NEW YORK 鈥 Three 最新天美传媒 students competed in the national finals of the competition, earning the opportunity to present their concept to executives at L鈥橭r茅al鈥檚 New York headquarters in mid-April.
The USF team was one of five finalist teams in the United States.
Representing USF as team 鈥淢茅moire Vive,鈥 Jaycee Cavero of the Muma College of Business, Samin Yasar and Prithvi Kota from USF鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences competed alongside students from institutions including New York University, the University of California, Berkeley, Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology in the global innovation competition focused on shaping the future of luxury fragrance.
According to the team, their success was built long before the competition itself.
鈥淪amin and I have known each other for a few years, and we met Jaycee about a year before Brandstorm,鈥 said Kota. 鈥淭he three of us ended up in the same cohort, where we placed in the top 10 in early talent competitions, so when it came time to build a three-person team, he was an obvious fit.鈥
What followed was a collaboration built around trust, complementary skillsets and constant iteration.
鈥淛aycee led marketing and product design, I anchored conservation science and logistics, and Samin drove pricing and quantitative modeling,鈥 Kota explained. 鈥淓very decision was still a shared one, but knowing each other beforehand meant we could be direct with feedback without worrying about hurting anyone鈥檚 feelings, which kept the iteration loop fast.鈥
That interdisciplinary dynamic became one of the team鈥檚 greatest strengths.
鈥淗aving different academic backgrounds was huge for us,鈥 said Cavero. 鈥淚t let us cover way more ground in our pitch, and we trusted each other to bring our own expertise and challenge each other.鈥
The innovation competition challenged teams to "Craft the Future of Luxury Fragrance." The USF team evaluated dozens of ideas throughout the process, frequently discarding concepts that failed to meet their standards for feasibility, originality or market relevance.
鈥淚f we hit a red flag and couldn鈥檛 engineer our way around it, the idea was trashed,鈥 Kota said. That willingness to challenge one another, adapt quickly and continuously refine their concept became a defining part of the team鈥檚 approach.
Jaycee Cavero pitches at L鈥橭r茅al Brandstorm 2026.
鈥淚 think what helped us stand out was going for a fresh, outside-the-box idea and keeping things fun and real in our video and introductions,鈥 Cavero said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 try to be perfect. We stayed authentic as a team, and I believe that made a big difference in reaching the national finals.鈥
The competition brought finalists to L鈥橭r茅al鈥檚 Research and Innovation Center in New Jersey and the company鈥檚 New York headquarters, where students participated in immersive experiences exploring fragrance development, branding and consumer strategy, before pitching directly to company leaders and executives.
While the USF team fell short of making the international finals in Paris, Cavero said he was proud to be on the stage as a Bull.
鈥淩epresenting USF at the L鈥橭r茅al Brandstorm finals was really special for me,鈥 Cavero said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not every day you get to put your school on that stage alongside other top universities.鈥
The experience highlighted the growing importance of thinking creatively, communicating effectively and applying diverse perspectives to solve real-world challenges on a national stage.