L’Oréal-Backed Beauty Pioneer Fund Invests in Chinese Biodegradable Materials Startup
Zhejiang Rightway New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (“Rightway New Material”) has announced the completion of its Series C financing round, backed by the Beauty Pioneer Fund—an investment fund jointly launched in 2025 by L’Oréal and Tiantu Capital. This marks the fund’s first publicly disclosed investment and signifies L’Oréal’s first-ever investment in a Chinese packaging materials company.
Founded in late 2022, Rightway New Material focuses on the development and consumer-sector application of biodegradable materials. The company offers integrated solutions covering laboratory research, material processing, and product manufacturing, with beauty packaging as one of its core business areas. Its client portfolio includes Chanel, L’Oréal, Bloomage BioTechnology, ONTOP, and other leading brands.
Rightway’s innovative materials already play a role in L’Oréal’s global sustainability program “L’Oréal for the Future.” Among its advanced technologies are bio-based home compostable materials, “negative-carbon” material technologies that convert solid waste and emissions into packaging-grade polymers, and next-generation clean fiber technologies. These materials have been applied across beauty, personal care, home cleaning, transport packaging, and logistics—replacing over 1,000 tons of plastic bubble wrap annually and reducing carbon emissions by more than 50% in those use cases.
The Beauty Pioneer Fund, established earlier this year, aims to invest in beauty brands as well as upstream and downstream technology companies within the beauty value chain. L’Oréal’s global corporate venture fund BOLD holds a 50% stake in this vehicle, underscoring the strategic importance of innovation and sustainability in the group’s China roadmap.
The investment also reflects a broader shift in L’Oréal’s investment strategy in China. While the group once focused on brand acquisitions, it now increasingly targets minority investments in technology, material science, and high-growth innovation companies. Through platforms such as the BIG BANG Innovation Program, BOLD, Meicifang (L’Oréal’s China investment arm), and newly established funds including the Beauty Pioneer Fund, L’Oréal is accelerating its engagement with China’s fast-expanding beauty tech and sustainability ecosystem.
