Vip.com released the 2022 Beauty Hot Search List, which included cost-effective, atmosphere, ingredients and sunscreen. Vip.com is one of China's leading online brand discount retailers. According to its third quarter 2022 financial report, the company achieved a net revenue of 21.6 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) for the quarter. Recently, Vip.com conducted a comprehensive analysis and ranking based on beauty sales data, platform search data, professional buyer recommendations, real user evaluations, and Internet hotspots. It launched the "2022 Beauty Hot Search List" to provide consumers with summary and trend analysis. The statistical results show that in the current challenging economic environment, many consumers have changed their minds and become more rational. The popularity of search terms such as "cost-effective" and "flat replacement" remains high. In this context, Chinese cultural brands and cutting-edge brands with obvious cost-effective advantages are more preferred by Chinese consumers. Another major trend in the 2022 beauty market is the continued enthusiasm for functional skin care. After nearly two years of market education, consumers have a relatively full understanding of the ingredients of products such as whitening and moisturizing. Vip.com's annual search data shows that Hyaluronic acid, Salicylic acid, and Niacinamide have become the three most popular beauty ingredients in 2022. In the field of make-up, "伪素颜"(looks like no-makeup) and "氛围感"( makeup can affect the atmosphere) are the mainstream trends of make-up on Vip.com in 2022. The specific performance is that the foundation pursues lightness and does not take off makeup, the eye shadow requires earthy colors, and the lipstick prefers moist and translucent. As outdoor activities are gradually sought after by more and more Chinese consumers, the concept of year-round sun protection has also been accepted by more and more Chinese consumers. In 2022, the search volume of sunscreen products on Vip.com will be more than twice that of whitening products. Among them, the search volume from the 1990s and 1995s groups are increasing significantly. Vip.com data also shows that young people born in the 1990s and 1995s are more willing to spend money on sunscreen than buying hair and body care products. The person in charge of Vip.com beauty category said that Vip.com had a deep insight into consumer needs, actively cooperated with well-known domestic and foreign brands, and introduced more high-quality beauty makeup products in the past year. In the future, Vip.com will keep up with market trends, continuously enrich the shelves of beauty products, and meet the diversified and personalized consumption needs of more users.

More than a year after launching its IPO plan, Guangzhou Uniasia Cosmetics Technology Co. Ltd.(hereinafter Uniasia) has made new progress in its IPO. On December 22, 2022, Uniasia IPO passed the counseling acceptance of China Guangdong Securities Regulatory Commission . Among the current Chinese beauty companies, Shanghai Jahwa, PROYA, BTN, Giant Biogene and Chicmax have landed in the capital market. With the new progress of the IPO of Uniasia, the sector of Chinese domestic beauty listing is also becoming more and more competitive, such as MAOGEPING, INOHERB, Trauer, Voolga, WeiMeiZi, Dencare and other related enterprises are in the process of IPO. It is foreseeable that with the listing of this group of enterprises, the voice of Chinese domestic beauty in the Chinese cosmetics market will be further enhanced. Public information shows that Uniasia was established in February 2006. At present, it has more than ten brands, including MEIFUBAO, Franic, Seeyoung, SkynFuture, GITTAMY, MOR, MOINA, etc., covering several product areas such as skin care, shampoo and hair care, body care, essential oils and color cosmetics. But in fact, its cosmetics business has been launched as early as the 1990s. Uniasia’s first brand, MEIFUBAO, was born in 1999. According to public information, as of August 2022, sales of MEIFUBAO sunscreen products grew by 10% relative to 2021. According to the research data of Euromonitor (Shanghai) Co., in the mainland China market, according to the sales of retail channels in 2020, MEIFUBAO is the No. 1 Chinese sunscreen brand in China. It has been the Top 1 in the sunscreen category in China cosmetic category ranking for 8 consecutive years. The success of brand building is inevitably dependent on the company's investment in product building and research and development. Uniasia was one of the first companies to establish a large research institute, and its China headquarters research institute was established in 2007. At present, Uniasia has established two major R&D centers in China and Australia. As of November 2022, Uniasia has obtained 157 authorized patents, including 87 invention patents, 20 utility models and 50 designs. It gained 30 scientific and technological progress awards at all levels and more than 100 scientific and technological academic papers have been published. At present, Uniasia's R&D staff has successfully created innovative ingredients such as 799 Reishiin, 1543 sea fennel ferment and 204 aloe vera ferment, which have been applied in core products such as VITALXI, SkynFuture and Franic. This is not the first time that Uniasia has included IPO in its schedule. It is reported that Uniasia tried to go public in Hong Kong as early as 2011. Now, after eleven years, Uniasia has once again launched IPO, showing a stronger strength than in the past.

