L’Oréal has inaugurated its new Research & Innovation Center to study African hair and skin specificities as well as the beauty routines and expectations of sub-Saharan consumers.

The Research & Innovation Center in South Africa is the Group’s 7th R&I hub globally. It hosts product development, evaluation and advanced research teams and will employ scientists from the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, physiology, cosmetology and biochemistry.

Alexandre Popoff, Executive Vice-President Eastern Europe and Africa, Middle East, said: “Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions for L’Oréal. Our new research arm in South Africa will solidly enable us to continually create the beauty products of the future for our African consumers, while drawing inspiration from the diverse beauty rituals and the various needs of our consumers on the continent.”

Laurent Attal, Executive Vice-President of Research and Innovation, said: “By opening this new Research & Innovation Center, we are spearheading L’Oréal Research for the African continent. We are showing our determination to go further in innovations for the African beauty market. Our consumer surveys conducted since 2010 and our in-depth studies of skin and hair since early 2000, represent the knowledge base for the development of tailored products for African consumers. We are starting with hair and our ambitions are much broader and cover the body, hygiene, skin care and makeup categories.”

Deep knowledge of African Beauty
The Research activity in South Africa started in 2003 with an Evaluation Center focused on consumer knowledge and product assessment.

The mission of the brand new Research & Innovation Center is to translate beauty needs and hair and skin knowledge into innovative products ranging from hair care, hair color, relaxers and shapers to personal hygiene.

Cutting edge instruments to visualize the skin surface, the spots or to measure hair breakage and rigorous protocols are used daily to assess the technical, functional and sensorial benefits of the products. The key areas will be skin evenness, sebum, acne, dryness, hair manageability, sensitive scalp and the fine tuning of fragrances.

The new Research & Innovation Center will also cooperate with the African scientific ecosystem, universities, dermatologists, natural biodiversity centers as well as hairdressers.

Innovating for the African Consumer
L’Oréal has already introduced key beauty innovations for African consumers.

For example, the African Beauty Brands team has brought to the market the black oil technology for hair color, failsafe relaxers as well as skin evenness routines.

In addition, customised products such as Hair Food and Make-up fully adapted to African skin tones are already offered to sub-Saharan consumers.

The Head of the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of NIPOST, Dr. Simon Emeje has commended the management of Red Star Plc for its steadfastness in its compliance to all regulatory rules laid down by the department for the courier industry.
This much he said when the management of the company, led by the outgoing Group Managing Director, Mr Sule Bichi paid the management team of the CRD a courtesy visit recently.
Emeje stated that if the CRD were to give awards to those in the industry, he will give Red Star Plc an award as the best in compliance to regulatory rules among many others.
He said this is a reflection of the leadership style brought to bear on the company by the outgoing Group Managing Director.
Describing Bichi, Emeje said “he is someone who is ready to do what is right at all times, even in the face of adversity. He is a gentleman who is highly committed to the industry and he makes sure he complies with every regulation as at when due. If we have any forum, we will continue to make use of his experience and invite him.”
Corroborating this, Andrew Ebiloma, Head of Enforcement, CRD noted that Red Star as a company has always been at the forefront of most of the trainings and seminars organized by the regulatory body for operators in the industry.
Members of the team of CRD that received the Red Star management include Aribasoye Olusola, Head of finance and Accounts; Dotun Shonde, Head Licensing & Renewal; Mrs Ogunlesi, Head Control Administration and Mrs. Deborah Ogonmilade, Head, Media and Publications.
Speaking earlier, the outgoing Group Managing Director of Red Star Plc, Mr. Sule Bichi disclosed that the organisation is undergoing changes in leadership and structure so as to re-strategise for the future, hence the need to keep the regulatory authority informed on developments and new innovations.
He noted that the company has expanded with different subsidiaries that have enormous growth potential which is required to contribute positively to the industry.
Bichi was accompanied on the visit by the Deputy Managing Director and CEO, Sola Obabori; Executive Director, Finance, Auwalu Babura; Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Victor Ukwat; Divisional Managing Director of Red Star Express, Charles Ejekam and Corporate Affairs Manager, Olufemi Oluwole.

Eko Atlantic City, a unique, innovative development, in a vibrant environment with 21st Century facilities on the coast of Lagos has reached advanced stages in the first 5 million sq. metres of the project.
The city not only boasts of independent power and water supply, seamless communications network but also an extensive citywide road network. This will be the first of its kind in Lagos and Nigeria.
The city, which is divided into 8 districts, is planned for mixed-use with commercial, residential, entertainment and leisure activities to make the city a 24/7 lively environment. City amenities and services will include an international school, hospital, and a high quality shopping mall, the largest in sub Saharan Africa.
The city’s road design and construction has been built according to world’s best practices with beautifully paved sidewalks, tree-lined and streetlights completed with a stunning ocean view. One of the considerations when developing the Eko Atlantic City was to guarantee free flowing traffic. This has now been achieved with the major road network recently completed.
The extensive road networks now clearly defined with an area in excess of 200,000 sq. metres. Most significantly Eko Boulevard, an 8 lane Boulevard, 1500M long ( similar to the 5th Avenue in New York) the focal point of the Business District is fully completed from Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island to the Ocean Front, where an exquisite waterfront entertainment is being planned.
“We are extremely proud to have achieved another major milestone in the development of Eko Atlantic City. This futuristic city is not just for residential and commercial activities but a tourist attraction. We strongly believe the new boulevard will enhance business activities and be the ideal location for company headquarters, luxury and business hotels and also residential elements as well as attracting tourists from all over Africa,” says Ronald Chagoury Jr.
In addition, the city’s infrastructure network makes it the most technically advanced city in Nigeria. It comes with a fully integrated autonomous and reliable infrastructure networks with all its underground service pipes installed under the extensive paved side-walks( such as the storm-water drains, sewer drains, water supply piping, power cables and IT network ).
In 2006 South Energyx Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of The Chagoury Group was awarded the concession to reclaim land, develop infrastructure and act as the exclusive authority over the development of Eko Atlantic City, next to Victoria Island in Lagos. Furthermore, South Energyx Nigeria Limited was specifically created to oversee the planning and development of Eko Atlantic, the new city of Lagos.

About Eko Atlantic:
Standing on 10 million square metres of land reclaimed from the ocean and protected by an 8.5 kilometre long sea wall, Eko Atlantic will be the size of Manhattan’s skyscraper district.
Self-sufficient and sustainable, it includes state-of-the-art urban design, its own power, clean water, advanced telecommunications, spacious roads and 110,000 trees.
The project is privately funded by South Energyx Nigeria Limited – the developers and city planners, a subsidiary of the Nigeria-based Chagoury Group of companies – working in strategic partnership with the Lagos State Government and supported by the Nigerian federal government.