Puig, the Spain-based beauty giant, appointed Marc Toulemonde as its derma division president, effective from June 1. Marc Toulemonde worked for L’Oréal for over 21 years with latestthe serving as chief digital and marketing officer of L’Oréal USA. Starting on June 1, Marc Toulemonde will assume the role of derma division president at Puig, a major beauty company based in Spain. Toulemonde has over 21 years of experience at L'Oréal, where he most recently served as the chief digital and marketing officer for L'Oréal USA. In his new role, Toulemonde will take over from Hervé Lesieur, who previously held leadership positions at Uriage, Apivita, and Puig's dermatological activity. Lesieur is set to leave the company at the end of this year. Toulemonde will report to Puig's chairman and CEO, Marc Puig, and will serve on the group's executive committee. The Spanish beauty company, Puig, is reported currently undergoing a corporate restructuring that involves consolidating all its businesses under Puig Brands SA. This move may potentially lead to an IPO for Puig. In 2022, Puig achieved a new sales record, generating 3.62 billion euros ($4 billion) in revenue and a net profit of 400 million euros ($441.8 million). Its fashion and fragrance division contributed 74% to the total sales. The company aims to reach a revenue target of 4.5 billion euros ($4.97 billion) by 2025. Puig's three-year plan, which was unveiled in March 2021, aimed to achieve sales of 3 billion euros ($3.24 billion) in 2023 and 4.5 billion euros ($4.85 billion) in 2025. This meant doubling the sales figures of 2020 in three years and tripling them in five years. Thanks to its growth over the past two years, the company has achieved its goal of doubling its net revenues from 2020 one year ahead of schedule, putting it in a strong position to reach the target of 4.5 billion euros ($4.85 billion) in revenues by 2025.

E.l.f. Beauty announces fourth quarter and full fiscal 2023 results. The company’s net sales in FY23 Q4 increased 78% to $187.4 million, primarily driven by strength across the retailer and e-commerce channels. E.l.f. Beauty has released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2023. The company experienced a significant increase in net sales during the fourth quarter of 2023, with a growth of 78% to reach $187.4 million. This was mainly due to the company's strong performance across its retailer and e-commerce channels. E.l.f. Beauty's GAAP net income in Q4 was $16.2 million, while its adjusted net income (which excludes the items specified in the reconciliation table provided) was $23.8 million. The company's gross margin in Q4 increased by around 180 basis points to reach 67%. This growth was largely due to a combination of factors, including price increases, cost savings, and an optimized product mix. However, these gains were partially offset by the costs associated with inventory adjustments and expenses related to space gains and Spring shelf resets. In the full fiscal 2023 year, e.l.f. Beauty's net sales grew by 48% to reach $578.8 million, and this was largely due to the strong performance of its retailer and e-commerce channels. The company's GAAP net income in fiscal 2023 year was $61.5 million, while its adjusted net income was $91.8 million. For fiscal 2024, e.l.f. Beauty is projecting its net sales for the fiscal year 2024 to be in the range of $705 million to $720 million with an expected 22-24% increase. “Our outstanding results in fiscal 2023 underscore the power of the e.l.f. brand and the world class team at e.l.f. Beauty,” said Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We grew net sales by 78% in Q4, marking our seventeenth consecutive quarter of net sales growth. We gained 270 basis points of market share in the quarter and increased our ranking to the number three U.S. Mass Cosmetics brand for the first time, according to Nielsen. As we look ahead, we believe we are still in the early innings of unlocking the full potential we see for e.l.f. Beauty.”

Virtue Labs, the North Carolina-based hair care brand, announced it has appointed former Coty executive Jose Luis Palacios as the company’s new CEO, succeeding Melisse Shaban, the founder of Virtue Labs. Virtue Labs, a hair care brand based in North Carolina, has announced the appointment of Jose Luis Palacios as its new CEO. He will be taking over from the company's founder, Melisse Shaban. Melisse Shaban will remain involved with the company as an advisor to both the CEO and the Board. Palacios has had a lengthy and successful career in the consumer brands industry, having held global leadership positions at Procter & Gamble, Coty, and most recently, Google. He has now joined Virtue as its new CEO. Palacios started his career at Procter & Gamble in a commercial and sales leadership role in 1993. Then he worked for P&G for over 23 years. His last position in P&G was the regional president of prestige and luxury beauty in North America. After 23 years in P&G, Palacios joined Coty as the vice president of category and global T. marketing color cosmetics in 2016 Oct. Then he was promoted to the CEO of Mexico and Latin American market in 2019 May and served as the global vice president of commercial excellence and governance of Coty’s consumer beauty from 2020 Jun to 2021 Jan. John Rice, Chairman of Virtue said: "Jose Luis is a visionary leader, and an experienced operator, with a proven track record of driving growth and innovation in the consumer brands industry. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Virtue, and we are confident that he will lead us to new heights of success." Palacios wrote in his LinkedIn account: “I am honored to be the CEO of Virtue Labs, a company that is transforming the hair care industry and improving the lives of millions around the world with its groundbreaking technology and incredible products.” “I am driven by a desire to leave a positive impact on those around me and am passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion. I firmly believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to innovation, creativity, and ultimately, greater success.” Palacios added.