The White Paper is Sephora's analysis of the consumption behavior of more than 25 million members and reveals the 6 major consumption trends in the prestige beauty industry in China at present. In recent years, the development of China's prestige beauty market has shown a gradual rise. According to the data of Huajing Industry Research Institute, from 2016 to 2021, the proportion of the middle-to-high-end beauty market in China will gradually rise from 18.8% to 26.3%, with a growth rate higher than that of mass beauty. Prestige beauty will gradually become the main driving force to drive the growth of China's beauty market. Therefore, this also strengthens Sephora's determination to cultivate the high-end beauty retail market in China. Recently, Sephora released the "2022 Sephora China Prestige Beauty White Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper) jointly with YICAI to further set the stage for the development of high-end beauty retailing. When discussing why the White Paper was released for the third consecutive year, Cheng Peiheng, Vice President of Marketing at LVMH-Sephora China, said, "We release the White Paper to provide an in-depth analysis of current consumer trends and precise analysis of consumer preferences and needs, in the hope of better providing beauty lovers with high-quality products, services and experiences. " (Cheng Peiheng, Vice President of Marketing at LVMH-Sephora China) Offline sensational experience still can not be ignored Today's consumption channels are spread across online and offline. The two channels have their own strengths and two-way integration. More than 80% of respondents said that online shopping search is accurate, payment is convenient, the choice is wide and not limited by the scene. It also provides a lot of convenience for shopping and gradually becomes their preferred consumption channel "without leaving home, within reach". At the same time, the White Paper also points out that consumers can only enjoy the sensational experience in offline stores, which can still not be replaced by online shopping. They also hope to satisfy their needs for "profession", "security", "dignity", "comfort" and " premium" through inspiring beauty classes, beauty studio, energetic music and attractive merchandising and so on. According to Cheng Peiheng, "Today's consumers are generally 'perceptually sensitive'. When offline shopping becomes a sensational experience, their demand for offline channels will become higher." Efficacy skincare is on the rise Among the six trends, one of the most eye-catching trends is “from 'ingredient' focus to 'efficacy' focus, rational skincare evolution". According to the White Paper, Chinese consumers are becoming more rational shoppers. They not only focus on ingredients, but also look for evidence to make more rational skincare choices. In fact, since May 2021, when the Standards for Cosmetic Efficacy Claim Evaluation was officially implemented, the Chinese cosmetics industry has entered the "Efficacy Evaluation Era", which has become an industry consensus. In addition, consumers are becoming more rational in their shopping and other factors. The previous consumer trend of considering the addition of a high concentration of a certain ingredient as the "skincare standard" has gradually changed to focus on the overall efficacy of the product. In this regard, Cheng Peiheng believes, "China has always been a big consumer of skincare. From our member insights, we see that they increasingly prefer to watch reviews and choose the products they think are most worth spending on. At the same time, consumers need professional, highly functional products to bring real transformation to their skin." East-West fusion becomes hot In recent years, with Chinese consumers' cultural confidence and strong recognition of brand quality, Chinese-style brands have become increasingly recognized by high-end beauty consumers. The White Paper shows that 60% of respondents believe that Chinese brand products can represent China to the world. At the same time, they also said that nowadays, Chinese brands have more Chinese cultural heritage and they are more suitable for Chinese skin. Their ingredients and packaging are more high-end and the product line is becoming more and more abundant. It is understood that in order to further promote the development of high-end Chinese beauty, Sephora officially launched the Chinese brand promotion plan in June this year, hoping to support five Chinese local brands to become prestige beauty representatives with sales of more than 100 million within three years. Cheng Peiheng introduced, some brands involved in the plan such as CHA LING , WEI, MAOGEPING-LIGHT, Herborist TaiChi, INOHERB TANG, YUMEE and COLOR STUDIO BY MARIE DALGAR, Face Symbol and other exclusive brands participated. Hair, fragrance, sustainability - the new growth engine of beauty The White Paper also mentions two hot segments of the moment: hair care and fragrance. Sephora found that, along with the upgrading of consumption and the increasing segmentation of beauty categories, traditional wash and care products can no longer meet consumers' needs. They hope to take care of their hair like they take care of their skin through a set of refined products. According to the White Paper, 91% of respondents believe that head skin is an extension of face skin and that head care is as important as facial skin care. The current hairdressing market is showing two trends of high frequency and upgrading of consumption. According to Sephora membership data, Sephora's per capita consumption of hairdressing brand members this year and per capita annual spending power have both increased by 31% year-on-year. On the other hand, fragrance products have also seen an explosion. The White Paper shows that 38% of respondents use fragrance to enhance the aroma and atmosphere of their space. 39% of respondents are used to putting fragrance by their bedside to soothe their emotions and help them sleep. 24% of respondents use perfume to boost their confidence while making a good impression on each other in social situations. This shows that hair care and fragrance have become the new growth engine of the cosmetics industry. It is also worth noting that the concept of "sustainability" also appears in the White Paper for the first time. Sephora found that consumers are increasingly looking to achieve sustainability in all aspects of their lives, due to the current environment. Overall, the "2022 Sephora China Prestige Beauty White Paper" provides a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the latest trends in the prestige beauty market from multiple dimensions, including the changing prestige beauty retail market, consumer preferences and needs, beauty segmentation categories and high-end beauty market outlook. It provides a reference guide for the industry. Source: Sephora If there is any infringement, please contact us to remove it

