Our collaboration began in 2002 when L´Oréal learned of a new technology developed by the Japanese company Toda Kogyo, a worldwide in high-tech pigment. Toda Kogyo had developed a unique technology applied to the ink industry. The technology was a dry process to create a hybrid between inorganic and organic pigments.

Prior to this, the traditional approach to making hybrids or composite material in the innovation industry was to modify the surface of pigments or to encapsulate them. The innovative idea here was to do exactly the opposite and to put an organic pigment at the surface of an inorganic pigment.

After signing a confidentiality agreement and a collaboration agreement, Toda Kogyo quickly produced first samples. During the course of regular, frequent meetings, we jointly evaluated results and resolved issues.

The main issues to address were the right choice of raw material, the availability of those materials and the pigment agglomeration during the process and the final use in formulation. To this challenge, Toda Kogyo brought its outstanding technical expertise on physico-chemical properties of pigments and knowledge of the hybridization process. For its part, L´Oréal brought expertise in color properties and cosmetic formulation around the pigments.