Chinese professional medical skincare brand Comfy has announced a list of stores selling in different channels which sell fake Comfy products. The products of the brand enjoy patented human-like collagen ingredients. Report from a third-party showed that the market for collagen in China is expected to reach $1.576 billion in 2027. Comfy stated that the fake products have a high similarity of the outer packaging and even faked anti-counterfeiting system, which is difficult to distinguish. The involved channel is wide from Pinduoduo, 1688, Taobao, Tmall, and other Chinese e-commerce channels. There are also merchants who sell a mix of authentic products and fake products. It stole the user’s review pictures and text from the flagship store of Comfy to falsify user reviews and attract customers to buy at low prices. Comfy is a leading brand of Chinese dermatology-level skincare. Its patented human-like collagen composition as the core to achieve problem-solving muscle, sensitive muscle, and post-phototherapy skin repair problems. It also claims that its main products are made of Class II medical device dressings. It has launched several series of products such as medical devices, soothing and repairing, acne clearing and clearing, moisturizing and hydrating, and revitalizing skin base. Its star products include human-like collagen dressing, repair lotion, collagen stick, etc. In Comfy flagship store on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, Comfy Liquid Dressing achieved monthly sales of more than 50,000 units. Since its launch in 2011, Comfy has been well received by Chinese consumers and its word-of-mouth performance on Chinese social media platforms has been quite impressive. Top celebrities on mainstream new media platforms such as Weibo, TikTok, Xiaohongshu, and other skincare KOLs such as Wei Ya, Li Jiaqi, and Xue Li have recommended the brand's products. In April 2021, the core technology component of Comfy was newly upgraded to Human-like recombinant collagen C5HR bionic combination technology, which is made of four different recombinant collagen in scientific ratio to achieve a good repairing effect. Clinical data shows that Comfy Human-like Collagen Dressing can effectively improve skin problems such as pigmentation spots and wrinkles and has significant effects on the treatment of acne, scarring, and seborrheic dermatitis. Up to now, Comfy has cooperated with more than 3,500 medical institutions in dermatology, laser department and private medical aesthetic institutions, and well-known public hospitals including the Air Force Specialized Medical Center, PLA, Peking University First Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and others in China. During the Double 11(Chinese Shopping Carnival) in 2021, 379,000 boxes of Comfy human-like collagen dressing were sold totaling 1.89 million boxes. As of 24:00 on the day of the Double 11, Comfy human-like collagen dressing topped the Top 1 in the category of medical dressings on Tmall. The head of Giant Biogene introduced that "In 2020, the single store sales of Comfy Tmall have exceeded 200 million yuan($31.46 million), and sales have exceeded 2 billion yuan($314.6 million) in the omnichannel." In addition, Comfy has been ranked as "No.1 of the Likes Grand Award 2018-2019 Soothing Mask List" by Xiaohongshu. The annual report of Comfy of 2021 shows that the annual sales of dressings exceeded 12 million pieces ranked the annual turnover of wound dressings category TOP1 on the Tmall platform, the annual sales TOP1 of medical dressings category in Jingdong, and the most competitive brand of the cosmetic industry "Oscar" Bluerose Awards. In March 2022, Comfy won the "15th Annual China Beauty Awards - 2021 China Beauty Annual New Brand". The tremendous success of Comfy demonstrates to some extent the potential of the collagen market in China. According to GrandViewReaserch, China's collagen market is expected to grow to $983 million in 2019 accounting for 6.4% of the global market. By 2027, China's collagen market is expected to reach $1.576 billion with an average CAGR of $8.6 billion from 2016 to 2027. The average CAGR achieved 6.54% from 2016 to 2027, which is higher than the global market growth rate of 5.42%.

Symrise, the fragrance and flavor ingredients giant, has acquired two high-end fragrance companies, R. Romani - Société Française d'Aromatiques (SFA Romani) and Neroli Invest DL (Groupe Neroli). It is shown in the financial report released by Symrise that in the 2021 fiscal year, its Scent &Care segment generated sales of $1.64 billion. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of 8.9%. Sales amounted to $9 million in the Asia-Pacific market including China, up 10.3% year-on-year. Symrise, the fragrance and flavor ingredients giant, has recently submitted a series of offers to acquire two high-end fragrance companies, R. Romani - Société Française d'Aromatiques (SFA Romani) and Neroli Invest DL (Groupe Neroli). Two of them were based in Grasse, France. The two companies have combined annual sales of over $44.02 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. Through this transaction, Symrise is poised to strengthen its fine fragrance business in the South of France. It also is committed to enhancing its competitiveness in the creation of perfume ingredients and expand its presence in key countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In fact, as early as last November, Symrise announced a joint venture with Groupe Neroli. On November 2, 2021(Beijing Time), Symrise announced on its website that it would strengthen its presence in the natural flavors sector by establishing a joint venture with French family-owned Groupe Neroli in Grasse. Symrise will hold a majority stake in the joint venture. The location of Grasse was chosen not only because of the unique climate and the abundance of flowers and trees in the region, but also because of its long history of flavouring and the long-standing presence of Symrise in Grasse. Symrise will contribute its expertise in natural ingredients such as Madagascar vanilla to the new company. Groupe Neroli, a local producer of daily fragrances and flavors, will contribute more than 35 years of experience and will realize its plans to expand its business in the cultivation and processing of aromatic plants through the new company. It is shown in the financial report released by Symrise that in the 2021 fiscal year, its Scent &Care segment generated sales of $1.64 billion. