At the pan-European event with more than 800 participants, the student company came up with a mobile application FindYourShade for e-shops. The innovative application scans a person's face with the help of artificial intelligence and helps the customer choose a foundation in the right shade for their skin tone. The girls studying at the EBS bachelor's program developed this application as part of Ülle Pihlaku's subject "Student Enterprises". The girls' business idea was born out of a personal need.
Perla, a member of the student company, used to work as a dancer and make-up artist. She had decided to order an expensive Dior make-up cream from England, which was a big expense for a young person. However, when she finally received the product, it was disappointing because it left her face orange. This is how a solution was born that makes life easier for many people - thanks to the created application, it is possible to choose a suitable product from the e-store.
"Our Find Your Shade button is being added to the e-store page, which opens the phone's camera. All shades of foundations appear there, so the customer can find the shade that suits them best. The application is programmed with an exact product code, which makes choosing a product reliable and especially realistic for a person," explains Perla. "If you look at the shade of the foundation on models in an e-store, it's actually very difficult to choose, because the photographers have used professional lighting when taking pictures, and that makes the shade of the foundation different."
The young students hope that thanks to their programme, more foundation creams will be ordered online. "Until now, people haven't dared to order online, fearing that they will get the wrong shade," notes Katriin, another member of the student company. "Rather, they want to see and test the product in stores."
The student company is still in the development stage, but their prototype has also been completed. In the future, young students want the FindYourShade application to be integrated into the cosmetics e-stores, which will make people's lives easier.
EBS awarded young competitors in four categories
The competition of European student companies was organized by Junior Achievement (JA) Estonia in cooperation with Junior Achievement Europe which is the largest entrepreneurship education event in Europe.
When organizing the event, special attention was paid to sustainability - the students drove around the city of Tallinn in electric cars, stayed in sustainable hotels, used laundered neckbands from the second hand and name tags printed on leftover papers. The competition was also as paperless as possible, the food at the festival was mostly domestic and vegetarian, the food packaging in use made of biodegradable or recycled materials.
On the final day, July 14, a fair of Europe's best student companies took place on Freedom Square, where more than 300 students from 40 countries sold their products and services. There were 41 student companies and 21 student companies. The selection included microplastic-free toothpaste, Icelandic sea moss food supplements, soap tablets that turn into soap foam when in contact with water, and much, much more. Many of the products and services of student companies are in the prototype phase and students are actively seeking funding for them.
EBS presented awards to young talents in the following categories:
GEN-E 2022 JA Europe Company of the Year
GEN-E 2022 JA Europe Company of the Year Second place
GEN-E 2022 JA Europe Company of the Year Third place
GEN-E 2022 JA Europe Innovation of the Year Upper-secondary Level
