Christmas Day 2023 showed up with a present for China’s cosmetics market: Fresh information revealed exports of locally made items to South Korea had actually increased by 190% in the very first 8 months of the year, and reached a worth of $152 million for the whole year, more than 3 times the quantity in 2022.
The Japanese market likewise revealed healthy returns, with China exporting more than $121 million in cosmetics to Japan in 2015, up by 80% compared to 2018.
The exact same chose Southeast Asia, where 6 nations, specifically, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, imported a combined $489.6 million in Chinese cosmetics, a boost of 38% from 2022.
Chinese cosmetics have actually grown by leaps and bounds in the worldwide market. According to main information from the nation’s custom-mades authority, China exported almost $7.6 billion in cosmetic items in 2023, double the quantity taped a years back.
This rise in appeal has actually accompanied the increase of cross-border e-commerce platforms in China, with the so-called “Four Dragons”– Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and TikTok Shop– all carrying out well in the East and Southeast Asia.
For the previous 90 days, Temu and AliExpress have actually controlled the download charts for iOS shopping apps in South Korea, declaring very first and 2nd area respectively, according to data.ai, a market analysis platform.
Information from the media BusinessKorea likewise reveals Temu’s month-to-month active users in the nation have actually risen sevenfold in simply 3 months. AliExpress’ share of the direct getting market in South Korea likewise reached 26.6% in 2015.
In Southeast Asia, Chinese e-commerce platforms are likewise controling the marketplace, with Tencent’s Shopee, Alibaba’s Lazada, and beginner TikTok Shop from Bytedance all getting a share.
Cosmetics sales channels in East and Southeast Asia are slowly moving from offline to online, as clients end up being familiar with purchasing makeup and skin care items with the click of a button. This is developing chances for China’s cross-border e-commerce companies.
The growing online market combined with overseas e-commerce led the way for domestic charm brand names to establish flagship shops on significant overseas platforms, consisting of Florasis, Perfect Diary, Into You, Flower Knows, Focallure, and Colorkey. Some brand names have actually even seized the day to open brick-and-mortar shops or link straight with regional sellers, such as in Japan.
The promo and ad of Chinese-style makeup on social networks has actually likewise ended up being more advanced and prevalent over the last few years. Compared to Japanese and Korean designs, frequently identified as “innocent and adorable,” Chinese makeup exists as more fully grown and dignified.
One aspect definitely bring in overseas clients to Chinese cosmetics will be the cost point, with lots of items costing more affordable than those made in other nations, especially color cosmetics.
“Talking to my associates in Korea, their total agreement is that the success of Chinese appeal brand names comes from the power of TikTok and enjoyable, associated material marketing,” Hwee Chung, charm director at customer insights business Kantar Worldpanel, informed Jing Daily. “They likewise have fresh, brand-new brand name and item images, and fairly budget friendly cost positioning.”
South Korea’s home non reusable earnings grew by less than 2% in 2015, although food rates increased more than 6%, Yonhap News Agency reported. Continued increases in the expense of living have actually required low-income households to cut down, making low-cost Chinese cosmetics a more appealing alternative.
On Amazon, the very popular mascara is from L’Oreal, priced around $10. On AliExpress, the very popular mascara expenses $1 and is made by O.Two.O, a cosmetics brand name based in Guangzhou, capital of China’s southern Guangdong province.
This market pattern is likewise being seen in Southeast Asia, according to research study by Meetsocial, a cross-border e-commerce consultancy, which discovered that most of customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam prefer eye makeup items priced listed below $2, the cost bracket targeted by lots of Chinese brand names.
(Header image: Fu Xiaofan/Sixth Tone)