C-beauty brands go upmarket

Chinese beauty brands have doubled their share of the local market over the past five years thanks to a combination of product development and targeted marketing.

According to Euromonitor International, C-beauty brands accounted for 28% of retail sales among the top 20 brands sold in China last year, up from 14% in 2017, with the market worth around $79bn.

Why it matters

The premium end of the market in China has long been the preserve of international brands – Western ones as well as Japanese and Korean ones – but that’s no longer the case. 

“Consumers perceived C-beauty as the ‘cheaper substitute’ or ‘dupe’ for international brands,” Yang Hu, insight manager at Euromonitor, told the South China Morning Post. “Now, it’s time to tear off the ‘dupe’ label [and] target premiumisation.”

Takeaways 

• Sales of C-beauty brands have grown faster than than the overall market between 2017 and 2022, at 51% vs 42%, per Euromonitor figures.
• These brands generate a significant proportion of sales through online engagement and the live-commerce activity of top influencers (but if that stops consumers may easily switch to other brands).
• New product development, including ingredient and product format innovation, as well as marketing that targets younger consumers, have also played a vital role. 

What’s next? 

C-beauty brands have the potential for longer life cycles and expansion beyond China, says Yang Hu, who also expects to see the growth of “China scent” – premium fragrances from Chinese brands.

Sourced from South China Morning Post