Shiseido to invest millions in beauty startups

13-Dec-2016 - Last updated on 13-Dec-2016 at 14:53 GMT

As Shiseido prepares to invest up to ¥3 billion (€24.8 mn) in start-up ventures, the cosmetic giant’s new team will be on the lookout for technologically-advanced concepts and innovations that complement its existing portfolio and operations.

The Japanese beauty heavyweight has announced its plans to establish Shiseido Venture Partners, an internal venture capital organisation that will invest millions in startups that develop innovative technologies and business models.

To maintain its global competitive advantage, Shiseido will team up with companies and technologies that are on the cutting-edge of innovative development in health and beauty in a bid to propel its brand further.

Shiseido will specifically target businesses that utilise beauty-creating technologies, along with ideas and technologies that communicate beauty and new business structures that deliver beauty.

The new arm will operate an Open Innovation scheme, which will see the global player provide both financial and business support to startups with new technologies.

While Shiseido hopes that its input will enable startups to achieve their business development objectives, the company will also consider forming potential future business relationships with its investees.

First investment made

Shiseido has selected dricos, as its first venture investment. The startup is developing a new supplement technology, which can understand and provide personalised nutrients through collecting and analysing biometric data from fingerprints. The company, located in the Kanagawa prefecture in Japan, was founded in 2012 and is headed by CEO Yasuhiro Take.

As the Shiseido Group promotes its new Open Innovation scheme, it hopes that it will combine its expertise, knowledge and dominance within the industry with novel ideas and innovations to produce contemporary values and markets.

The company plans to invest in dricos by the end of 2016 to enable the duo to continue discussions on the startup’s technology, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

Reaching Vision 2020

Shiseido will support unique startups with financial investment as it heads towards achieving Vision 2020.

The company’s mid to long-term business strategy, which aims to see the company accomplish sustainable growth over the next 100 years, focuses on its core aims to ensure it becomes a company that is: filled with energy, always talked about, multicultural, overflowing with youthfulness and is adored by the younger generations.

Successful ventures will also get an insight into the business practices followed by Shiseido as a way to harness talent, provide insight on how the venture industry works and teach the fundamental processes related to commercialising ideas.

The cosmetics giant believes that this new division will help it appeal directly to an increasingly health-conscious society and the country's ageing population, both of which require a diverse selection of products to suit consumers’ individual needs.

As well as cosmetics and personal care products, Shiseido will focus on appealing to newcomers in the world of logistics, e-commerce and other operations related to the company’s activities.