LA MER in China: how LA MER became one of Chinese consumers’ favorite beauty brands
LA MER has a legendary brand story that distinguishes it from any other cosmetics company. While most skincare products come from laboratories, LA MER is developed by a space physicist – Max Huber. Huber had suffered burns during an experiment and therefore spent years searching for ways to heal his damaged skin but could not […]
Lipstick market in China: driven by face value pricing and male beauty
Under the influence of the “beauty value economy”, China’s cosmetics market has always attracted the attention of people who love beauty. According to Baogao, lipsticks accounted for 28% of the Chinese cosmetics market in 2019, with a year-on-year growth rate as high as 36.6%. The lipstick market in China will reach 30 billion yuan by […]
The clean beauty market in China: niche market led by foreign brands
The clean beauty market in China may be daunting for many international beauty brands. Some brands like the American Kiehl’s and the French La Roche-Posay have successfully built their presence in the $75.35 billion US worth beauty and personal caremarket. While the market is predicted to increase to a value of $87.64 billion US by […]
The crackdown on plastic surgery ads in China: Balancing the beauty economy with surgery scandals and deaths
In September 2021, Chinese state media called for stricter regulations on plastic surgery ads in China, mentioning its excessive pervasiveness and false claims. In the last decade, China’s aesthetic medicine experienced a period of steady growth, driven by rising consumer disposable income, enhanced consumer awareness and the emergence of hedonic values. Chinese aesthetic medicine market […]
“Beauty value” economy in China (颜值经济): How social media made ‘face score’ a valuable asset
The “beauty value” economy in China, known in Chinese as 颜值经济 (yán zhi jing ji) is a recent internet slang, in which “yan” means face and appearance, and zhi represents the value of a person’s appearance. Several psychological aspects of the “beauty value” economy in China make it so prosperous. Firstly, working on one’s own […]
INSBAHA x Sanxingdui Museum campaign: Marketing “antique” products to Gen-Z
On July 12th the Chinese make up brand INSBAHA (原色波塔) released their new collaboration with the Sanxingdui Museum (三星堆博物馆) on all their Chinese social media accounts. INSBAHA is a make-up brand founded by a Chinese cosmetics company, Proya Cosmetics (珀莱雅), which targets ‘health nuts and trend lovers.’ The Sanxingdui Museum is located near Chengdu and […]
How foreign cosmetics and skincare brands in China can succeed: China Paradigm transcript #123 with Jean-Philippe Benoist
GED localizes and establishes foreign cosmetics and skincare brands in China. Currently, GED is partnering with about 20 cosmetics brands. Having initially started with offline channels and distribution with SEPHORA, they are now focusing on digital online sales and marketing channels such as RED, WeChat, Weibo, Bilibili, TikTok, Tmall, JD, VIPshop, and others. Their target […]
How brands carve room for body positivity in China
Body positivity refers to the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of society’s ideal shape, size, and appearance. The body positivity movement challenges existing social standards of what preferred body is, promotes the acceptance of all types of bodies, helps people build confidence and acceptance of their own bodies […]
Required cosmetics animal testing in China is loosening: “Ordinary” products no longer required to do animal testing
At some point, all major cosmetics brands were faced with the difficult decision: enter the Chinese market or stick to their principles. This is due to China’s requirement of cosmetics to undergo animal testing. However, on May 1st 2021, China has loosened its requirement for animal testing. In short, pre-market animal testing is no longer […]
C-beauty brands’ secrets to success report
Download our report on C-beauty brands’ market strategies The beauty sector in China developed steadily in recent years, but most notably, has been the rise of C-beauty brands. China had become the world’s second largest beauty market in 2019. The sales of skincare products accounted for more than half of the beauty market in China. The […]