China NMPA released two announcements on the valuation principles of recombinant collagen to regulate the development of recombinant collagen biomaterials. Recently, the National Medical Products Administration's Medical Device Technical Review Center announced the Guidance Principles for the Registration Review of Recombinant Collagen Wound Dressings and the Evaluation Guidance Principles for Recombinant Humanized Collagen Raw Materials (hereinafter referred to as the Evaluation Principles) for two medical device product registration review guidance principles to further standardize the management of recombinant collagen wound dressings and other medical devices. "A unified evaluation method and standard for recombinant humanized collagen has finally been established, and the market's standardized development is imminent," said a cosmetics industry insider. In recent years, recombinant collagen, as a new type of biomaterial made from synthetic biology technology, has attracted the attention of the cosmetics industry, capital markets, and consumers due to its good application scenarios in medical aesthetics and medical devices. According to CHAILEEDO Intelligence data, the market size of China's recombinant collagen in 2022 was 18.5 billion yuan ($2.62 billion), an increase of 71.3% year-on-year. It is estimated that by 2027, the market size of recombinant collagen will reach 108.3 billion yuan ($15.32 billion). By product, functional skincare products accounted for 43% of the recombinant collagen market in 2022, and medical dressings accounted for 44%. It is expected that the recombinant collagen functional skincare products will overtake medical dressings in 2023 to reach 14.25 billion yuan. With the market's rapid growth, the number of companies entering the recombinant collagen market has increased, and issues such as chaotic product naming and false efficacy claims have emerged. Many practitioners have publicly called on relevant departments to intervene as soon as possible, continuously update industry standards, and better regulate the development of the recombinant collagen industry. Specifically, the Evaluation Principles point out that companies can use different analysis methods to fully identify the molecular weight, isoelectric point, amino acid sequence, and various post-translational modifications (such as deamidation, oxidation, glycosylation/glycation modification, proline hydroxylation, etc.) of the material, and conduct appropriate testing, providing corresponding test reports to confirm that the final product has the claimed raw material conformation, aggregation state, degradation state, and higher-order structure of collagen protein. The head of R&D at a leading recombinant collagen company told CHAILEEDO that the main challenge for companies in the research and development of recombinant humanized collagen is to form the correct "triple helix" structure. CHAILEEDO learned that the triple helix structure of recombinant collagen is technically difficult to mass-produce at present. Some companies claim that their products have a triple helix structure but cannot provide a theoretical basis and proof, posing a risk of false advertising. In addition, the Evaluation Principles also point out that when evaluating the biological function of recombinant humanized collagen, companies can evaluate the biological function of recombinant humanized collagen by assessing cell-collagen protein interactions and testing cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, or translocation. When recombinant humanized collagen is used as a raw material for the preparation of medical device products, the Evaluation Principles state that companies need to assess risks such as sensitization, skin irritation, and material-mediated pyrogenicity; if storage is involved in the production process of recombinant humanized collagen intermediates, corresponding stability studies should be conducted. In the research, sensitive characteristics that can reflect quality changes, such as content, integrity, purity, microbiological safety, and biological properties, should be studied. In general, in addition to identifying methods and testing methods for different structures of recombinant humanized collagen, the Evaluation Principles also propose corresponding testing methods for purity determination, content detection, impurities/contaminants and additives, and thermal stability of the raw materials. Companies are required to choose suitable indicators based on different intended uses and application sites, different production processes, expected effects, and the final state of the medical device. As can be seen, from the naming of recombinant collagen biomaterials and the establishment of industry standards to the evaluation guidance principles for recombinant humanized collagen and the registration review guidance principles for recombinant collagen wound dressings, the national level supervision of the recombinant collagen market is moving from comprehensive standardization to refined management. This is also an essential path for an emerging field to transition from explosive growth to high-quality, standardized development.