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of 8.9%. Excluding portfolio and currency translation effects, organic sales growth amounted to 7.9%. Sales amounted to $9 million in the Asia-Pacific market including China, up 10.3% year-on-year. It is worth noting that on May 18, 2020, Symrise announced on its official website that the company opened its biggest individual investment and invested $55 million in the construction of a new production site for flavorings and fragrances in Nantong, China. CEO Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram on the strategic approach comments that “the celebratory and partially virtual opening of our plant in Nantong demonstrates our trust in the Chinese market, and we are consciously committing ourselves to the world’s strongest growth region.” Symrise also stated that Asia remains the center of growth for the global economy. the expansion of the production of fragrances and flavorings in the rapidly expanding Chinese market makes sense, because the world’s second-largest economy has great potential to soon become number one. This development correlates with the history of Symrise in the country. In the past ten years, the company has grown around eight percent per year on average. With a six-percent share of total sales, China follows the USA and Germany as the third-strongest revenue-generating market for Symrise. However, in the Chinese consumer market, customers who still don’t have the habit of using fragrance, the fragrance sector will gradually penetrate the cultivation of consumption of fragrance. Yao Wenzhong, vice president of northeast Asia of Symrise Shanghai Co., Ltd. said: "Unlike the uncertain future of perfume categories, home fragrance, especially the prospect of fireless aromatherapy is better." He explained: “the frequency of domestic consumers using perfume is low. But the aromatherapy itself has the characteristics of easy volatility and belongs to the natural consumables. Once consumers start to use it, it is easy to form a habit and they will have a tendency to repurchase it. The consumer stickiness is relatively strong. According to Mintel, global sales of scented candles in 2020 reached $9.2 billion with a continuous rising. In 2021, the fragrance industry exceeds the turnover of last-year’s full day in 10 hours during Double 11(Chinese Shopping Carnival) on Tmall(a Chinese e-commerce platform). In its detailed sectors, fragrance sales increased by 100% year-on-year on the first day, and car fragrance grew of 60%. The market is expected to reach 15.439 billion yuan in sales in 2.42 billion.

Intercos, the world's leading cosmetics ODM, announced its first annual report on its official website after going list. In 2021, the company's revenue was $739.5 million, up 11.1% year-on-year. The group’s adjusted net profit gained 57.7 percent to $45.2 million. With a compound annual growth rate of 25%, China is the fastest growing market for Intercos. Last week, Intercos released its first annual financial report after its going public. Last November, Intercos was listed in Italy. This is the first annual report of Intercos after its IPO. According to its report, excluding nonrecurring costs, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization hit nearly $111 million, up 16.3 percent compared to 2020, thanks to improved sales and the ongoing recovery of productivity, especially in the second half of the year. The adjusted EBITDA margin on net sales was 15 percent. The group’s adjusted net profit gained 57.7 percent to $45.2 million, while the net debt as of Dec. 31 was nearly $139 million, down nearly $73.9 million compared to the previous year. “These results assure us of the strength of the group’s medium-term strategies,” said Intercos Group’s chief executive officer Renato Semerari. “Our business model’s originality, supported by a constant drive towards innovation, places us as the only international ODM [original design manufacturer] with a global focus capable of serving nearly all beauty segments. The group therefore continues to consolidate, among other areas, its makeup segment leadership with a more than 10 percent market share.” Although, Intercos achieved double-digit revenue growth in 2021, its performance still has not beat the pre-pandemic level compared to 2019. According to Intercos' financial reports for the past three years, the company's revenue was $784.46 million, $667.64 million and $741.6 million for the three years from 2019 to 2021, respectively. In terms of its net profit, Intercos is still in a declining with a net profit of $47.58 million, $41.6 million and $29.2 million recorded in 2019-2021, respectively. The Make-up segment reported revenues of nearly $458.3 million, up 12.5% (+9.1% at like-for-like consolidation scope) in 2020. Although pandemic-related restrictions again hit hard in 2021, growth benefited from strongly recovering lipstick and powder sales and excellent performances in the Americas and Asia. In fact, Intercos' surging performance in Asia cannot be achieved without the contribution of the Chinese market. In last year's Double Eleven(Chinese Shopping Carnival) cosmetics brand ranking released by Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall, eight of the 10 brands on the list have cooperation with Intercos. Intercos's business in the skincare sector is not far behind that of cosmetics in China. As former Intercos China CEO Wang Yihua said, "Although most of the group's revenue currently comes from cosmetics. However, in terms of China, the proportion of cosmetics and skincare has been relatively balanced with each accounting for half in most situations." Although the main market for Intercos is still in Europe and China's performance is not the highlight in the overall group, it cannot be ignored that China is the fastest growing market for the group, according to Wang Yihua. "The current compound annual growth rate of performance from Intercos' China has been as high as 25%." It is reported that the revenue of Intercos is $157 million in 2020 in China. In its earnings report, Intercos reported that the group's ability to innovate and diversify its products, customers and geographic locations has enabled it to achieve double-digit growth with positive performance especially in the skincare business unit and in the China and US markets. According to public information, Intercos was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Italy, with Dario Ferrari as the founder and president of it. According to the official website of Intercos, the company has 14 sales offices and 13 production bases in 9 countries. It is reported that it has entered the Chinese market since 2003. Its cooperative brands include Chinese cosmetic brands such as Perfect Diary, Florasis, Mao Geping and Forest Cabin, as well as international brands such as L'Oreal, Estee Lauder and Armani. In addition, in February this year, Intercos also officially established a base for primer aesthetics creation and research with KATO-KATO, a Chinese color cosmetics brand.

