsoring Spanish driver Natalia Granada, who will compete in the “SEPHORA operated by PREMA” car. The partnership aims to empower female talent globally and challenge stereotypes in motorsport, with Sephora’s Deborah Yeh stating the collaboration offers an opportunity to engage new audiences while supporting athletes’ dreams, and F1 Academy’s Susie Wolff emphasizing their shared mission of celebrating individuality and confidence.
SYMRISE LAUNCHES NEW CARE AND WELLNESS DIVISION
German fragrance and ingredients supplier Symrise has established a Care and Wellness Division within its Scent and Care segment, uniting five business units—beauty, personal care, biotics, supplements and pet health—to deliver science-based solutions for topical, ingestible and “inside-out” beauty concepts. The new division aims to address accelerating consumer demand for products that combine health, well-being and beauty through integrated innovations rooted in scientific depth and lifestyle relevance.
EVEREDEN LAUNCHES AT SEPHORA US WITH GEN ALPHA SELF-CARE FOCUS
Clean beauty brand Evereden has made its U.S. retail debut at Sephora, launching 12 products across skin care, hair care, fragrance and sun care categories including its Kids Multi-Vitamin Face Cream and Berry Smooth Detangling Spray. The brand, which surpassed $100 million in net revenue in 2024 and was previously the third fastest-growing brand at Sephora Canada, aims to lead the Gen Alpha self-care category by offering products specifically designed for younger consumers.
CYMBIOTIKA LAUNCHES AT ULTA WITH SUPPLEMENTS-FOCUSED LINE
Wellness brand Cymbiotika has partnered with Ulta Beauty for its first major retail launch, debuting four supplements including NAD+, Liposomal Glutathione, and Magnesium Complex online March 15 and in over 1,000 stores March 29 as part of the Wellness by Ulta Beauty assortment. The partnership, which makes Ulta the first beauty retailer to carry Cymbiotika’s NAD+ supplement, taps into growing consumer demand for “beauty-from-within” products and will be supported through influencer partnerships, in-store education and loyalty marketing.
AVEENO PARTNERS WITH MAYO CLINIC ON SKIN HEALTH RESEARCH
Aveeno has entered a three-year collaboration with Mayo Clinic to conduct pre-clinical and clinical research into its proprietary Triple Oat complex, aiming to advance understanding of skin health and deliver enhanced solutions for patients and consumers. The partnership comes as Aveeno’s parent company Kenvue, which also owns Neutrogena and OGX, is in the process of being acquired by Kimberly-Clark Corp. in a $48.7 billion deal expected to close later in 2026.
BRITA ENTERS BEAUTY SECTOR WITH INVESTMENT IN HELLO KLEAN
Water filtration company BRITA Group has taken a minority stake in UK-based shower filtration brand Hello Klean, marking its first investment in the beauty category with an option to acquire majority ownership over time while the brand remains independently led by co-founders Karlee Zhang and Omer Ozener. The partnership combines BRITA’s filtration science with Hello Klean’s consumer-focused brand, which has grown from £900,000 revenue in 2022 to double-digit millions in 2025 with 75% subscription sales, to support global expansion and product development in the shower filtration segment.
L CATTERTON TARGETS €270M IN JAPANESE CONSUMER INVESTMENTS
LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton plans to invest approximately €270M (¥50 billion) in Japanese consumer businesses over the next three years, focusing on cosmetics, food, pet care and restaurants, targeting around five deals primarily in family-owned businesses facing succession challenges and emerging companies seeking expansion support. The firm, which has invested in nine Japanese companies since opening its Tokyo office in 2017, is capitalizing on Japan’s active private equity market where deal value rose 81% to $33.4 billion last year.
