L’Oréal will set up its first global capability centre in India in Hyderabad, backed by about Rs 3,500 crore of investment through 2030. Chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus confirmed the plan in January 2026 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, after meeting a Telangana government delegation. The centre is expected to create 2,000 technology roles and to open in November 2026.
The Paris based group is the world’s largest beauty company, with brands that include L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline, La Roche-Posay, CeraVe and NYX Professional Makeup. It posted sales of €44.05 billion in 2025, with like for like growth of 4 percent, ahead of the wider beauty market.
What the centre will do
The Hyderabad site is being built as a global hub for innovation, technology, data and supply chain work. It will support L’Oréal’s digital transformation along with its AI and analytics programmes worldwide, with teams working on data, generative AI and agentic AI. Hieronimus said tools developed in Hyderabad will be rolled out to L’Oréal facilities around the world. The roles will span AI specialists, engineers and data scientists. The company began recruiting senior leaders for the project in late 2025, including candidates from its Paris headquarters.
Why Hyderabad
Telangana courted the investment directly, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy leading the Davos delegation. Hyderabad already hosts a dense mix of global capability centres in pharma, health technology and hospitality, giving a consumer brand access to engineering and data talent at scale. State officials also invited L’Oréal to consider a manufacturing unit in Telangana, and Hieronimus said the company would study the idea.
L’Oréal’s India footprint
L’Oréal already runs research facilities in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and the Hyderabad centre will sit separately from them. India accounts for just over 1 percent of group sales and ranks as its 15th largest market. Growth there slowed to 5 percent in the latest financial year after several years of double digit gains, and the company has said it wants India among its ten biggest markets. Jacques Lebel now leads the India business as country manager.
What it signals
Consumer goods companies have been slower than banks and tech firms to build large Indian centres, and L’Oréal’s move points to a shift. Beauty now relies on data for product development, personalised marketing and supply planning, and the group is choosing to build that capability in house in India rather than buy it in. A successful launch would also strengthen Hyderabad’s pitch to other European consumer brands.
At a glance
- Home country: France
- Sector: Retail and Consumer
- City: Hyderabad
- Date: January 2026
- Status: Announced
- Scale: About Rs 3,500 crore through 2030 and 2,000 tech roles
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