Ulta Beauty, the Illinois-based chain of beauty stores reported Q1 revenue results, with net sales for the quarter ending on April 29, 2023, reaching $2.6 billion. This represents a 12.3% increase compared to the same period of 2022. Ulta Beauty, a beauty store chain based in Illinois, announced its Q1 revenue results, reporting that its net sales for the quarter ending on April 29, 2023, reached $2.6 billion. This figure represents a 12.3% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Ulta Beauty reported that its net income rose by 4.7% to $347.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to $331.4 million in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, diluted earnings per share increased by 9.2% to $6.88, compared to $6.30 in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Ulta Beauty's gross profit increased by $113.8 million or 12.1% to $1.1 billion for the 13 weeks ending on April 29, 2023, compared to $941.0 million for the same period in the previous year. However, gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased slightly to 40.0% for the 13 weeks ending on April 29, 2023. This decrease in gross profit margin was primarily due to higher inventory shrink, lower merchandise margins, higher supply chain costs, and deleverage of salon expenses. It was partially offset by strong growth in other revenue and leverage of store fixed costs. In the reported period, Ulta Beauty opened 5 new stores, closed one store, remodeled two stores, and relocated one store during the 13-week period that ended on April 29, 2023. This is in comparison to the 13-week period that ended on April 30, 2022, during which the company opened 10 new stores and relocated six stores. Ulta Beauty has raised its full-year sales outlook. The company now anticipates annual sales of $11 billion to $11.1 billion, up from the previous estimate of $10.95 billion to $11.05 billion. However, the expected increase in comparable sales for the year remains the same at 4% to 5%.

John Demsey, the former executive group president of beauty giant Estée Lauder, joined LVMH-backed private firm L Catterton as a senior advisor. The PE firm showed interest in the high-end beauty market with this appointment. John Demsey, the former executive group president of Estée Lauder, has taken on the role of senior advisor at L Catterton, a private firm based in the United States. This move indicates L Catterton's keen interest in the luxury beauty industry. John Demsey graduated from Stanford University with receiving Bachelor of Science in Economics, French Literature and then obtained an MBA from New York University. He joined Estée Lauder Companies in 1991, and in 1998, he became President of M·A·C. Starting in 2016, he served as executive group president of Estée Lauder. During his tenure at Estée Lauder, John Demsey oversaw some of the beauty giant's most well-known brands, including MAC, Tom Ford Beauty, Clinique, and Estée Lauder. Before this, he held executive positions in merchandising, buying, and retail for Revlon, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Benetton. last year, John Demsey was required to leave Estée Lauder after a controversial Instagram post that included a racial slur and a joke about COVID-19. L Catterton, a global consumer-focused investment fund, was formed in 2016 through the merger of private equity firms Catterton and L Capital. After the completion of the merger, L Catterton was 60% owned by the partners of L Catterton and 40% jointly owned by LVMH and Groupe Arnault. L Catterton has made several investments in the beauty industry. The US-based PE firm recently has provided a "significant" amount of growth capital investment to Dibs Beauty, a vegan and cruelty-free color cosmetics brand. In October 2022, L Catterton established a fund denominated in Chinese yuan that is dedicated to investments in the consumer industry in China, with a focus on early-stage investments. The investment for the PE firm in China Included Marubi, the Chinese skincare brand, and China Taiwan skincare brand DR.WU.

UK-based Revolution Beauty reported revenue of £184.57 million ($ 227.94 million) in FY22, with an increase of 35%. While the operating loss widens by £29.4 million ($36.32 million) to £38.86 million ($48 million). Revolution Beauty, the London-based cosmetic manufacturer, released its delayed audited financial results for the full year ending on February 28, 2022. The company reported revenue of £184.57 million ($ 227.94 million), which saw growth of 35%. While the operating losses widen by £29 million ($36.32 million) to £38.86 million ($48 million). The sales performance of Revolution Beauty in FY22 as compared to FY21 was boosted by the strong brand and the company's multi-channel offering, which includes both in-store and online sales. UK store sales increased by 41%, US store sales increased by 18%, ROW store sales increased by 43% and the group's online sales increased by 3%. The adjusted EBITDA loss of £0.8 million ($0.98 million) in FY22 is significantly lower than the EBITDA profit of £12.2million ($15.07 million) in the previous year (12 months to 28 February 2021), which was mainly driven by an increase in the stock provision of £11.3 million ($13.96 million) and especially high freight costs due to pandemic related global freight issues. Revolution Beauty said the makeup category is the primary source of revenue for the company, with Makeup Revolution driving sales growth above the total group level with a 34% increase in sales in FY22. Despite some strong pandemic-related consumer behavior trends, skincare sales continued to grow in FY22, with a growth rate of 20%. Haircare had a strong H2 in FY22 with the global launch of Plex. The auditors of Revolution Beauty showed concerns about the accounts in August, following which the shares were suspended from trading in September, and the release of the full-year results was also delayed. Then the CEO Adam Minto resigned from his position in November. “We are confident as we look ahead and will provide a current trading update alongside the interims to the 31 August 2022 which will be published shortly after this annual report. The current year FY24 has started positively with sales, EBITDA, and cash tracking ahead of management’s forecasts,” said Chief Executive Officer Bob Holt.

