The entry of beauty brands on the sports field: L’Oréal transforms the public well-being of the campus into a ‘sports experiment’

On May 29, L’Oréal China launched the 2026 “Interesting Youth” public welfare program on the campus of Fudan University, and for the first time it started the New Year’s project activities in the form of a sports meeting on campus. At the event venue, sports figures such as table tennis player Ma Long, basketball player Yang Liwei and football player Zhao Lina interacted with students. Meanwhile, L’Oréal announced a donation of products worth about 4.68 million yuan to the China Youth Development Foundation and launched the campus charity sale for the New Year.

On the surface, this is a public good activity on campus. However, against the backdrop of the development of the global beauty industry, it seems more like a microcosm of beauty brands’ continued embrace of exercise culture and healthy lifestyles.

For a long time, beauty and sports were seen as two relatively independent consumer areas. The former focuses on aesthetic expression, while the latter emphasizes competitive and functional values. However, in recent years, with the rise of healthcare consumption, increasing women’s participation in sports and the rapid development of the lifestyle economy, the boundary between the two is being redefined.

This change has occurred for the first time in the international market.

According to Nielsen IQ’s (NIQ) ‘State of Beauty 2025’ report, the global beauty market has achieved approximately 10% growth over the past year. Among them, “Beauty + Wellness” is considered a major driving force behind the industry’s expansion. The report points out that consumers are increasingly inclined to view skin care, beauty, nutrition, sports and health management as an integrated system, and that relevant consumption options have increased by more than 60% compared to the traditional beauty market.

Meanwhile, the sports economy itself is also growing rapidly. Data from market research firm Grand View Research shows that the global sportswear market has reached approximately $440 billion and is expected to exceed $900 billion by 2033. Sports such as running, cycling, yoga and strength training are gradually becoming an important part of young consumers’ daily lives, rather than just professional competitive activities.

The change in consumer behavior in turn affects the beauty industry. In recent years, the demand for products related to sports scenarios has increased significantly. From high protection sunscreen, post-exercise repair, to scalp care, body care and anti-sweat makeup, “skin management during exercise” is becoming a new product development direction. In the international market, the concept of ‘Active Beauty’ has even emerged to describe the beauty product and service system specifically for people with a sporty lifestyle.

This trend is also reflected in brand marketing.

During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, L’Oréal Group became one of the official partners of the Olympic Games, deeply integrating the brand story with the stories of athletes. American makeup brand elf Beauty has continuously invested in women’s football and women’s professional sporting events in recent years. Global beauty retailer Sephora has continually connected with consumers through women’s running groups, fitness activities and healthy lifestyle communities.

On the other hand, sports brands are also approaching the beauty industry. From Nike’s content ecosystem built around female athletes to Lululemon’s ever-growing yoga, meditation and wellness community, more sports brands are beginning to emphasize emotional value and lifestyle attributes, rather than just product features. Although beauty and sports seem to belong to different industries, they serve the same group of consumers: the new generation of young people who are concerned about health, self-management and personal expression.

In this context, L’Oréal’s combination of the “Interesting Youth” program with sports scenarios also reflects the company’s adaptation in the way of communicating with young people.

There were several sports experience areas on the event site, such as basketball, running, tennis, boxing, golf and table tennis. Brands under L’Oréal, including SkinCeuticals, La Roche – Posay, CeraVe, Biotherm and L’Oréal Paris, participated. Compared to traditional campus lectures or brand roadshows, sports scenarios naturally have a stronger sense of participation and social properties, which also better meet current students’ expectations for offline activities.

It is worth noting that the focus of the event is not entirely on the product presentation.

As a 23-year campus public welfare project, the Interesting Youth program has long been about charity sales, youth development and career advancement. In addition to the charity sale on campus, this year there were also career guidance, CV guidance and sustainable development interaction areas on site, with the aim of integrating employment, public welfare and social issues into the event.

As the online traffic dividend gradually peaks, more and more consumer brands are starting to reevaluate the way they build relationships with young consumers.

Over the past decade, the beauty industry has relied heavily on celebrity endorsements, ad placements, and e-commerce traffic to acquire users. However, as the cost of customer acquisition continues to rise, simply relying on marketing attention is no longer enough to achieve long-term brand recognition. In contrast, scenarios with continuous interaction attributes such as campus projects, communities of interest and sports activities are becoming new investment directions for brands.

For beauty companies, sports can be one of the most promising scenarios.

On the one hand, sport naturally meets the demand for core categories such as sunscreen, scalp care and body care. On the other hand, the values ​​of positivity, health and self-discipline represented by sports are also very consistent with the identity of today’s consumer. Compared to simple cross-border co-branding, the connection established based on real consumption scenarios is more likely to be recognized by the market.

However, experience in the global market shows that whether sports marketing can really be converted into long-term competitiveness ultimately depends on whether the brand can continuously launch products and services that meet the needs of sports scenarios, rather than just staying at the level of event sponsorship or celebrity endorsements.

From this perspective, L’Oréal’s combination of campus public welfare and sports culture this time looks more like a localized practice of the global “Beauty + Wellness” trend in the Chinese market. As sports gradually become part of young people’s lifestyles, beauty brands are also moving out of traditional retail spaces and into stadiums, running tracks and gyms to find new entry points for next-stage growth.