Blog by Candis & Daphne: L'Oreal Brandstorm

Now on its 25th year, L'Oreal Brandstorm is the company's signature innovation competition that gives students across the world the opportunity to become innovation leaders.

"Brandstorm is more than just an instrument to spot young talents. It's also a great avenue to incubate ideas of young talents who can be future leaders of the beauty business," shared Jake Bustos, Brandstorm Project Manager and Campus Manager of L'Oreal Philippines. "This year, Brandstorm Philippines expanded its reach to partner over 20 schools, securing registrations of over 1,520 student players. This year's Brandstorm competition in the Philippines is the biggest in Southeast Asia to date."

With this year's partner brand, L'Oréal Men Expert, the World's No. 1 Skincare Brand for Men, this year's young fire starters were challenged to recruit millennial men through a new product and breakthrough service that leveraged digital solutions and connected technologies. From the field of 421 teams, eight finalists were chosen to battle it out and present their groundbreaking pitches on disrupting the men's grooming industry.

8 finalists comprised of 3 teams from the University of the Philippines Diliman, 2 teams from the University of the Philippines Visayas, and one team each from Ateneo de Manila University, San Beda College – Mendiola and Saint Louis University battled it out and presented their groundbreaking pitches on disrupting the men's grooming industry.

Team Maxim from the University of the Philippines Visayas emerged as the Philippine champion at the L'Oréal Brandstorm National Finals winning the Best Marketing Communication Plan Special Award as well. The event was held at the L'Oréal Academie on April 18. Team Hustle from Ateneo de Manila University came in a close second, followed by Team Champs from University of the Philippines Diliman in third place.

Winning the National Finals is just half the winning team's Brandstorm journey as they represent the Philippines at the Asia-Pacific Regional Finals in May, and hopefully move on to the international competition in June in Paris, France. The International Finals will be an avenue for the students to immerse themselves in L'Oréal's culture right where it begins – at the L'Oréal Headquarters. At the International Finals, an innovation fair will also be hosted by L’Oréal to give both students and professors a chance to exchange ideas with all the teams coming in from across the globe.