L’Oréal’s BOLD invests in Japanese beauty startup

This is the company’s first venture capital investment in Japan.

L’Oréal’s corporate venture capital fund, Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development (BOLD) made a minority investment in Japanese beauty startup SPARTY, Inc, its first venture capital investment in Japan.

In a statement, L’Oréal cited the Tokyo-based startup’s creation of a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model that is grounded in personalised beauty with brands such as Medulla in haircare and Hotaru in skincare.

It added that the business model enables consumers in Japan to have access to both personalised products and customer experience.

“Japan is one of the most sophisticated and influential beauty markets. In Japan, personalized consumer experience is highly valued, and we are seeing new trends and innovations when it comes to personalization, especially in beauty. We are thrilled to be partnering with SPARTY, a pioneer in personalized beauty as well as a game changer within Japan’s growing D2C market,” said L’Oréal Japan CEO Jean-Pierre Charriton.

SPARTY Founder and CEO Yosuke Miyama said that with its track record and the investment, they are confident that they will be able to grow their business further in Japan and overseas “to the fullest potential.