L’Oréal’s Brandstorm 2019 Discovering Filipino Talents

Have you heard about L’Oréal’s Brandstorm?

If not let me tell you a little information about it. Started way back 27 years ago,  L’Oréal Brandstorm becomes known as the world's biggest innovation competition that is made for students with over 65 countries participants. They have 6 months to imagine a concept and work on its feasibility. A final round will bring the finalists from each country together in Paris, at an event in late May 2019, to determine which team will win an immersion at Station F. For more information: https://brandstorm.loreal.com

The Grand Winner

For Into Your Genes emerged victorious at L’Oréal Brandstorm’s 2019 Philippine National Finals on Thursday, April 25th, 2019, at Whitespace Manila, Makati City. As this year’s winners, Into Your Genes, will fly to Paris, France, where they will be mentored by L’Oréal experts at Station F. The winners of the world finals will have the opportunity to develop a prototype of their project as a brand under the L’Oréal Active Cosmetics Division.
For the last 27 years, L’Oréal’s Brandstorm has put business students through real-life situations to reveal skills that are daring, tenacious, innovative, and entrepreneurial in spirit. The competition has launched the careers of countless men and women worldwide who were given the chance to explore every aspect of L’Oréal’s company culture as a globally-loved brand.

Brandstorm 2019 National Finals 

L’Oréal Brandstorm was first introduced to college-level students in the Philippines in 2009. This year, student teams were asked to create a disruptive innovation for skincare to attract and engage health-conscious consumers online and offline. The top eight teams to make it to the finals included:

1. BrandBabes (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
2. Into Your Genes (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
3. Brandhurricane (De La Salle University - Manila)
4. Innovature (Enderun College / University of the Philippines - Diliman)
5. Skin Queens (De La Salle University – Manila)
6. RegSteffiJe (University of the Philippines – Diliman)
7. Beauty Fixers (University of the Philippines – Visayas)
8. Teamnovate (De La Salle University – Manila)

Brandstorm 2019 Champions: Into Your Genes

Into Your Genes prevailed as the Brandstorm 2019 Champions. The team is comprised of UP Diliman Business Administration students Annika Bautista, Martin Cruz, and Guia Peralta.
“It’s just surreal,” shares Annika Bautista. “We’ve been working for the last few months to get to this point. It feels like an entire journey was encapsulated in that one moment when we were announced as champions.”
Together, this group of friends developed a skin patch called In Skin. The patch is an answer to issues such as acne and dry skin and works by directly stimulating the user’s DNA. In Skin is directly applied to the skin and can be worn all throughout the day.
“There are so many factors inside your body that can actually create the problems you feel now,” says Guia Peralta. “Our solution taps into that and brings out the best in you by healing you from within.”



Over the course of six months, the team worked tirelessly on their Brandstorm pitch. The hard work and sacrifice paid off: Into Your Gene’s pitch impressed the L’Oréal jury panel, which included Thibault de Saint Victor (Country Managing Director), Supriya Singh (General Manager Consumer Products), and Tina Ampil (General Manager Human Resources).
“There were times when it was really a struggle because it felt like we were stuck at a dead end,” says Annika Bautista.
Bautista, Peralta, and Cruz are heading to Paris, France, for the Brandstorm Global Finals. The team will compete with regional champions from every corner of the globe at Station F, the biggest start-up campus in the world. There, Into Your Genes will have the chance to work with L’Oréal experts to test the feasibility of In Skin as an actual product under the L’Oréal Active Cosmetics Division.
“We are super excited for the new learning process,” adds Martin Cruz. “One of the things we all agree on is that we really learned a lot. Not just with marketing and business, but also with science. And that’s something I think we need to take with us to Paris: the passion to keep researching to come up with better, more feasible ideas.”
For more updates and information on L’Oréal Brandstorm, follow them on Facebook Loreal Talent Philippines