Transcript
Introduction
Matt
This is Matt Reustle and today, we are breaking down the personal care giant, L'Oréal. Founded in the early 1900s by a French chemist, L'Oréal and its long list of iconic brands have been driving cosmetics innovation for over a century. To break down the business, I'm joined by Zehrid Osmani, Head of the Long-Term Unconstrained team at Martin Currie. We cover the history of brand innovation, global expansion and all of the dynamics that played a role in L'Oréal's success.
I'd also mention this episode is an excellent pairing with our Founders podcast, Episode 217 on Estée Lauder. The two dominant players in the beauty market have fascinating beginnings and their stories clearly aren't over. Please enjoy this breakdown of L'Oréal.
Origins of A Beauty Giant
Matt
So Zed, it's easy to look at L'Oréal and simply think about the outputs, the beauty products and cosmetics. But what I found really interesting in researching the business is all the science that goes into their products, the inputs, and that seems to be a part of this company's DNA since day one. So maybe you can bring us back to that really neat origin story of L'Oréal and tell us a little bit about how it's evolved into the behemoth that it is today.