The "dolphin skin" mask advertisement by Mask Family caused discomfort for some animal lovers. After being questioned by online friends, Mask Family apologized soon afterward. It was not the first advertisement of Mask Family to raise disputes. Before, an advertisement for a mung bean mask was accused of consuming women. Recently, Mask Family launched an advertisement for the "dolphin skin" bionic mask. In the advertisement, the dolphin showed up and said the text with a human-like voice, "Sister, you've done hard work...The boss is a P... PT". In addition to online platforms, the ad appeared on a large scale in the elevators of major office buildings. Some office workers expressed discomfort after seeing the advertisement. A fellow netizen said bluntly, “Can this advertisement go down?” She questioned whether the dolphin could endorse itself for “using my skin to make masks for humans.” Moreover, some netizens pointed out that the use of "dolphin voice" is uncomfortable. “I've been putting up with the ad for a week,” said another online friend. “It really causes discomfort.” “It's easy to think that the masks are made of dolphin skin,” some animal lovers complained. Under the pressure of public opinion, Mask Family issued a statement on the evening of March 22, stating that it was sorry that the advertisement for the "dolphin skin" mask caused some misunderstandings. The brand had decided to remove the “dolphin skin” commercials for the elevators and said that no animals had been harmed during the shooting of the advertisement. The "dolphin skin" mask does not contain any animal leather, it only means that the texture of the film of the mask is as smooth and delicate as that of dolphin skin. According to the introduction on the official website of Mask Family, the brand was founded in 2007, with the parent company being Shanghai Yuemu Cosmetics Co., Ltd.. It is a professional skincare brand specializing in masks for 14 years and has 21 core patents for masks. The products include film masks, mud masks, washable masks, sleeping masks, and other care categories. In addition, the brand claims that (exposure of) its product advertising reached a total of 322 million in 2021. The mung bean mud mask is the star product, which retails for $20 in the official Mask Family flagship store on Taobao(a Chinese mainstream e-commerce platform). The store claims to have sold more than 5.03 million bottles of the mask in total since its launch in 2008, and has sold over 440,000 bottles during the 11.11 promotional event in 2020. The "dolphin skin" mask event has led many netizens with good memories to bring up old stories, reminding people that this is not the first time the brand has raised disputes because of advertising. In October 2021, Mask Family was accused of "consuming women and making sexual suggests" for an advertisement for the mung bean mask aired in the elevators. In the ad, a woman repeatedly shouted, "Give me back my innocence", "Women love innocence" and other slogans. There have been successful cases of advertising for Mask Family. During the 3.8 Women's Day promotional event which has recently passed, Mask Family published an advertisement in the elevators, which is particularly simple compared to the two ads above. On a white page, there is only a few words of text: “Today is a off day for our ad staff. Life is not easy for Chinese girls, have an early rest.” Although there was a small line of words at the bottom of the advertisement: “The ad was bought out on March 8 by Mask Family's 'dolphin skin' bionic mask for you”, it was still praised by many female workers and said it was heart-warming. From the above advertising events, it is clear that Mask Family has been working hard on advertising marketing, and most of the advertising text refers to women: the "dolphin skin" mask advertisement contains the word "sister", the mung bean mud mask advertisement contains the word "women", and the commercial for the 3.8 Women's Day contains the word "girls". This may be because almost all the target consumers of its products are women. However, although the products can target at the women group, the advertising consumption of women is not the correct way. To make itself known out of the circle with advertising innovation, the brand needs to take the right path, provide the consumers with a sense of respect, and enhance the sense of social responsibility as a corporate. Only then, public questioning can be avoided.

On March 24, the National Medical Products Administration of China issued an announcement on adjusting parts of the Medical Device Classification Catalogue: upgrading the management level of liquid and cream dressings (not provided sterilely) from Class I to Class II.

P&G apologized for the controversial incident caused by its advertisement. Previously, P&G released an advertisement titled "women's foot odor is five times worse than male's" on its WeChat public account, which was questioned to be insulting to women. Netizens commented on this article as "seriously uncomfortable". The advertisement has been deleted, and the topic of P&G apologizing has been soared on the top of China's mainstream social media platform Weibo's hot trend list. On March 13, Beijing Time, Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) posted an article titled "women's foot odor is five times worse than male's. You can smell it if you don't believe it." on its official Wechat public accounts. It said that women's foot sweat gland is five times the amount of men's because women's foot bacteria reproduction speed is 2,300 percent, much higher than men's 400 percent. On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, a lot of Chinese netizens accused P&G of wanting to get money from females while not showing enough respect for women. After the uproar, P&G later deleted the WeChat article. On March 28, Beijing Time, it is found that P&G's WeChat public account "P&G Member Center" was canceled. The account shows that the public account is into the independent cancellation period and the related function can not be used. The company also published an apology on its official social media account on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, saying that the company always advocates equality, inclusion, and respect. It also said the company has "seriously rectified" the WeChat account's operation, and will deeply reflect on the matter to prevent such bizarreness from happening again. Founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble is one of the global giants of consumer goods companies. Procter & Gamble is well known in the daily chemical market and its products include