According to media reports, statistics released by Yiwu Customs on March 20th indicate that from January to February this year, Yiwu exported over 900 million yuan ($125 million) worth of beauty and cosmetic products and personal care items, representing a year-on-year growth of 79.8% and accounting for nearly 50% of the province’s similar product exports. Among them, exports of independent brand products grew 1.8 times.
Yiwu is one of the largest cosmetic production bases in Zhejiang Province, with cosmetic manufacturing enterprises accounting for approximately one-third of the province’s total. Over 80% of their products are exported. In recent years, domestic beauty and cosmetics brands have been gaining momentum, and Yiwu’s beauty and cosmetics enterprises have focused on improving quality and innovative product research and development, establishing their own unique competitiveness and gaining popularity in overseas markets.
In the three districts of Yiwu International Trade City, there are currently 1,011 businesses engaged in the sale of beauty and cosmetic products, with over 90% of them having their own independent brands. Jin Chunxiao, the head of Jiuli Cosmetics Co., Ltd. in Yiwu, stated, “In the past, our cosmetic brands had very low added value compared to European, American, and Japanese-Korean cosmetic brands, which had several times the added value of Yiwu products. Without a brand, they eat the meat, and we can only drink the soup.” Recently, Jin Chunxiao spent over 100,000 yuan ($13,890.1) to register her brand in more than 40 countries, considering it a worthwhile investment. She said, “A brand can shorten the user’s purchase decision-making time, increase product pricing, and improve customer repurchase frequency.”
Jawan Muslim, a Syrian businessman who has been working in Yiwu for 15 years, also admitted that during the initial stage of exporting products, one could rely on the supplier model to quickly open up the market and achieve revenue and profit by offering high-quality and affordable goods. However, in order to increase the added value of the products and maintain a strong position in the market competition, it is still necessary to have their own brands. Therefore, he registered the brand BELENDA BEAUTY and achieved good performance in the secondary and tertiary markets in the Middle East and Europe and America.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to cosmetics, Yiwu’s small commodities such as shirts, zippers, accessories, socks, and seamless weaving have also shifted towards personalized, boutique, and branded development. They have transitioned from price competition to comprehensive competition in terms of quality, technology, brand, and standards, thereby facilitating the expansion of “Made in China” products into international markets.
