The beauty conglomerate bought a minority stake through its venture capital arm BOLD (Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development) as it looks to ramp up e-commerce (currently 25 percent of revenues) and explore new models like peer-to-peer selling, which have gained traction over the course of this year. China’s social e-commerce channels in particular are booming, with apps like Xiaohongshu designed to drive user recommendations and sales.

Founded in 2016 by Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman veteran Kareen Mallet and entrepreneur Corey Gottlieb, Replika Software partners with brands to build and scale their social commerce through a ready-to-use platform.