The beauty industry is in a rapid development stage with the change in consumer demand. At the same time, with the continuous development of Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok) e-commerce platform, the business field and business ideas are also changing. On December 22, the 2022 Douyin E-commerce Beauty Conference was held in Shanghai with the theme of "D-beauty, The New Beauty". At the conference, the beauty industry of Douyin e-commerce officially announced the industry strategy and industry solutions around the new trends of the industry and e-commerce with global interests, bringing more business methodologies and boosting the beauty industry partners to gain greater growth space. It is reported that in November, the daily average number of short videos broadcast by e-commerce in the beauty industry reached 330 million, and the daily average number of live broadcasts by e-commerce in the beauty industry exceeded 130 million. From December 1, 2021 to November 30, 2022, the beauty industry added more than 100 million new order users. On the other hand, during the period from December 1, 2021 to November 30, 2022, there will be 75 top brands in the beauty industry of the whole network settled in Douyin E-commerce, and 143 brands in the beauty industry with an annual sales of more than 100 million yuan. Three core strategies At this conference, the beauty industry of Douyin e-commerce proposed three core strategies: new product strategy, category strategy and consumer service strategy to provide businesses with specific business guidance in different dimensions. In terms of new product strategy, Douyin E-commerce wants to create a more efficient new product listing route. According to the data released by Douyin, in 2022, 27 brands have completed satisfactory new product market exploration in Douyin e-commerce, of which the sales volume of Mistine new product has reached 400%. In 2023, Douyin E-commerce will use product data to improve the operation efficiency of new products, and complete the promotion, sales, drainage and penetration of four new product indicators. The goal is to increase the new product explosion efficiency by 1 time and the repurchase rate by 1.5 times. In terms of category strategy, Douyin E-Commerce said that it would shift from single explosive product creation to refined operation. "In 2023, the beauty category should move from the ultimate explosive to the rich layout, and achieve the ultimate experience and innovation details through the promotion of new products, retention, and consumption upgrading." Guan Xinran, head of the beauty industry of Douyin e-commerce, said. In terms of consumer service strategy, it is necessary to realize the double upgrade of consumer shopping experience and rights and interests. In 2022, Douyin e-commerce has achieved a significant increase in the repurchase rate of people through membership tools. Next year, it will upgrade its membership tools, improve the efficiency of recruiting new users, promote transformation and repurchase. Influencer shop is a new trend in Douyin e-commerce This year (from January 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022), the GMV of the influencer shop grew by 150% month on month. Such accounts have also transited from the extreme matrix operation of "character design" to "brand trust". Because of the trend, the content explosion has created a concentrated outbreak, which in turn has promoted the trend. Douyin e-commerce can continue to provide new trends and new opportunities for the beauty industry. This may be because the beauty industry has more advantages in the platform with strong content attributes. Douyin e-commerce author ecology has maintained the ability to help new entrants grow in the past year's rapid expansion. According to the disclosure of this conference, from November 2021 to November 2022, 6.27 million e-commerce authors gained income through Douyin e-commerce, including 4.1 million new authors, which demonstrates the vitality of Douyin e-commerce ecology for global creators. In the last year, the cumulative number of authors with a GMV of more than ten million has reached 19,000, 2.3 times that of the same period last year. Some of them are stars with a fan base, some are creators of content transformation e-commerce, and other types. Wei Wenwen, president of Douyin E-commerce, said that interested e-commerce companies not only explore user value, but also support brand growth and outbreak by adapting to the marketing needs of the brand's whole life cycle with rich marketing scenarios.

The company aims to achieve a CAGR of 46% in the next five years. Recently, The Ayurveda Experience, an Indian DTC skincare brand, raised $6 million in a new round of financing led by Anicut Capital. The investors include Mariwala Family office Sharrp Ventures and Singularity Ventures. According to an Inc42 report, India’s D2C online beauty and personal care segment is expected to become a $5.6 Bn space by 2025. It is reported that The Ayurveda Experience will use new funds to expand the international market and expand The brand influence in India. Its overseas target markets include North America, Europe, Canada, and Australia. In addition, the company will also strengthen its R&D capabilities and infrastructure construction, and invest in personalized technologies. The Ayurveda Experience was founded by Rishabh Chopra and the brand provides more than 100 SKUs. At present, it has launched three beauty personal care brands, Iyura, Ajara, and A. Modernica, as well as a health food brand, Ayutta, with more than 840,000 customers and an annual income of $27 million. The company aims to achieve a CAGR of 46% in the next five years. At present, The Ayurveda Experience mainly sells its products through its official website and opened its first offline store in Los Angeles in October this year. Anicut Capital, the investment company leading this round of financing, recently obtained the US $180 million debt fund approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of India (SEBI). The company has invested in m-Caffeine, Vyapar, ChargeUp, Enmovil, AstrogateLabs, Snapint, Burgerama, Zymrat, and GIVA.

