• Partnership to roll out progressively across Aster Pharmacy’s top 10 stores through 2027, prioritising high-footfall, high-visibility locations.
  • Refill options to become more accessible to consumers, alongside a target of 75% eco-designed point-of-sale materials by 2027.
  • Beauty advisor training to help customers make informed choices and improved stock planning to minimise product waste.
  • Partners to explore cancer awareness and support initiatives through La Roche-Posay’s Fight with Care programme.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 22, 2026 —

L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty and Aster Pharmacy, the retail arm of Aster DM Healthcare and a leading pharmacy chain in the GCC, have signed a sustainability partnership increase the visibility and accessibility of refillable beauty products from La Roche-Posay, Vichy and CeraVe, helping consumers in the UAE make more informed and sustainable choices. The collaboration brings together L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty’s expertise in sustainable beauty innovation and Aster Pharmacy’s leadership in GCC retail, reflecting a shared commitment to making sustainable beauty choices more accessible and embedding responsible practices into everyday shopping.

Building on Aster Pharmacy’s existing efforts to encourage responsible shopping habits, the partnership aims to make sustainable beauty choices more accessible through greater refill availability, improved in-store visibility and informed guidance from trained beauty advisors.  Starting with Aster’s top 10 stores across the UAE like Dubai Mall and Marina The Pointe, the partners will focus on practical changes to the shopping experience—from increasing refill availability and improving in-store displays, to equipping beauty advisors to answer customers’ questions.

The partnership supports L’Oréal for the Future, L’Oréal Groupe’s global sustainability programme, through actions to reduce packaging intensity, minimise waste and support communities. It also builds on Aster Pharmacy’s ‘Go Green Carry Clean’ campaign, which encourages customers to choose paper and reusable bags over single-use plastics, reinforcing Aster’s commitment to making more responsible shopping habits part of everyday life.

Laurent Duffier, CEO, L’Oréal Middle East, said: “Sustainable beauty should not feel complicated or out of reach. Our responsibility is to make it easier for people to find and choose. In partnering with Aster Pharmacy, we are bringing that goal into the places where people shop for their everyday skincare needs—through more refill options, less waste and useful advice from teams they trust.”

Sanaa Bougazzoul, General Manager, L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty Middle East, said: “The real value of this partnership will be felt in-store: when a customer discovers a refill for a product they already use, or a beauty advisor helps them understand how it fits into their routine. We also want to extend that care beyond the shelf, exploring how La Roche-Posay’s Fight with Care can support people affected by cancer in the communities Aster serves.”

Mr. N.S Balasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer – Aster Retail, GCC , said: “Our pharmacies are part of people’s everyday lives, and we believe sustainability should be reflected in the choices we make and the experiences we create for our customers. Through initiatives such as our ‘Go Green Carry Clean’ campaign, which encourages customers to choose paper and reusable bags over single-use plastics, we have been working to make more responsible shopping habits part of everyday life. This partnership with L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty builds on these efforts by making refillable beauty products more accessible, improving our in-store experience and equipping our teams with the knowledge to guide customers towards more sustainable choices. Together, we aim to make responsible beauty simpler and more accessible while continuing to provide the trusted advice and personal care our customers expect from Aster.”

Bringing sustainable choices into everyday shopping

The rollout will progressively introduce refill options across select Aster stores in 2027. Loreal’s beauty advisers will collaborate with Aster’s beauty advisors to explain how refills work and guide patrons towards options suited to their routines.

Refill formats can help reduce packaging use compared with purchasing products in conventional packaging. The partners will work to make these options more visible and accessible in-store, helping customers understand the potential environmental benefits of choosing refills. Any specific claim regarding the amount of plastic saved per refill will be included once verified product-level data is available.

Behind the scenes, the partners will work on improved forecasting and stock planning to help minimise product waste. The agreement also includes a target of 75% eco-designed point-of-sale materials by 2027, bringing the partnership’s ambitions into the way products are presented in-store.

Alongside these retail initiatives, the partners will explore opportunities through La Roche-Posay’s Fight with Care programme to raise cancer awareness and support people affected by the disease.

For Aster Pharmacy, the initiative extends its ongoing commitment to responsible retail by integrating more sustainable options into everyday beauty and skincare shopping. Through improved product visibility, customer education and more considered retail practices, the partnership aims to help consumers make informed choices while reinforcing Aster’s role in advancing sustainable beauty across its retail network.

Building on action in the UAE

The partnership adds to L’Oréal’s work with local organisations to address the environmental and social impact of beauty.

In the UAE, L’Oréal has worked with Mohebi Logistics on electric deliveries and with Aramex on biodiesel transport solutions. These collaborations focus on how products reach consumers, extending sustainability efforts beyond packaging and into distribution. L’Oréal has also supported more accessible beauty through the donation of 30 Lancôme HAPTA devices to Al Noor Training Centre. Designed to assist people with limited hand and arm mobility, HAPTA helps make applying makeup more accessible. This initiative forms part of L’Oréal Middle East’s wider work to advance inclusion and accessibility.

L’Oréal’s Inclusive Sourcing programme uses part of the group’s purchasing volume to support in the UAE that create employment and income opportunities for people who are often excluded from the labour market, or that face barriers accessing large corporate contracts.

L’Oréal’s participation in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week reflects the same approach: turning sustainability ambitions into practical action. At the event, the group highlighted refillable beauty, eco-designed retail materials, renewable energy and lower-carbon logistics in the UAE—areas the Aster Pharmacy partnership will now help bring closer to consumers in their everyday shopping journeys.

The Aster partnership brings this approach into pharmacy retail: working with a leading healthcare partner on changes that customers and communities can experience directly.

Supporting L’Oréal for the Future

The collaboration contributes to the group’s wider packaging ambitions under L’Oréal for the Future. By 2030, the group aims to reduce virgin plastic use in packaging by 50% in absolute terms compared with 2019, and source 50% of its packaging materials from recycled or biobased sources. As part of the circularity commitments, L’Oréal aims to reduce the packaging intensity of its products by 20% by 2030 compared with 2019, including through lighter packaging and refillable formats.

Making refills more accessible, improving in-store materials and helping consumers understand their options are practical ways for brands and retailers to support these ambitions together.