L’Oréal Groupe announced the completion and grand opening of its newly revamped North America Research & Innovation (R&I) Center in Clark, New Jersey—marking a significant milestone in the company’s 70-year history in the United States.

The new R&I Center broke ground in 2022 and began welcoming employees in mid-2023. Now, full operations will begin.

L’Oréal’s team held a ribbon-cutting event on February 27, with remarks by:

• Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of the L’Oréal Groupe
• Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO of L’Oréal Groupe, in charge of Research, Innovation, and Technology
• David Greenberg, CEO of L’Oréal USA and President, North America Zone
• Tahesha L. Way, Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey

The new R&I Center, built to facilitate product development innovation, is L’Oréal’s largest outside of France, representing a significant long-term investment in the U.S. market. L’Oréal also operates R&I hubs in France, Brazil, South Africa, India, China, and Japan.

David Greenberg, CEO of L’Oréal USA and President of the North America Zones, says: 
 
“The grand opening of our research center in New Jersey represents a transformative new chapter in L’Oréal’s storied history in the United States.”

“This investment will enable us to pioneer groundbreaking product innovations for American consumers that anticipate global market needs. And we’re not simply creating products; we’re building a prosperous future of economic growth, powered by American talent.”

A $160 Million Investment—& Over 600 Employees

L’Oréal Groupe invested $160 million in the new state-of-the-art R&I Center, which is nearly 250,000 square feet. It has over 600 employees, including scientists, engineers, and researchers based there, with expertise in product innovation, development, and testing.

The new R&I Center’s notable new features include:

• A 26,000-square-foot modular laboratory
• A consumer center for product testing and co-creation that can accommodate up to 400 consumers daily
• An on-site “mini factory” to scale final formulations before full-scale production

The new R&I Center’s design highlights sustainability. Features include 10,000 solar panels, which meet 70% of the facility’s energy needs; an eco-retention pond for stormwater management; and employee-led gardening and composting initiatives to create “green” workspaces.

Fueling the Development of Breakthrough Innovations

The R&I Center’s team actively partners with leading academics, biotech companies, and startups to discover, invent, and scale-up new ingredients, new product offerings, and breakthrough innovations.

L’Oréal says its goal is to develop new products that are more sustainable, inclusive, and personalized, tailored to the changing needs of consumers.
 
Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO of L’Oréal Groupe, in charge of Research, Innovation, and Technology, comments:
 
“The U.S. plays a defining role in shaping the future of beauty. With its diverse and demanding consumers and world-leading innovation ecosystem, it is the ideal environment to drive our vision forward.”

“This Center embodies L’Oréal’s uniquely end-to-end innovation model, from upstream Advanced Research on new breakthrough ingredients to the downstream development of formulas ready for scale-up to deliver high-performance, safe, and responsible beauty solutions.”
 
The R&I Center will continue to play a pivotal role in sustaining and growing L’Oréal’s portfolio of iconic American brands, including Maybelline, CeraVe, Redken, and Kiehl’s, while reinforcing the company’s long-standing presence in the U.S. market.

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