Two Indian Startups Selected in L'Oréal's Second L'AcceleratOR Cohort, Backed by a Rs 1,000 Crore Sustainability Fund
L'Oréal has selected 13 companies from eight countries for the second cohort of L'AcceleratOR, its sustainability-focused innovation programme, and two of them are Indian startups. The programme is backed by a €100 million fund, around Rs 1,000 crore, and aims to identify, pilot and scale technologies that address challenges across climate, nature and circularity.
Here are the two Indian names. The first is Without, a climate tech company developing technology to recycle hard-to-recycle flexible packaging into durable materials, and it had earlier been selected as a winner of the L'Oréal SAPMENA Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program. The second is Nexus, which is developing technology to produce energy storage batteries using agricultural waste, turning farm residue into something with real industrial value.
What happens next matters just as much as the selection. All 13 companies now enter an intensive acceleration phase led by the innovation team of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, focused on pilot readiness. After that, they get access to L'Oréal's global resources to run pilot projects lasting six to nine months, with the possibility of scaling successful solutions across the group's international operations.
The programme is also widening its scope. This second edition expands its geographical reach and, for the first time, covers water technology alongside packaging, ingredients, recycling and manufacturing challenges. L'Oréal is also launching a docuseries called Entering L'AcceleratOR, which follows three companies from the first cohort as they work with L'Oréal teams to pilot and commercialise their solutions.
The reality check worth noting: selection is a starting line, not a finish line. A pilot with a global giant is a big credibility boost, but whether these technologies can work at scale across L'Oréal's operations is still to be proven.
Still, for Indian deep-tech and climate startups, this is a strong signal that packaging waste and agricultural waste are being seen as global business opportunities, not just local problems.
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— Sandeep Raiza