Chicmax is the only Chinese cosmetics company with two skincare brands with annual retail sales of over 1.5 billion yuan (about $215 million) in 2021, namely KANS and Baby Elephant, with retail sales of 1.631 billion yuan (about $234 million) and more than 1.8 billion yuan (about $258 million) respectively in 2021. Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Chicmax) was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today (December 22, 2022) under the stock code "02145.HK", with a global offering of 36,958,000 shares. Chicmax opened at HK$25.2 per share, with a total market value of HK$10 billion (about $1.3 billion). It is reported that Chicmax proposed to achieve listing in 2018 as early as 2015. However, it was not until February 2021 that Chicmax signed a listing counseling agreement with CITIC Securities Co. and filed with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, taking a substantial step towards IPO. On December 30 of the same year, Chicmax submitted an overseas listing application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and started the road to go list in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On December 4, 2022, Chicmax passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The funds raised from the IPO of Chicmax will be used mainly for brand building activities, enhancing R&D capabilities, strengthening production and supply chain capabilities, increasing the breadth and depth of the sales network, and improving digital and information infrastructure. Judging from the specific performance of Chicmax, it has been on a fast speed of development even more in recent years. According to the prospectus, from 2019 to the first half of 2022, Chicmax achieved revenues of 2.874 billion yuan (about $412 million), 3.382 billion yuan (about $485 million), 3.619 billion yuan (about $519 million) and 1.262 billion yuan (about $181 million), respectively. Its annual adjusted profit was 114 million yuan (about $16.3 million), 265 million yuan (about $38 million), 391 million yuan (about $56 million) and 84 million yuan (about $12 million), respectively. It is easy to see that in the three years from 2019 to 2021, Chicmax's revenue and net profit showed a year-on-year increase, with a total revenue of 9.875 billion yuan (about $1.4 billion). Among them, the revenue of the enterprise in 2020 and 2021 increased by 17.68% and 7% respectively compared with the previous year, while the net profit increased by 132.46% and 47.55% year-on-year. In terms of brand building, the performance of Chicmax in recent years is also remarkable. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, Chicmax is the only Chinese cosmetics company with two skincare brands with annual retail sales of more than 1.5 billion yuan (about $215 million) in 2021. Also according to the prospectus of Chicmax, the company's revenue is currently divided into two main segments: skincare and mother and baby care. As of the first half of 2022, the revenue of the skincare segment of Chicmax was 930 million yuan (about $133.3 million), accounting for 73.5% of the total revenue. The revenue of the mother and baby care segment was 321 million yuan (about $46 million), accounting for 25.4% of the revenue in the same period. Specifically, the skincare brands KANS and One Leaf, which were born in 2003 and 2014, and Baby Elephant, which was launched by Chicmax in 2015 to focus on the field of maternal and infant care, are the main brands of the skincare segment and the maternal and infant segment. These three brands, which are also the three "trump cards" supporting the IPO of Shangmei, accounted for 86.6%, 91.8%, 92.2% and 93.0% of the Group's total revenue from 2019 to the first half of 2022, respectively. By brand, KANS is the core cosmetic brand of Chicmax, with revenue of 920 million yuan (about $131.8 million), 1.333 billion yuan (about $191 million), 1.631 billion yuan (about $233.7 million) and 604 million yuan (about $86.6 million) from 2019 - 1H 2022, respectively, with relatively stable growth. And Baby Elephant retail sales exceeded 1.8 billion yuan (about $258 million) in 2021, topping the Chinese market for Chinese domestic brands of maternal and child care products.

About a month ago, Dior released a Dior Advent Calendar for Christmas and claims each drawer encloses a fragranced surprise. But it caused heated debate across the beauty community lately. The debate came after Jackie Aina, a prominent beauty influencer, created a series of videos unboxing the Dior 24-day calendar on her TikTok account. It can be seen in her videos that the high-end $US3500 advent calendar contains 24 luxury items - including mini fragrances, bars of soap, and scented candles. The video about Dior Advent Calendar gained more than 30 million views. Surprised to her, when she disclosed the Drawer 13, it is a lid. As far as she knows, it's supposed to be a coaster. Since the coaster is heavier and has a soft touch, she discovered that it merely looked like a lid. After unboxing everything, the influencer offered her comment on whether the advent calendar was “worth the splurge”. “So this box was $3500. Each item is apparently worth $145,” she said. She showed a sample-sized fragrances and a small-sized soap said that neither of them worth $145. Some netizens said: “Everything should have been full sized for that price.” Jackie Aina agreed that point and said “or at least deluxe sizes.” Another wrote: “That advent calendar should’ve been at least 800$ at max but 3,500$” This Advent Calendar apparently triggered outrage of beauty lovers. Previously, Chanel also launched a Advent Calendar 2021 last year. The Advent Calendar with price of $825 contained only five actual Chanel products, while the remaining items — a mix of stickers, bookmarks, and crystal balls — were of little or no value. In this regard, the vast majority of netizens have expressed great dissatisfaction with this Calendar stuffed with a variety of underwhelmed products. Some comments said some of them are only giveaway of Chanel and some netizens called out Chanel for fraud. This controversy on Chanel Advent Calendar 2021 online in China has spread to international social media. The related video on TikTok has more than 40 million views, and then some users found that Chanel closed the official account on TikTok. Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel, responded that the Chanel Advent Calendar was part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the launch of No. 5 fragrance. He said that they would be more discreet in the future and denied rumors that the TikTok account had been closed due to controversy. It is found that Chanel's official account on TikTok had never posted any content. Although the pricing right of a product belongs to the brand, it should essentially follows the pursuit and recognition of consumers. If brands tend to be loved by consumers, they need to follow price rationality of mass market as well as swallow its pride to cater to consumers.