shampoo, haircare, skincare, cosmetics, baby care products, and so on. It owns multiple famous brands including SK-II, OLAY, Safeguard, Rejoice, and others. In fact, this is not the first time P&G screw up. On December 17, 2021, P&G was revealed to have detected cancer-causing chemicals that should not be added to its dry hair spray due to the chemical interaction between the substance in the bottle and the packaging bottle. It has voluntarily recalled the product and denied intentionally touching the risk of safety. Similar to that, in 2017, products from P&G's VS Sassoon, Pantene, Herbal Essences, Head&Shoulders, and other four brands were detected dioxane. And P&G responded with the same statement: the ingredients were not added by P&G intentionally. It is understood that last year's same festival of Women’s Day on March 8, P&G's brand Pantene also caused unacceptable comments from netizens, for it removed the part of the representative of women in its logo in Chinese characteristics in its promotional marketing. Some netizens said: "I am a woman. Why does Pantene remove the female in its Chinese name? Never again will I use this brand’s products." Some netizens also think that this represents gender bias. Since this ad tends to promote female independence, there is no need for it to remove the female part. After P&G's apology, Chinese netizens did not accept it. Multiple mainstream media also commented on that matter. In the comment of the post of P&G’s apology, some netizens said: "I chose other brands to place orders. It (P&G) doesn't show any respect and care to our female consumers." Some netizens placed a list of P&G's brands and called for a boycott of those brands including SK-II, Olay, Safeguard, and so on. China Women's News, a publication of All-China Women's Federation, also decried the post from P&G in an editorial. "Personal hygiene habits shouldn't be attributed to a specific gender, and it's not desirable to sell products without being objective about things and respecting others. Using plausible arguments to gain attention while tarnishing women will not get the customers," it said. It is worth noting that on March 26, a Chinese legal professional post on Weibo stating that the article posted by P&G blatantly fabricated facts. It is suspected to insulted, slandered, defamed and denigrated women, which violated Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China and the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China. She proposed that Guangzhou Market Supervision would impose a fine of more than $31,380 and less than $156,900 on Guangzhou Procter & Gamble Company Ltd. according to the law. This post has received 77,000 likes and has been retweeted 34,000 times.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary in China, L'Oréal (China) held the "L’Oreal China 25th Anniversary Press Meeting" in Shanghai on March 25, Beijing time, and released the new strategy of "Co-Evolution, Answer to the Future". This year, L'Oréal is celebrating its 25th anniversary entering in China. In the past 25 years, L'Oréal has been a witness, a participant and a beneficiary of the changing beauty market and consumer trends in China. In 2021, L'Oréal (China) released the first report of the opening year of the "HUGE Beauty Plan" proposing a new corporate evolution model "BEAUTY HUGEVOLUTION". Shanghai has been upgraded to the headquarters of North Asia and is committed to become the global curator of "beauty consumption" . On March 25, Beijing time, L'Oréal (China) held the "Co-Evolution, Answer to the Future - L’Oreal China 25th Anniversary Press Meeting" in Shanghai, China. Mr. Fabrice, President of L'Oréal North Asia and Chief Executive Officer of L'Oréal China, together with representatives of the Group's management team, shared L'Oréal's development history in China with the public through an online and offline multi-linked format. "Co-evolution: Answer to the Future" Today's world is unpredictable, which fills us with hope. In this year, L'Oréal (China) turns 25 years old. Our history in China is from 0 to 1, FROM BIG TO HUGE. In 25 years, we have gone from being a start-up to the largest beauty group in China now. the Chinese market is already the second largest market in the world for the whole group and one of the most strategic for us at L'Oréal. In 2021, we launched our new strategy, which is unprecedented importance today. It is based on L'Oréal's long-standing philosophy - which is to grasp small trends, play the first move, build on this foundation by trial and error, scale, learn, and create an ecosystem. What has L'Oréal (China) done in 2021? Beauty is the driver of win-win growth. 2021 saw L'Oréal deliver a very good performance in China - achieving more than 20% growth and double the growth rate compared to the whole beauty market. L’Oreal achieved 58% growth in the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2019 and 49% growth in the second half of the year. L'Oréal Paris ranked first among beauty brands and Lancôme ranked third in China's Double 11(Chinese Shopping Carnival) with both brands exceeding $1.572 billion. In 2021, L'Oréal Group achieved strong growth in all four divisions. May saw the opening of L'Oréal Paris' first global flagship store in Shanghai. In July, Valentino Beauty brought a full range of products to the Chinese market. Beauty is the inclusive force that empowers women. We are committed to empowering women not only within L'Oréal but also globally. In 2021, L'Oréal China, in partnership with the World Association of Leading Scientists, successfully organized the first "HER Forum" to explore solutions for a more inclusive workplace for women researchers. Beauty is the force that guards the our earth, which has never been more important than today. In 2021, L'Oréal's North Asia headquarters will be located in Shanghai. In China, the L'Oréal Group is committed to respecting biodiversity and protecting natural resources. Lancôme, the high-end beauty brand, is recycling 5 million empty bottles from June in 2020 to September in 2021. Armani, the high-end makeup brand, has reduced 55% of glass, 64% of plastic, 75% of metal and 32% of cardboard boxes through the design of reusable cans. Beauty is the source of technological innovation and beauty is creative. In 2021, L'Oréal Group participated in the China International Import Expo in China. At the Expo, we brought a YSL lipstick printer that can print thousands of colors and a water-saving shampoo and conditioner, which was very popular with consumers. What is L'Oréal (China) going to do in 2022 and in the future? In 2022, we have proposed the CO-X model: