L’Oreal arm invests in local VC fund Fireside

MUMBAI, Sept 5: French personal care and beautyproducts major L’Oreal has made investment in a local earlystage venture capital fund of Fireside Ventures.Fireside Ventures was launched in 2017 to nurturelocal consumer brands and the undisclosed amount of investmenthas been made into Fireside fund II, an official statementsaid Thursday.

“India is an important market for us and a great placefor innovation,” L’Oreal India managing director Amit Jainsaid, adding with this investment it aims to co-create beautytrends of the future.The investment has been made through the Frenchcompany’s corporate venture capital fund ‘Bold businessopportunities for LOral development’ launched last December.

“Together with L’Oreal we intend to scout and co-create a new generation of innovative beauty products, builtin India for global consumption and in faster timeframes,”Fireside managing partner Kanwaljit Singh said.He said the fund is aiming to build Rs 100 croreconsumer brands from the country in the next few years.L’Oreal has been present here for the past 25 years asa wholly-owned unit of the French parent and sells a portfolioconsisting of 14 brands. It employs 1,600 and runs twomanufacturing units in Maharashtra and Himachal. (PTI)