Recently, The Ordinary announced on its official Instagram that it will adjust the prices of its skincare products, mainly due to rising costs and supply chain issues. The Ordinary is a skincare brand owned by Deciem. In 2021 Estee Lauder announced that it would acquire Deciem, in which Estee Lauder currently owns 76%, and will gradually acquire the remaining shares thereafter. In an Instagram post, the company stated that the price will be risen on January 1, 2023 and the average change is $1.12. It also took its product Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA (30ml) as an example. It will increase from $5.80 to $6.50. The Ordinary said that the price adjustment is mainly due to the rising costs and macroeconomic changes. To face these problems, it has carried out some change of operation. The Ordinary said: “ We’ve said goodbye to brands like Hylamide, started to close down low volume categories like Colours.” In early December, The Ordinary announced on its Instagram that it would discontinue its foundation and concealer products because the primer products do not make the brand profitable. “We value you, the community that shapes us, and welcome all thoughts and questions around this upcoming change in the comments,” The Ordinary added in the Instagram post. In the review of this post, some users said they liked the transparency of The Ordinary when they want to increase the price. And the products of The Ordinary were also favored by many of them. It can be seen that most users can accept that price adjustment. In September this year, international brands of skin care products have also increased prices. Lancôme, Armani, SK-II and many other brands related products implemented the new price from September 1, while some SK-II products will increase the price on September 13. Take Lancôme for example, it is understood that this is second price increase of Lancôme this year. The brand also carried out a price increase in April this year, covering essence, eye cream, mask, cleanser, lotion and other products. Compared to Lancôme's suggested retail price in April, this time the price of color cosmetics products increased by 10-30 yuan (about $1.4-$4.3), and the price of skin care products increased by 30-150 yuan (about $4.3-$21.5). Armani Beauty will also increase the retail price of some products on September 1, mainly involving lip glaze, perfume, foundation, eye shadow, blush, sunscreen cream and many other products, as well as some perfume gift boxes, a total of 338 SKU, the price increase within 7%. In the face of ingredients, logistics and inflationary cost pressures, international brands by adjusting product pricing to maintain revenue is also one of its common means.

Chaileedo, presented by Dr. Lizhi has been showcased on SCC's annual meeting, demosntrating the emerging cosmetic market in China. SCC76 has been held in Los Angeles from December 12 to 14, 2022, which is the first appearance of the conference on the West Coast. It invited more than 40 speakers, divided into 8 group meetings and 3 keynote speeches, covering the latest research and innovation in the fields of cosmetics' raw material trends, consumer insights and regulatory discussions. More Chinese cosmetic scientists have also stepped onto the international stage of SCC. Zhi Li, Ph.D., a senior independent consultant of beauty cosmetics, discussed the Chinese indie beauty brands thrive with their marketing innovations on mobile social platforms with CHAILEEDO. In addition, he made a conference report on the progress of China's cosmetics regulations with Winkey and ZMUni. Chinese brands such as BLOOMAGE BIOTECH, Trautec and Sino Lion went to the exhibition to show the latest technology and development of Chinese cosmetics, which attracted many people to stop and exchange ideas. AI is increasingly important in raw material development Joe Dallal, of Ashland, presented on creating an aqueous, unscented jasmine extract that connects with emotion, capturing the holistic microbiome to do so, and using phytofermentation to produce and apply the resulting ingredient. An audience member asked whether AI was used in the development of the extract. “We used bioinformatics in the early days,” he said. “AI narrows the among of tests performed and helps to identify areas where to look,” he said. “But it doesn’t give you the answers; it just saves you a lot of work.” Jasmina Aganovic, founder and CEO of Arcaea, an innovative beauty company, has been thinking about how biotechnology can change the beauty industry in her career. In this "The Power of Biology" keynote speech, she mentioned the role of artificial intelligence in biological materials. For example, she described recent work to control body odor through biology. Using AI to identify odor-causing microbes and study their metabolism, her team created a metabolic map to assess whether the food the microbes ate impacted their behavior; e.g., the odors they produced. High throughput data informatics revealed there was a connection and in vitro tests validated this probiotic effect. She additionally shared the idea of using this approach to not only remove malodor, but also influence microbes to produce desired scents. Consumers in the Information Age Communication with consumers has always been one of the issues that the brand needs to consider. The panel mostly agreed that science takes more explanation than the 15 sec you have to communicate to the consumer (per their attention span). This is where the importance of scientific communication becomes key. Using influencers to communicate with consumers is one of the strategies. Independent consultant Zhi Li, Ph.D., looked the East with his talk on how Chinese indie beauty brands thrive with their marketing using livestreaming on mobile social platforms. Using CHAILEEDO's data on Florasis and Proya, he talked about the powerful driving effect of China's top influencers on the online sales of beauty products. Clarisonic founder and founder/CEO of Opulus Beauty Lab Robb Akridge, Ph.D., has his own views on the characteristics of consumers in the new era. "The biggest challenge is about consumer knowledge," said Akridge. He explained consumers used to get information from print ads, dermatologists, beauty editors and department stores, but now they look to macro and micro influencers and bloggers. "Trends used to migrate from east to west or west to east," he added, "but trends don't migrate any more. They are always everywhere." This can lead to information overload, however. "How much is too