CO-CREATE, CO-EMPOWER, CO-DEVELOPMENT, CO-PROTECT and CO-INVENT. In the area of co-creation, we will bring new brand values. The Group's Professional Products Division will work with stylists to create pioneering hair art. The Active Health Cosmetics Division will join forces with Chinese dermatologists and experts and the Chinese healthcare platform Jingdong Health to create a "Beauty Health" ecosystem. We will also work with Chinese Internet giants Alibaba and Jingdong, Chinese short video social platforms TikTok and Kwai, and Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo to create a new digital beauty experience. Together with nearly 100,000 Chinese KOLs, we will promote brand products and work with Chinese retailers to open up a new landscape of retail entities and reinvigorate the offline market. Most importantly, we will also participate in the first Shanghai International Carbon Expo to contribute to the green and sustainable development of China. Last but not least, we will create co-creative and a beautiful future. "Create the future of professional hair beauty" L'Oréal Professional Products Division is the founding division of L'Oréal Group. In 1907 our founder pioneered the development of the world's first pollution-free haircolor cream allowing beauty-loving European women to dye their hair blonde. In 1999, L'Oréal Pro Paris was one of the first brands of the Group to launch its business in China. We opened the first professional hairdressing academy with an average of over 10,000 hairstylists from all over China attending the offline training every year. Through the influence of L'Oréal Pro Paris in China, we have produced one surprising result after another. The Professional Products Division has grown by more than 50% for three consecutive years and the Professional Products Division in China has entered the top three markets for L'Oréal worldwide. In 2021, L'Oréal Paris PRO will be the No. 1 professional haircolor brand in China, while Kerastase is the No. 1 professional haircare brand in China. The "Ginger Series" of L'Oréal Paris, which was launched last year, is specially developed for Chinese young people. The "Ginger Series", which is developed by the French laboratory's patented Amenity Factor and the Chinese anti-hair loss tool Ginger Root Extract, precisely meets the pain points of Chinese Generation Z. The taste and texture of the products are tailored to the preferences and needs of Chinese consumers. In the past two years, we have also done a very different experiment. We have opened L'Oréal Paris PRO global flagship salons in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, which is the first time in over 100 years that the brand has opened its own salons. For the hair industry, we want to use the flagship salons as a laboratory and incubator. Whether it's a new product service that the brand is about to launch or a digital technology project, we incubate it in our flagship salon to bring its successful experience model to the whole industry. Open R&I, “Co-invent” the Future L'Oréal is a company rooted in science and technology, which itself was created by a chemist and scientist. So the essence of our heart has always been focused on science. We consider R&D and innovation to be our pulse and our commitment to R&D and innovation is visible with the amount invested in R&D and innovation by L'Oréal consistently increasing in tandem with sales. 2021 saw the L'Oréal Group investing $162 million in R&D and innovation, representing 3.2% of our sales. In China, we have also launched partnerships with Chinese startups and startup ecosystems. For the second year in a row, we launched the BIG BANG Beauty Tech Creation Camp, and the third edition of the Big Bang Beauty Tech Creation Camp was launched on March 25, Beijing time. In addition to working with these startups, we also worked with Chen Saijuan, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to create the L'Oréal (China) Academician Workstation. We became the first Fortune 500 foreign company in Shanghai to have built an expert workstation with a team of Chinese academicians. Next, we will launch an important ingredient - Boswellin, which has excellent anti-aging effects. And we will continue to develop new products, especially those designed and developed for men. "'Co' is the Power Engin of Operations" L'Oréal Group is the global leader in the beauty industry and the world's number one beauty group. We have 39 factories around the world. Among them, in China, we have two factories, located in Suzhou and Yichang, Hubei. The Suzhou plant mainly produces skin care and shampoo products for major brands such as La Roche-Posay, Cerave, Biotherm, Maybelline and L'Oreal Paris, while the Yichang plant mainly produces cosmetics for brands such as L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline and YueSai. In addition, these two factories in China have also launched a comprehensive upgrade and transformation of Healthy Beauty. After the transformation, our production workshops will reach the level of clean room with 10,000 square meters meeting the food-grade manufacturing environment and providing a strong guarantee for the manufacture of natural formula products. Nowadays, the Chinese e-commerce market has entered a period of rapid development due to the high degree of integration between online and offline led by the Internet, and Chinese consumers are paying more attention to experience and service. To meet the individual needs of Chinese consumers, L'Oréal (China) has also established its own intelligent distribution operation center in Suzhou, China. In addition to caring for our consumers, we are also concerned about the plant on which we depend. Our Group has pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions, water consumption per unit of finished product and waste per unit of the finished product by 60% in 2020 compared to 2005. In fact, the Yichang plant in China has achieved 100%, 85% and 61% reductions respectively, meeting and exceeding the Group's original commitment. Today (March 25, Beijing time), L'Oréal launched its "Co-evolution: Answer to the Future" strategy in China, which is not only the product of the Group's new mission "Creating Beauty, Making the World Move", but also the result of its 25 years of wisdom in China. It is also the result of its 25 years of deep cultivation in China and is inseparable from the development trend of the Chinese market and the ever-changing needs of consumers. In the next 25 years, L'Oréal will continue to work hand in hand with everyone in China making China's opportunities a global opportunity and creating beauty that moves the world together.