China Jinan province announced that it has built the world's largest hyaluronic acid raw material production base. The annual sales of hyaluronic acid exceed 300 tons, accounting for over 40% of the global market share. On the afternoon of May 29, the Jinan Municipal Party Committee and Government held a press conference, announcing that Jinan has built the world's largest hyaluronic acid raw material production base. The annual sales of hyaluronic acid exceed 300 tons, accounting for over 40% of the global market share and over 70% of the national market share. According to Wei Bin, Deputy Secretary of the Party and Deputy Director of Jinan Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, in 2022, the sales revenue of Jinan's hyaluronic acid industry exceeded 8 billion yuan ($1.13 billion). A series of cosmetics and health products based on hyaluronic acid has become a well-known and influential brand in Jinan. The Jinan Municipal Party Committee and Government, along with the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, stated that they will take measures to promote the rapid development of the hyaluronic acid industry, such as nurturing and expanding enterprises in stages, supporting collaborative innovation among enterprises, accelerating the improvement of industrial chains, and increasing publicity and promotion efforts. It is worth noting that the planned land area of the World Hyaluronic Acid Valley Industrial Demonstration Zone project, located in Jinan High-tech Zone, is about 2,900 acres, with a planned investment of 24 billion yuan ($3.39 billion). The project is also scheduled to be delivered for use in July. Upon full completion of the World Hyaluronic Acid Valley project, it is estimated that more than 500 enterprises in the upstream and downstream of the medical beauty and anti-aging industry chain centered on hyaluronic acid will be introduced. The industry scale is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan, with an annual tax revenue of over 5 billion yuan ($705.697 million), creating no less than 20,000 jobs and forming an international medical beauty and anti-aging cluster integrating production, life, and ecology.

China Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued the Q&A on the filing of general cosmetics, stating that mosquito repellent products and products that achieve cosmetic effects through ingestion, and injection are not classified as cosmetics. On May 29th, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued the Q&A on the filing of general cosmetics (39) (hereinafter referred to as "Q&A"), which clarified the definition of cosmetics and the scope of related products. Cosmetics are defined as daily chemical industrial products applied to the human body surfaces such as skin, hair, nails, and lips, using methods like rubbing, spraying, or similar means, with the purpose of cleansing, protecting, beautifying, or enhancing appearance. Products that achieve cosmetic effects through ingestion, injection, or other means are regulated separately as health products, pharmaceuticals, or medical devices, depending on their attributes. Toothpaste, which comes into contact with the oral mucosa during use, does not meet the definition of cosmetics but falls under the filing management regulations for general cosmetics according to the Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation. Soap, on the other hand, does meet the definition of cosmetics but is not regulated as such. Soap products claiming special cosmetic effects are subject to registration supervision as special cosmetics. In addition, according to the Regulations on Pesticide Management and the Opinions on the Identification of Mosquito Repellent Products (Agricultural Office [2021] No. 19), mosquito-repellent products fall within the scope of pesticides and should be managed as such. Products exclusively for art and theater use, such as colored paints for painting and makeup remover oil for theatrical use, do not fall within the scope of beautification and modification in daily life and are not classified as cosmetics. Coloring emulsion products used for tattooing and embroidery are not applied to the human body (skin) surface and do not use methods like rubbing, spraying, or similar means. Therefore, they can be determined as not being cosmetics. If there are other uses for color emulsion products that require filing as general cosmetics, the usage methods should be described in detail to avoid misleading consumers. The Q&A states that according to the Reply on clarifying whether the Japanese makeup remover for grafted eyelashes' falls within the scope of cosmetics (Drug Administration Cosmetic Letter [2020] No. 3), the adhesive used to attach false eyelashes, although applied to the area where human eyelashes are connected to the attached eyelashes, serves the purpose of adhesion. Therefore, products with similar usage methods, such as nail glue used for attaching artificial nails or solid decorations, are also not classified as cosmetics.

