THE CHALLENGE
The theme this year revolves around challenges that arise from the need to protect, treat and enhance the quality and appearance of skin and hair with superior performance while respecting the environment. The sustainable product market is expected to hit the $150bn mark by 2021, with a significant contribution coming from Asia. We are looking for solutions in the following areas:
Protection
Skincare and maintenance stem from the protection of skin and hair from damaging external factors like sunlight, air pollution, and humidity. Technologies that can improve and enhance the protection aspect of beauty products are sought-after solutions we are looking for.
Cleanse
We are seeking startups with creative ways of integrating solutions to cleansing products in the beauty industry: new concepts to clean skin, hair, and scalp; or multifunctional benefits under a single product or technology.
Enhance & Repair
We focus on finding business solutions to better and surpass prior technologies that accommodate the repair and enhance part of the beauty experience in the form of instant and long-lasting performance whilst supporting the sustainable development of the industry.
New Ingredients & Materials
Opportunities to develop disruptive products based on technical functionalities coming from outside the beauty industry. Some interesting directions include tunable optical effects, deposition, adhesion and film-former; permanent bond to skin and hair surface; or biotechnologies.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU
Access to L'Oréal's leading R&D expertise in beauty
Opportunities for conducting a pilot study with L’Oréal hubs
Opportunity to land a $30,000 Startup SG grant sponsored by Startup SG (T&Cs apply)
Mentorship & Industry networking
A cash prize of S$5,000 for two winners
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA
Have a working prototype or demonstrator
Explanation of how the proposed technology/solution can address the specifically intended problem statement
Unique selling point of the proposed solution/technology
Be willing to present at the Virtual Final Event
TIMELINE
Applications Deadline
The deadline for applications is 24 August 2020 00:00 CEST
Announcement of top 20 shortlisted startups
Announcement of Top 20 shortlisted startups eligible for mentorship on September 16th
Announcement of top 10 shortlisted startups
Announcement of Top 10 shortlisted startups to pitch at the Virtual Final Event will announced on October 23rd
Virtual Final
The finals will be held at the Slingshot 2020 virtual stage during SFF x SWITCH, Singapore on November 9-13th.
The Top 2 winners will be selected to participate as part of the SLINGSHOT 2020 Top 100 Global Startups.