The Shiseido Group, which has sold a bunch of popular brands and exited the highly competitive affordable skincare market and is focusing on the high-end market, will also step up its efforts in the clean beauty segment again in the spring of 2022. It has launched a new brand, Udé, which has been incubating for two and a half years. The Shiseido Group is once again stepping up its efforts in the clean beauty. It announced that it would launch Udé this spring, a new brand that has been in incubation for two and a half years. All of its products are made with plant-based ingredients. It is said that Udé will join Shiseido's in the array of clean and sustainable cosmetics including Drunk Elephant and BAUM. The Shiseido Group is not the only one who has its eyes on this potential market, the international beauty conglomerates with a keen sense have already increased their extend through acquisition, investment, independent incubation and other ways. "Clean Beauty" is becoming one of the most popular trends in the world. In 2015, Unilever announced the acquisition of British clean skincare REN to strengthen its high-end personal care line. In the year before the acquisition, REN's annual sales had reached $44.104 million. Four years later, Unilever again spent over $534 million to acquire Tatcha, a high-end skincare brand focusing on natural ingredients. The brand has already entered the Chinese market in 2020. Shiseido Group, which has been busy selling its brands in the last two years, made a move to acquire Drunk Elephant, an American online skin care brand, in 2019. P&G likewise acquired Farmacy, an American clean beauty brand, in 2021. Farmacy reportedly had its net sales of nearly $80 million by the end of 2021, while the Shiseido Group mentioned in its 2021 earnings report that the Drunk Elephant recorded an 11% sales growth that year. In China, several clean beauty brands such as LAN, Dewy Lab and YOKIA have emerged. Among them, LAN created in 2016 is regarded as one of the first proponents of Clean Beauty in China by the Chinese cosmetic industry, which has quickly opened up the market with the concept of "nourishing skin with oil". After nearly 5 years of development, LAN has entered the top 10 of the Tmall Double 11(Chinese Shopping Carnival) makeup remover category on the mainstream e-commerce platform in 2020 with a 70 times increase in sales year-on-year. As seen in the official flagship store of LAN on Tmall, its top-selling "LAN Essence Oil" is currently sold 40,000+ unites per month. The single product is only available for purchase by store members. According to public reports, in 2020 and 2021, LAN completed two consecutive rounds of financing totaling about $31 million within six months. On February 22nd this year, Dewy Lab, a Chinese clean beauty brand, received a $10 million Pre-A round of financing led by China Growth Capital and followed by Xiao Hong Shu. The product has completed three rounds of financing within one year since its launch in January last year. Dewy Lab was gradually moving from primer to full color cosmetics and basic skin care categories focusing on "clean ingredients and "superior makeup". This is also the first cosmetic brand invested by the Chinese promotional social platform Xiao Hong Shu. It is important to note that while brands around the world are jumping into the clean beauty market, there are problems in this market that cannot be ignored. "Whether in China or other countries, clean beauty has not yet established a unified standard." Numerous Chinese cosmetic industry sources said, "Since there is no clear official definition yet, clean beauty is currently usually defined by concepts such as green, organic, zero cruelty and sustainable. So brands are establishing their own standards, and the standards are mainly reflected in the ingredients." In 2018, high-end retail brand Sephora's Clean at Sephora's requirement for "Clean" was to ban 13 specific ingredients from appearing in these brands' products. As of 2019, it has increased the number of banned ingredients to 50 including butylated hydroxyanisole, carbon black, mercury, aluminum salts, lead, and toluene. Drunk Elephant, a Shiseido Group company, on the other hand, believes that cosmetics contain six ingredients that can cause skin problems, namely aromatic essential oils, silicones, chemical sunscreens, surfactants, alcohol and fragrances/colors, so the entire line of Drunk Elephant products does not contain these six ingredients. Other clean beauty brands in China have also established their own ingredient systems, such as onTop, Simply This, and YOKIA, all of which have their own ingredient "blacklists" that emphasize "no controversial ingredients". In August 2021, Alibaba's Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform Tmall Global Beauty, together with COSMOHits, the authoritative beauty media, defined clean beauty for the first time in China, with four main aspects: "no harmful ingredients, no harm to the environment, no cruelty to animals, and no waste to sustainable environment". But from the current situation, this definition is not widely used by Chinese clean beauty brands. From the statistics from Beauty Insight Intelligence of Chinese vertical beauty meida Beauty InSight, clean beauty is on the rise. The global clean beauty market size is $6.01 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $11.56 billion by 2027. Clean beauty may exceed 100 billion market in the next decade. Data from NPD, a leading U.S. market research firm, shows that sales of cosmetics fell 14% during the outbreak of the pandemic, but sales of clean beauty products rose 11% against the trend. This is because the outbreak of the pandemic prompted people to raise health awareness, pay more attention to the composition and safety of cosmetics. Clean beauty take into account the safe and harmless ingredients and scientifically proven formulas, which is in line with the current dual needs of consumers for cosmetics and skin care both safety and efficacy. Therefore, the fact that"clean beauty is the future direction of development and inevitable trend" has become the consensus of the Chinese cosmetics industry. However, it is understood that in 2021, "clean beauty" in the global beauty market penetration rate of more than 20%. But China's clean beauty market only began to sprout in 2020, and is still in the early stages of development. In recent years, performance that China's emergence in clean beauty market showed that there is no "dark horse". On China's mainstream e-commerce platform Tmall, the only Chinese head clean beauty brands with monthly sales of more than 10,000 are MCL, LAN and Dewy Lab, while other brands don’t have outstanding performance. This means that there is still a lot of room for incremental growth in the Chinese clean beauty market. There is still a long way to go before clean beauty can develop in China.

