New Trend of Cosmetic Ingredients: Botanical Ingredients
- Chaileedo Press
- Sep 9, 2022
- 5 min read
It is reported that the scale of cosmetic botanical ingredients can reach 100 billion yuan(about $14.4 billion). International brands on the plant ingredients remains popular. In recent years, there are also more and more Chinese skincare brands focusing on plant ingredients emerge.
In 2021, along with the official implementation of new regulations such as Standards for Cosmetic Efficacy Claim Evaluation, trend of efficacy skincare in China starts a new era where safety and efficacy become important standards of products. At the same time, the market size of cosmetics that focus on plant extracts is gradually expanding in recent years as the concept of natural skincare and safe skincare is gradually gaining popularity. Therefore, the application of plant actives is a brand new trend in the personal care industry and continues to grow rapidly.
Global botanical ingredients scale reaches 100 billion
Euromonitor data show that the international beauty and personal care ingredients market will consume 19.98 million tons in 2021, up 1.9% year-on-year, with a CAGR of 2.3% from 2016 to 2021. The size of the ingredients market of the international beauty and personal care is estimated to be $16.706 billion in 2021, corresponding to about 111.3 billion yuan( $16 billion).
Currently, the Chinese cosmetic market has shown three major trends: natural, green and skincare with efficacy, all of which have a strong demand for cosmetic botanical ingredients. According to market research data released by Euromonitor, the demand for plant-sourced ingredients in the cosmetics market will grow at a CAGR of 3% from 2015 to 2020.
China has extremely rich characteristic plant resources. According to statistics, the number of plant species exceeds 30,000, while the number of cosmetic ingredients that have been applied involves only about 3,000 plant species, so there is great room for development. For Chinese cosmetic brands and ingredients companies, it will be the focus of Chinese cosmetics to achieve ingredients originality and get rid of import dependence relying on the rich characteristic plant resources, ingredients development and application.
The Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients in China 2021 issued by China contains more than 3,400 kinds of used cosmetic plant ingredients. As of May 2021, the website of National Medical Products Administration has a total of about 350,000 cosmetic products containing plant ingredients. Among them, about 190,000 imported special cosmetics, about 60,000 imported ordinary cosmetics. And there are 50,000 Chinese special-purpose cosmetics and 50,000 Chinese ordinary-purpose cosmetics. The data from the Beauty Data also shows that the use of plant extracts accounts for as much as 60%, far ahead of other ingredients. This phenomenon also reflects that cosmetics made of plant-based ingredients are increasingly favored by companies and consumers.
The Use of Botanical Ingredients in International Brands
Skincare products with botanical ingredients as their main selling point are sought after by Chinese consumers, and skincare products with natural botanical ingredients, which are the main focus of international brands, have been gaining popularity in China.
For example, Kiehl's Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner has sold 1 million+ units in total in Kiehl's flagship store on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao. In the Chinese sharing platform Xiaohongshu, there are 10,000+ notes about Kiehl's Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner. Many Chinese consumers responded that the product has good oil control and moisturizing effect and has some effect of repairing redness and sensitivity.
And Caudalie is also always adhere to use natural plant ingredients in its skincare products. It is reported that Caudalie main series contains stable efficacy of grape seed polyphenols. And some Chinese consumers also said that because the brand focus on natural plant ingredients, so the brand seemed more reliable for consumers to buy. Its highest selling skincare product in the Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall is Caudalie Eau de Raisin with total sales of 5,000+ units. Many consumers comment that the product has a better moisturizing effect and will repurchase many bottles, etc.
In addition, the popularity of brands that focus on plant-based ingredients in China has attracted the attention of international ingredients manufacturers. Just recently, German company BASF announced on its official website that it had formed an innovation partnership with Chinese startup Ingredi and signed a cooperation agreement. Founded in 2017, Ingredi is said to focus on innovative, highly active and sustainable plant-based ingredients obtained from species native to the pan-Himalayan region.
L'Oréal Group has set up a team dedicated to researching the efficacy of high purity plant extracts in China. While approximately 71% of L'Oréal's products add or use ingredients from natural plant extract sources in skin care, the Estée Lauder Group also adds botanical ingredients to nearly 98% of its products. "The in-depth development of botanical ingredients is an important breakthrough for Chinese cosmetics." said Bing Han, a well-known Chinese skin care expert and founder of Bing Han Laboratory.
To sum up, international companies have long been focusing on the application of plant-based ingredients in cosmetics. Chinese companies are also stepping up their efforts in the market for plant-based ingredients with Chinese characteristics.
Plant-based skincare products are gaining popularity as regulations are gradually improved
Recently, various policies introduced in China are also promoting the development and application of plant-based ingredients with Chinese characteristics.
Article 9 of the Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR) states, "Encourage and support the use of modern science and technology to research and develop cosmetics in conjunction with China's traditional advantages and special plant resources."
Based on the industry's basic law’s support, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong and other provinces and cities have also been enacted in accordance with local conditions. It has issued relevant policies on the development and application of special plant resources to give some support. For example, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Medical Administration promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Cosmetic Production Licenses in Beijing, which clearly states that support measures such as early intervention and priority approval will be taken for cosmetic companies that combine traditional Chinese advantageous items and distinctive plant resources for production.
At the same time, the new regulations also implement a combined registration and filing system for new ingredients, streamlining the process and shortening the cycle, promoting the pace of research and development and application of Chinese specialty plant ingredients.
The most intuitive response to the rise of plant-based ingredients is the sales of "plant-based ingredients" brands. For example, the Chinese sensitive skin top brand Winona. One of the star products of Winona - Natural Skin Care Anti-Sensitive Moisturizing, fully reflects its scientific research strength of plant materials. According to BTN's financial report, Winona's sales in 2021 was nearly 4 billion yuan(about $575 million). In this year's "hardest Chinese 618 Shopping Festival ever", Winona's star product Natural Skin Care Anti-Sensitive Moisturizing single product sales of more than 100 million(about $14.4 million). The product's two core botanicals, one is Prinsepia Utilis Royle growing in Lijiang, Yunnan from the high altitude and low latitude and the other is Portulaca oleracea, ext. from the Yunnan Yunnan Dianzhong plateau.
Another excellent case is the original Chinese plateau botanical skincare brand SHELOG, established in 2020. Its core ingredient is the pine mushroom from Shangri-La. SHELOG has purposely established a pine mushroom ecological research area to ensure the quality of the mushroom from the source. Pine mushroom comes with the label of regionality and scarcity, which can naturally guide users to associate with the cultural attributes behind this ingredient. Based on this, SHELOG has achieved a GMV of over 100 million(about $14.4 million) in just one year.
In addition, traditional herbal skincare brands such as CHANDO, Pechoin, INOHERB, Herborist and so on are also strengthening the brand's new technological herbal power. The rise of innovative brands such as Forest Cabin, Simpcare and PMPM is also inseparable from the characteristic plant ingredients to build brand awareness. The road of upgrading China's local plant ingredients is still in progress.
With the standardization of the market and the emphasis of Chinese consumers on traditional culture, Chinese local botanical ingredients will also become an important support point for Chinese brands towards high-quality development. It is believed that in the near future, there will be more publicly recognized botanical ingredients with a "new look" highlighting in the cosmetics market.
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