much?" he asked. "How do you hone it in and make it real?" Akridge added that social media in the future will need to be reigned in; for example, the way the Federal Trade Commission protects consumers. Regulatory Talk The regulatory session, moderated by Craig Weiss and co-sponsored by the Independent Beauty Association, kicked off with Sharon Blinkoff, Esq., senior counsel of Locke Lord LLP, with a talk on new regulations. Blinkoff discussed why product claims are important, mentioning the recent Sephora lawsuit, and emphasized a need to educate consumers on product benefits and features, and the necessity of data to prove claims and proper testing to use methods that are accepted by experts in the field. Yun Shao, Ph.D., of Kobo Products, Inc., presented, "Selecting the Right TiO2/ZnO for Performance and Regulatory Compliance." Shao discussed global requirements per regions of sunscreen efficacy regulations to claim SPF 50+, including EU, Australia, the USA, Japan and China. Complications stem from UVA regulation, according to Shao, which varies in ratios per region. He continued with the interaction of light and TiO2 and ZnO in terms of refraction and absorption; how the particle size of TiO2 affects UV protection; and then delved into the UV efficacy of ZnO. Stephanie Ross Leshney, founder and CEO of Dabble & Dollop, presented on a novel approach to formulation, scale-up and testing. Leshney emphasized the importance of ingredient quality, especially those for children. “Ingredient decks don’t tell you everything, they don’t tell you the quality of the ingredients being used," she said. Ross continued by talking about the tendencies of indie brands to be celebrity backed and focused on a narrative. The session continued with Paul Slavashevich, of Symrise, who detailed a way to evaluate and grade skin sensitivity through a skin sensitivity index. Classical methods such as the sting test may not be correlated enough to address skin sensitivity, according to Symrise. As such, two indices were developed: a clinical index, based on self-perception; and an instrumental image-based index, which predicts the sensitive from parameters computed from hyperspectral acquisitions. The two are used to complement each other; soothing performance assessments are next steps. The final discussion was presented by Zhi Li, Ph.D., independent consultant, who expanded on China's latest CSAR, which contains many regulation changes and updates, as well as requirements for cosmetic formulations. Source： SCC76

Currently, Chinese beauty brands achieve double growth in performance and word of mouth by virtue of a hero product. The rise of a brand is often predicated on the rise of a hero product which also can break through the market. In cosmetics, international giants have always been considered the head players of the "a hero product" strategy. But in recent years, many Chinese domestic brands also adopted the same strategy. Some of their hero product achieved sales of over 100 million yuan, supporting the strong growth of the brand. This signifies that Chinese domestic beauty products may have entered the era of hero products. So, what is the effect of this strategy? Hero-product strategy is popular The creation of a hero product that can cross the time cycle is the key to the longevity of a cosmetic brand. Speaking of hero products from beauty brands, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Lancôme Advanced Genifique, SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and other classic products from international brands, all of them have experienced generation after generation of product innovation and upgrade. It also came across a long period of market competition and become the product of word of mouth. With the deepening of the Chinese and international beauty market, Chinese beauty brands have also begun to create their own hero product, which helps brand innovation breakthrough. According to incomplete statistics, since 2020, the head of Chinese beauty companies has repeatedly mentioned "hero product" and "hero-product strategy" in the company's annual report and public response. Since 2020, when PROYA began its transformation proposing to upgrade from a channel-driven strategy to a product-driven brand. It also implemented a hero-product strategy. Since then, the term "hero-product strategy" has been appearing in PROYA's financial reports and announcements. Since this year, BTN also proposed to "continue to consolidate the market position of hero product and in the sector of sensitive skincare brand". Bloomage Biotech also said, "adhere to the hero-product strategy. The hero-product strategy in Biohyalux, QuaDHA, Bio-Meso is beginning to bear fruit". S’Young also clearly "focuses on the creation of hero product". Marubi proposed to "vigorously develop hero products with core technology". It can be said that the hero-product strategy has become a common method (strategy) of Chinese local beauty products. In fact, a mature beauty brand also needs a hero product as strategic support. BTN Group co-founder Dong Junzhi has publicly said that the brand must have a hero product in the early days. For example, Winona only stressed its Anti-sensitive Moisturizing Tolerance-Extreme Cream in the past ten years. A strong impression of "Winona = Anti-sensitive Moisturizing Tolerance-Extreme Cream = focus on sensitive skin" has been created in the minds of consumers. Now we also recognize that Winona is an effective skincare brand. It is easy to see that the hero product has a self-evident role in the brand to hit the market and stabilize its position. Achieving double growth in performance and word-of-mouth According to PROYA's public data, PROYA’s hero product on Tmall channel accounted for about 60% of the total for the whole year of 2021, including about 70% of the hero product for the Chinese Double 11 Shopping in 2021 on Tmall channel. In the first half of this year, the combined hero product accounted for 35%+ of the PROYA, 65%+ of the Tmall platform, and about 50% of the TikTok platform. "The proportion of hero products in this year's Chinese 618 Shopping Festival has further increased and exceeded that of last year's Chinese Double 11 Shopping Festival," said PROYA at an investment exchange in July this year. As pushing the sales performance, the hero product also contributed to improving the gross margin and the unit price. In the analysis of the reasons for the increase in sales gross margin in the first half of 2022, PROYA said that the hero-product strategy has brought about