Recently, Estee Lauder is laying out meta-universe with the launch of its first NFT digital products. Inspired by its iconic product Advanced Night Repair, the brand will award up to 10,000 of these products during a fashion event to be held from March 24 to March 28. NFT is seen as a major business opportunity for 2021. According to Abi Buller, an analyst at The Future Laboratory, the metaverse is "still a nascent area for beauty" right now, but in the future, the opportunity is huge. In October 2021, beauty brand Clinique, part of the Estée Lauder Group, launched its first NFT digital collection to further enhance the digital experience for consumers. Roxanne Iyer, global vice president of consumer engagement at Estée Lauder, said stories become currency on social platforms, where Clinique's consumers can express their joy and optimism. The NFT, called "MetaOptimist," is a dynamic digital sphere modeled as a "digital embodiment of the brand" and comes in three different versions. In the real world, the winner will have the opportunity to receive the Clinique collection once a year for the next ten years. "For us, it's a fun way to start thinking about brand communities and empowering them, and that's what the metaverse world offers," Iyer said. We want to make sure that we create a digital connection and a physical connection with consumers, and this is a project that is very close to them and we will be in touch with them for the next 10 years." While the program was launched primarily for the U.S., Clinique received applications from around the globe, saw a 60 percent increase in search traffic and a 20 percent increase in social engagement, with participants split almost 50/50 between loyal and new consumers. Estee Lauder will debut its first NFT as the exclusive beauty brand partner for the virtual world of Decentraland Fashion Week. Inspired by its staple product Advanced Night Repair, the brand will award up to 10,000 of these products during the fashion event, which will take place from March 24 to March 28, sources said. Users will then be able to enter a brown bottle of Advanced Night Repair to receive a wearable NFT that provides a "glowing, radiant look" to their avatars. The NFT is free and was designed by virtual creator Alex Box. Estee Lauder said the Advanced Night Repair NFT is aimed at attracting potential customers in the virtual world. The appeal of online games is undeniable. It is the same for beauty brands in the metaverse world. Last October, the virtual dress-up game Drest announced a virtual beauty feature in partnership with Gucci Beauty. It allows players to use a total of 29 Gucci virtual beauty products, such as Rouge de Beauté Brilliant lipstick and Vernis à Ongles nail polish, to apply makeup to their avatars and participate in a 72-hour beauty challenge. Lucy Yeomans, creator, founder and co-CEO of Drest, said, "We are educating consumers through entertainment, fostering their brand awareness and loyalty through this storytelling model that allows consumers to become our co-creators." As the meta-universe grows, beauty companies will need to be more creative in balancing ROI, but there is not yet a way to measure ROI in this space. Nars was one of the earliest beauty players in the meta-universe. In its partnership with Drest, the company focused on the number of engagements and hours in related game challenges. The results of a recent project with Zepeto were evaluated through engagement and sales of Nars' virtual makeup and merchandise. Ultimately, Nars sold 600,000 Nars virtual items including cosmetics and branded digital apparel through the launch of National Orgasm Day NFT and bundled sales on Zepeto. Lucie Greene, the founder of New York-based consultancy Light Years, believes most cosmetic brands have been participating in the metaverse in a fairly traditional way. They saw it almost as a PR or media buy. "But the truth is it's now moving into a more creative phase, like thinking about the potential of new media, new behaviors, new constructs." As for the future, Lucie Greene speculates, "There will be more products being developed over time, like wearables that give us haptic feedback when we're in metaverse space. Or even if there's a way to feel what a particular product feels like in real life through your clothes, then that could really benefit the beauty industry." For now, it's still hard to estimate how big the digital fashion or beauty industry could grow, but according to Morgan Stanley's research, metaverse games and NFTs could split 10 percent of the luxury market by 2030 - a growth opportunity with $55.02 billion. According to Daria Shapovalova, co-founder of DressX, "The metaverse has no boundaries, and as evidenced by the recent success of NFTs in the fashion industry, the sky is not the limit for brands and creatives in the digital space."

Estée Lauder Group is more accustomed to a minority investment strategy when it comes to investing in the acquisition of startup brands. In contrast, L'Oréal Group prefers wholesale acquisitions when faced with an investment target that is also a startup brand. The beauty industry is changing rapidly, and major international beauty groups are adopting the strategy of aggressive investment and acquisition to acquire "niche" start-up brands that are sought after by younger consumers. They are committed to expanding and renewing their brand portfolios, and quickly entering innovative sectors such as natural, vegan and sustainable. In February, Estée Lauder Group invested in Haeckels, a British natural beauty brand, which is another notable minority investment strategy. In contrast, L'Oréal Group prefers wholesale acquisitions when faced with investment targets that are also startup brands, such as the acquisition of the U.S. vegan skincare brand Youth to the People in December 2021. Looking back at the Estée Lauder Group's investments in startup brands in recent years, it is easy to find that the Estée Lauder Group has adopted the practice: first making minority investments in brands - gradually increasing its shareholding - and eventually acquiring them in several cases. In 2017, Estée Lauder Group first acquired 29% of Deciem, an innovative Canadian multi-brand beauty company. In 2021, Estée Lauder Group increased its stake to 76% and committed to acquiring the remaining shares of Deciem three years later. In 2015, Estée Lauder Group made a minority investment in Have & Be, the Korean skincare company that is the parent company of Dr. Jart+ (Tigeting); in 2019, Estée Lauder Group announced the acquisition of the remaining two-thirds of Have & Be for cash. Fabrizio Freda, CEO of Estée Lauder Group, has his usual investment strategy for brands: he gradually knows the target and understand its products and corporate culture through an upfront minority investment. Forbes has compared Estee Lauder's approach to the "engagement phase" before people get married, a period that tests the character and compatibility of both parties. Commenting on the path from minority investment to the acquisition, Shana Randhava, Vice President of New Incubation at Estée Lauder, said, "Being involved earlier in a brand's life cycle will provide the foundation for us to develop an acquisition strategy from start to finish." Needless to say, such an investment strategy allows Estée Lauder Group to target potential acquisition targets at a smaller cost and leaves room for maneuvering. At the same time, investee brands gain more autonomy allowing them to follow the startup's own business logic and development rhythm over a longer period of time in the future. In contrast, L'Oréal Group prefers to acquire innovative brands in their entirety once they are found to have investment value. In December 2021, L'Oréal Group acquired Youth to the People, a California-based vegan skincare brand that was founded in 2015, was only six years old at the time of the acquisition. It was still in its early stages of development with projected sales of over $50 million in 2021. Analysts from a number of research firms, including Mintel, believe that this case is one of the most representative of large beauty groups embracing up-and-coming startup brands, and is particularly notable for Youth to the People's positioning as a brand highlighting vegan and sustainable concepts. The L'Oréal Group now prefers smaller, but promising, early-stage startup brands to the billion-dollar-plus acquisitions of previous years. Another similar case is Takami, a Japanese dermatologist skincare brand acquired by L'Oréal Group in January 2021, which generated sales of approximately $55.175 million in the year prior to its acquisition (2019). Relying on its deep presence in the multi-channel retail network, Takami grew in 2020 despite the impact of the pandemic and made its China market debut after joining the L'Oréal Group at China International Import Expo in 2021. During the FY 2021 analyst call, Cyril Chapuy, President of L'Oréal Group's Premium Cosmetics Division, commented: "Our division has both globally renowned high-fashion beauty brands and skincare specialties with a strong contemporary sense, such as Takami from Japan, Youth to the People from California, and a great ability to expand geographically. There is great potential for geographic market expansion." It is easy to see that the "geographic" factor is also taken into account when L'Oréal Group selects investment targets, and the differentiated competitive advantages of the acquired brands in different regional markets, especially their appeal to local young consumers, are of great value to L'Oréal Group's globalization.