China Guangdong Province announced cosmetics manufacturers in the province reached 3,100. The total output value of the cosmetic industry in Guangdong Province is about 210 billion yuan ($29.56 billion), which accounts for about 60% of the national total, ranking first in the country. On May 30th, the Guangdong Medical Products Administration announced at a press conference that by the end of April 2023, there were 3,100 cosmetics manufacturers in Guangdong Province, accounting for about 56% of the total in China. The province has registered over 11,000 domestic special cosmetic products, accounting for about 66% of the national total; more than 880,000 domestic general cosmetics are on record, accounting for about 76% of the national total; over 8,000 registered/recorded companies in the province account for 65% of the total in China. It is understood that the total output value of the cosmetic industry in Guangdong Province is about 210 billion yuan ($29.56 billion), which accounts for about 60% of the national total, ranking first in the country. Guangdong is an important production area for cosmetics in China. Lu Xia, director of the cosmetics supervision department of the Guangdong Medical Products Administration, said on May 30th that the planning of cosmetic industrial parks in the province has been continually developing, creating distinctive industrial clusters. The development of the cosmetics industry in Guangdong is transitioning from "large scale" to "high quality." To further promote the quality management capabilities of cosmetic production enterprises in Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration has innovatively carried out pilot projects for quality improvement of cosmetic production enterprises at the provincial, municipal, and county (district) levels. In May, the Guangdong Medical Products Administration launched a comprehensive quality improvement initiative for cosmetics production enterprises, helping more than 100 small and medium-sized cosmetics production enterprises in the province, focusing on areas such as investigating the current status of enterprises, improving enterprise production quality management systems, and strengthening regulatory training for employees.

Unilever announced leadership changes. CFO Graeme Pitkethly decided to retire by the end of May 2024, and Chief Digital and Commercial Officer (CDCO) Conny Braams decided to depart from Unilever in August 2023. Unilever, the London-based consumer goods giant announced its leadership changes by making an announcement stating that Graeme Pitkethly, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has informed the Board of his plan to retire from the Company by the end of May 2024. Graeme Pitkethly started his career as a managing consultant with PwC in the year of 1987. He joined Unilever in November 2002 as the group's chief accountant. Graeme Pitkethly was promoted to CFO in 2015. He served the consumer goods giant for over two decades. Unilever said the Board will now initiate a formal search, both internally and externally, to find a suitable candidate to succeed Graeme Pitkethly in his role. Unilever CEO Alan Jope said: “I would like to thank Graeme for his tremendous contribution to Unilever over the last 21 years. As CFO, he has brought great leadership to our company and been instrumental in sharpening our strategy and driving a step-up in our operational performance.” In addition, Conny Braams, the Chief Digital and Commercial Officer (CDCO) and a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) has opted to depart from Unilever in August 2023. Since January 2020, Conny Braams has been a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), and before that, she held several high-level management positions, such as Executive Vice President (EVP) for Middle Europe, and EVP for Foodsolutions in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Alan Jope added: “I am very grateful for Conny’s excellent leadership of our digital, marketing, and commercial agenda over the last four years, and for her impressive contribution to Unilever over three decades. As CDCO she has helped to transform our company into a future-fit, fully digitized organisation.”

Freemans, a UK-based online clothing retailer, has recently expanded its business by entering the beauty box market by launching its first-ever summer edition beauty box. Freemans, a UK-based online clothing retailer, saw a 33% surge in category sales this year, and it aims to capitalize on this momentum by offering a limited edition beauty box that includes seven full-size market-leading products. The company recently launched its first-ever summer edition beauty box. Freemans' first beauty box, the Summer Edition, is focused on skincare, haircare, and makeup and is valued at over £150, but it is priced at just £55 and includes seven full-size products for skincare, haircare, and makeup, as well as travel and sample-size items. The Freemans' summer beauty box is a limited-edition offering that includes a carefully selected range of skincare, haircare, and makeup products, chosen by the company's beauty buyers to help shoppers of all skin and hair types look their best throughout the summer season while protecting themselves from the heat. The Freemans' beauty box includes a range of full-size items, such as the Sun Bum 3 in-1 Leave-in Conditioner (118ml) valued at £17, the Diego Dalla Palma MyToyBoy Extra Volume Mascara (13ml) priced at £25, and the Nail Kind Ohh My Orange Natural Vegan Nail Polish (8ml) with a recommended retail price of £8. Following the release of the Summer Edition beauty box, Freemans plans to release a new edition each quarter to correspond with the changing seasons. In addition to the products included in the box, shoppers who purchase it will have access to special offers on repeat beauty purchases, and the box itself will feature a bounce-back offer to encourage customers to continue making repeat beauty orders.