an increase in gross margin, and the proportion of high-margin categories such as essence has further increased (gross margin of essence is 78%). The first three-quarters of PROYA's 2022 financial report also mentioned that the price of skincare category in the third quarter increased by 27.72% year-on-year and the price increase was mainly due to the increase in sales of its hero products with higher unit price (essence and cream category) year-on-year and the increase in revenue share. It is easy to see that while hero products are increasing sales, the brand is also building a product matrix around its hero products in order to form a scale effect and lay the foundation for long-term brand development and image building. Huang Xiaodong, chairman of Mask Family, also said that compared to the previously popular pop-ups, hero products can continue to bring incremental growth to the brand. "Hero products must be explosive, while these products can extend the category to drive the sales of the whole brand." From making explosive products to making brands PROYA, as a traditional Chinese cosmetic brand, quickly caught the fast train of e-commerce and social media to become one of the few successful traditional beauty companies. Its hero-product strategy is also often considered by outsiders as the key to PROYA's comeback. Guotai Junan Securities analysis, the successful implementation of the hero-product strategy marked PROYA into a new growth phase of brand development. The transformation of PROYA is also the epitome of Chinese national beauty from making explosive products to creating large single products and further solidifying the brand image. Previously, Korean cosmetics brands and innovative Chinese cosmetic products launched new and explosive products at a quick pace with the help of marketing, which strategy was chased after by many other brands. But it is difficult to last only relying on a marketing-driven explosive model. Jiang Ligang, general manager of Hangzhou Ruiyan Qianzhan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. said, "The hero product is a must-have that will be upgraded year after year and can be sold continuously. The head of the Chinese national cosmetic brands shifted their strategy from the explosive products to hero product because the hero product can be sustainable." In the 2022 third-quarter earnings presentation, PROYA said that the hero product should have the characteristics of just-needed, long-term, high gross profit and high repurchase. Essence, cream and other categories, anti-aging, repair and other efficacy of the product has the potential to become hero products. It is true that explosive products are the key to winning Internet marketing. But with the changing market environment and increased competition, It never goes out of fashion to create sales by product strength. The hero products that enjoy their own strength are likely to really drive performance growth and breakthrough. The brand identity eventually feeds back the product, forming a positive cycle. As Jiang Ligang said, "the arrival of the era of hero product means that the Chinese national product is building a brand. After the fall of the capital-generated newcomers, the left is returning to the road of brand building."

Idea Innovation + Local co-creation = Consumer-centered innovation. In the 25 years since its entry into China, L'Oréal has grown from zero to the largest beauty group in China today. And China, in turn, has become the second largest market for L'Oréal worldwide. In the words of Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer L’Oreal Group, "L'Oréal China has had an extraordinary journey over the past quarter of a century." In an interview with CHAILEEDO, L'Oréal's President North Asia and CEO China, Mr. Fabrice, said that for L'Oréal, China is strategically important in terms of R&D innovation, beauty technology, sustainable development and talent. China is becoming the inspiration of L'Oréal's open innovation and the wind vane of global investment. So, what will be the next phase of L'Oréal's journey? Maxime De Boni, Research & Innovation Vice President L’Oréal China, in a media conversation at the 25th anniversary exhibition, may give a glimpse of that. (Maxime De Boni, Research & Innovation Vice President L’Oréal China) A new era of innovation Maxime said that L'Oréal China has currently evolved from the original ingredient and formulation innovation to a new era of innovation. It also developed five pillars of innovation, "Infinite Inclusion," "Green Science," " Augmented Beauty", "Open Innovation" and "Augmented Research". First of all, L'Oréal found that the new generation of consumers is more focused on personalized expression and has a demand for a complete range of personalized products. L'Oréal wants to develop products that are not just for everyone but can offer different personalized solutions according to different consumers' understanding of beauty. Take the YSL ROUGE SUR MESURE as an example, it can print an infinite combination of shades according to the different preferences of each consumer helping consumers to achieve self-expression. Secondly, L'Oréal is very concerned about green technology and has invested a lot of innovation in this field with the biggest project called "L'Oréal for Future". Previously, L'Oréal may have used petrochemicals for a large number of cosmetics, but now it has shifted to green organic plant ingredients. "Green science is undoubtedly a sure way forward, which is also in line with China's 2030 goal of carbon neutrality," Maxime added. In terms of enhanced beauty, L'Oréal is focusing on new beauty technologies and empowering beauty expressions. One of L'Oréal's iconic products in beauty technology is the Lancôme Absolute Dual-LED Youth Treatment, which helps the skin to better diminish fine lines and wrinkles by combining gentle amber and infrared dual LED light waves with Lancôme serums. "So what we call enhanced beauty is that there's the addition of technology with the skincare products. " Maxime sums it up. The other two points are Open Innovation and Augmented Research. It advocates co-innovation with other outstanding companies in the industry and enhances the speed and efficiency of innovation through digitalization and other means. L'Oréal hopes to better promote R&D capabilities through these two concepts. What did localized innovation do for L'Oréal? In 1996, the foundation of the L'Oréal factory was laid. A year later, with China's reform and opening up, the L'Oréal Group