Korean cosmetics company Amore Pacific released "Blue Hyaluronic Acid", which has a complex function to moisturize and improve the skin's moisture barrier. Amore Pacific will apply Blue Hyaluronic Acid as a core ingredient to its new product line of its high-end skincare brand, LANEIGE. Lately, Korean cosmetics company Amore Pacific launched "Blue Hyaluronic Acid"(Blue Hyaluronic Acid: New Era of Hyaluronic Acid-Innovative Research on Skin Barrier and Repair), which is officially translated as micro-molecular hyaluronic acid, with a claimed minimum molecular weight of 500 daltons. Since the development of fermented hyaluronic acid in 1984, Amore Pacific has been researching hyaluronic acid, a key ingredient for skin hydration. At a seminar hosted by LANEIGE's Beauty & Life Lab, Amore Pacific introduced "micro-molecular hyaluronic acid" as a core ingredient to its new product line of high-end skincare brand, LANEIGE. According to the official disclosure, Park An-na, chief researcher of Amore Pacific R&I Center, "micro-molecular hyaluronic acid" is an innovative ingredient with a complex function to moisturize and improve the skin's moisture barrier. It was made through a special process with a molecular weight 2,000 times smaller than the hyaluronic acid previously used by LANEIGE. The smallest molecular weight of hyaluronic acid previously used in skin care products related to LANEIGE is 1 million daltons, while the newly introduced "micro-molecular hyaluronic acid" has a minimum molecular size of 500 daltons. Amore Pacific said, the repair moisturizing efficacy of "micro-molecule hyaluronic acid" increased by 300% through in vitro testing comparison. It is committed to improving people’s dry skin and damaged skin barriers. LANEIGE also stated that the breakthrough of "micro-molecule hyaluronic acid" to the smallest molecular weight of 500 daltons is achieved through a ten-stage production process, and the secondary fermentation process added "fucoidan" to enhance the efficacy, making the molecular weight smaller and purer. It also has the effect of repairing and moisturizing.

Start as a family business, Davines, the Italian high-end grooming group, has become one of the most important brands in the Italian cosmetics industry. Now, the group's new challenge is the Asian market. The Davines Group began as a research laboratory producing high-end hair care products for the world's leading cosmetics brands. Gianni and Silvana Polatti began their journey to research and produce hair care products in Parma in 1983. Silvana provided the chemical expertise needed to develop high-quality products, while Gianni delivered the uniqueness of the products by establishing strong business relationships. Over the next decade, the company's structure improved. In 1993, the group expanded their field of action by launching the eponymous brand Davines, dedicated to the professional haircare market. This was followed in 1996 by the establishment of Comfort Zone, a cosmetics line offering premium products for high-end spas and beauty centres. The company has achieved growth on these two lines. The products of the Davines Group reflect the effective combination of quality and performance of cosmetic formulations, and in Davide's vision, products become a means of expressing humanism. Sustainable family values not only become a key factor in defining the right actions within and outside the company, but also translate into the ingredients of the products themselves. As a result, Davines group is one of the companies committed to changing the ultimate goal of economic growth from profit to social service. In 2018, Davines Village, the new headquarters of the Davines Group in Parma, is a model of sustainable architecture and production. A commitment to ethics and the environment has always been a guiding principle for the future development of the Davines Group. For each product sold in 2022, the Davines Group will collect or remove an equal amount of plastic from the environment, achieving plastic neutralization and certification by the end of the year, which is the goal of a renewed partnership with the social enterprise Plastic Bank. The Davins Group achieved a turnover of nearly 192 million euros in 2021, an increase of 26% over the previous year." As a small to medium-sized company, the Davins Group operates in an industry composed of global giants and grows its business mainly through international expansion. The company started internationalization in 1994, and by the end of 2016, it had carried out business in more than 80 countries and regions. In addition to its headquarters in Parma, davins Group also has offices in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong. Among them, the Hong Kong branch serves the booming Chinese market, and the group has been exploring the development mode and resource allocation in the Chinese market. Davines’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Molet in North America said "The professional beauty and hairdressing industry has huge potential and our market share today is just over 1%, so there is still a lot of growth potential in the current distribution channels and the group aims to increase this to 2% to 3% in the next few years." In the bigger growth markets, China is key. Chinese consumers are paying more attention to hair care products than ever before, and the trend is particularly evident among the younger generation. From 2015 to 2021, the size of China's high-end haircare market jumped from 3.9 billion to 17.9 billion yuan ($0.248 billion to $1.136 billion), according to data from Euromonitor information consulting company in 2021. By 2025, it is expected to reach 26.7 billion yuan (about $1.695 billion) and continue to rise. Davines entered the Chinese market in 2018, launched seven hair care lines and more than 60 products at its overseas Tmall flagship store, with prices ranging from 78 yuan to 698 yuan ($12.29 to $109.98). At the same time, they take the Chinese social media Xiao Hong Shu as the entry point to gain the attention of Chinese consumers in the interaction with users. However, the Davines Group's ambitions to conquer the Chinese market do not end there. "The new challenge for the organization is Asia," Bollati said. "Our business in Western Europe and North America has been growing strongly, and Russia and Japan are also performing well, ranking in the top 10 in terms of sales. Now we are preparing to enter the Chinese market on our own terms (sustainable and cruelty-free), which is why we opened an office in Shanghai not long ago."