officially announced its entry into China setting up its China headquarters in China and opening branches in Beijing and Guangzhou. Some industry insiders comment that L'Oreal is one of the best localization among multinational beauty companies, how does L'Oreal maintain this advantage? Maxime believes that L'Oreal's strength in the Chinese market cannot be achieved without the support of localization, which is because Chinese consumers have gone from being beauty followers to leaders. "Localization is one of the things L'Oreal has had to do. For example, the ingredient Pro-Xylane was invented by French scientists. But this product was first launched in the Chinese market because Chinese scientists developed a formula to strengthen the absorption and penetration effect of Pro-Xylane. That's why it was able to be a big hit in the Chinese market." Maxime said when talking about localization. In addition, L'Oréal also mentioned that the Chinese beauty market has seen a very rapid development of the entire ecosystem of science and technology innovation, including these hard sciences of technology itself in recent years. Maxime commented that this is largely related to the government's support, which has invested much in R&D, especially in fostering some eco-innovation systems. Maxime added that Chinese consumers' needs are very diverse and discerning. So L'Oréal's innovation for Chinese consumers can be a source of product innovation for consumers in other regions. China has become an inspiration for innovation for L'Oréal, and products that satisfy Chinese consumers can easily be rolled out to other regional markets. "The success here is a result of L'Oréal's efforts together with our partners. It is also a result of open innovation. But in any case, these beauty innovations generated in China are inspiring the world's beauty development. At the same time, world beauty innovations are supporting the development of the Chinese market. Our most important purpose is to bring the best technology to consumers and bring them the highest quality products." Maxime believes. As a senior industry insider said, L'Oreal has witnessed Chinese beauty consumers and the Chinese beauty market grow from zero to become a trendsetter influencing the world. China has also witnessed L'Oreal grow from one of the many foreign beauty companies entering the Chinese market to become the number one beauty company and the number one benchmark for local Chinese beauty companies to catch up with. L'Oreal's journey in China is continuing and moving forward.

L’Oréal China 25th Anniversary Exhibition opened on December 16 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. 25 years ago, L'Oréal opened the Chinese market with the slogan "putting a lipstick in the hands of every Chinese woman". 25 years later, L'Oréal has grown to become the largest beauty group in China. According to the third quarterly report released by L'Oréal Group, L'Oréal's sales in the first three quarters were 27.94 billion euros (about $29.6 billion), up 12% year-on-year. It far exceeded the average level of the global beauty market with all business units and regional markets achieving growth. Among them, the first three quarters of the North Asia region's results grew by 7.4% year-on-year. At the opening ceremony, Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer L’Oreal Group said in a video message that L'Oréal has become the largest beauty group in China, and China has become the second largest market for L'Oréal Group worldwide. And he also stressed that the Chinese market would continue to be an indispensable growth engine for the L'Oréal Group. The theme exhibition of L'Oréal's 25th anniversary was divided into five chapters, "Beauty Is Diverse and Inclusive", "Beauty Is Innovative", "Beauty Empowers Women", "Beauty Is Sustainable" and "Beauty Evolution". L'Oreal also brought the new technology products exhibited at the CIIE to the 25th anniversary this time. In the technology innovation zone, L'Oreal showed the YSL ROUGE SUR MESURE and YSL SCENT-SATION. YSL SCENT-SATION is the first personalized fragrance experience service based on neuroscience research. After an initial questionnaire survey, six fragrances are selected for customers to try. In the process of trying the fragrance, the system will capture the consumer's brain waves at times and help them to choose the most suitable fragrance flavor through the algorithm of cognitive science as well as artificial intelligence. The other YSL ROUGE SUR MESURE combines three new technologies. Firstly its AR fitting technology helps consumers to try on makeup. Secondly, the combination of L'Oreal Group color technology helps consumers to recommend the right lip color. Thirdly, innovative technology can combine thousands of different lipstick shades with helping consumers experience lip color freedom. Of course, CHAILEEDO is more interested in knowing what L'Oreal, which is entering its 25th year in China, thinks about the Chinese market. In an interview with CHAILEEDO, Maxime De Boni, Research & Innovation Vice President L’Oréal China, said that the anti-aging market is a market that L'Oréal is very concerned about and interested in. "In China, more and more young people are starting to pay attention to the field of anti-aging. In August this year, L'Oreal launched a new product for anti-aging, Pro-Xylane Pro, which utilizes the technology of double-penetrating micro-sticks and makes the absorption and penetration effect of Pro-Xylane Pro. As a result, the product received a warm acceptance from a wide range of consumers, including younger consumers and consumers of all age types in general." Maxime said. Maxime added that L'Oréal feels that Chinese consumers are the most professional, discerning, and demanding segment of consumers in the world. "I would also like to make a particularly interesting point that just because the Chinese consumer is particularly professional and then demanding, these innovations that we make for the Chinese consumer have instead become a source of innovation for the products that we can offer to the European market, to other markets around the world," Maxime said. It is true that consumer feedback is what drives the brand. L'Oréal, which has been communicating with Chinese consumers for 25 years, also expects to "combine our strengths with those of our ecosystem partners to create the best experience for consumers." Perhaps, as L'Oréal emphasizes, "This is not only about L'Oréal China's 25-year beauty story, but also about all people and beauty."