Consumers know efficacy, the market demands efficacy, and factories need to produce products with efficacy.
If we say that skincare products must have efficacy, then in this new era of efficacy, products without efficacy cannot survive. Especially for contract manufacturers with research and development capabilities, they often face diverse efficacy requirements from different brands. Only by mastering core competencies in raw materials, formulations, technology, and other aspects can they break through in this new era of efficacy.
CHAILEEDO has noticed a factory that has not only established a complete research and development process but also built a systematic framework for industry-academia research cooperation. They have also successfully created popular and bestselling products in the market. This factory is Guangzhou Q-MAS Biological Technology Co. Ltd. (Q-MAS). Currently, Q-MAS has also established a cellular efficacy laboratory in collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University to achieve “precision skincare.” CHAILEEDO has attempted to analyze the entire process of Q-MAS, from research and development to production, in order to uncover the factory’s path to success in the intense competition.
Starting from the source, benchmarking international brands
In the current cosmetics market, from consumers to brands to factories, “efficacy” is considered of utmost importance. However, there are doubts as to whether these “efficacies” can help companies gain a competitive advantage through differentiation, as well as doubts about whether these “efficacies” can truly be realized.
Furthermore, many efficacy raw materials with technological barriers are controlled by foreign brands. To overcome this challenge, sufficient basic research is needed as support, along with a long-term commitment to deep cultivation.
As a company that has been established for over 14 years and upholds the values of “high integrity, high quality, and high taste,” Q-MAS has always believed that if big brands can do it, they can do it too, and even better. One of the core issues that needs to be addressed first is the raw materials. Taking Q-MAS’s star product, the “Pro-Xylane Cream,” as an example, its core ingredient, Pro-Xylane, was initially monopolized by foreign conglomerates, making it difficult for domestic brands to find similar raw materials with comparable efficacy and quality.
To solve this problem, Q-MAS turned to the field of cellular research and chose to collaborate with Sun Yat-sen University to establish a cellular efficacy skincare laboratory. They evaluate the efficacy of high-quality raw materials in Q-MAS’s extensive library through cellular model evaluation, in order to match the most suitable ingredients for different efficacy and product requirements.
CHAILEEDO has learned that the primary ingredient in Q-MAS’s latest “Pro-Xylane Cream Pro” formula, ranked first on the ingredient list, is a high-purity, high-activity, high-permeability S/R configuration of Pro-Xylane produced through biotechnology. Third-party testing reports have shown better compatibility, lower impurities, improved penetration and absorption, greater stability, and increased effectiveness. It is worth noting that Q-MAS’s self-developed Pro-Xylane raw materials meet higher standards, adopt more advanced synthetic production processes, achieve higher efficiency, and deliver better efficacy. These raw materials are already in mass production, creating anticipation in the market.
Results from tests conducted on artificial skin models showed that an addition of 0.16mg/mL significantly promoted the synthesis of type VII collagen in the artificial skin model. Test results on ex vivo skin also demonstrated that an addition of 0.19% had a positive effect on proteoglycans, thereby accelerating skin repair and stabilizing the skin barrier.
In addition, with the support of the cellular efficacy skincare laboratory, Q-MAS added patented ingredients such as “natural moisturizing factors,” as well as a combination of yuluo peptides and patented anti-wrinkle peptides that target dynamic wrinkles, and sodium hyaluronate, which deeply penetrates and improves skin hydration. This creates an efficient anti-aging formula. Furthermore, by adding Q-MAS’s self-developed high-standard yeast fermentation products, black truffle yeast fermentation products, yeast fermentation products/rice fermentation products, and other yeast filtrates, the formula becomes more easily absorbed, creating a “waterless formula” that aligns with the trend of “waterless skincare.”
Q-MAS states that with the support of cellular efficacy skincare and customized leading efficacy raw materials, their “Pro-Xylane Cream Pro” has already surpassed the limitations of domestic Pro-Xylane products claiming to be “comparable to big brands.” It is a domestically produced “Pro-Xylane Cream” with high technological content and real efficacy.
Collaboration between industry, academia, and research has formed a “moat”
It is not only the Pro-Xylane Cream that Q-MAS has created since its establishment. They have also successfully developed a series of market-leading and bestselling products, such as concealing CC creams, long-lasting cushion compacts, capsule masks, blue copper peptide lyophilized powder, 377pro essence oil, and thick skin repair creams. For a factory, how can they create so many successful products?
CHAILEEDO has discovered that the jointly established Cellular Efficacy Skincare Laboratory with Sun Yat-sen University is just the latest collaboration in the field of academia-industry cooperation for Q-MAS. As early as 2011, Q-MAS signed a cooperation project with the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. They collaborated with Professor Wei Xiaoyong from the university on the patent project “Dendrobium Water Channel Protein.” Currently, this project has been approved as a key research project in Guangdong Province.
Subsequently, Q-MAS continued to strengthen the deep integration of industry, academia, and research. They jointly established the “Tissue Cell Engineering and Molecular Biology Laboratory” with Professor Wei Xiaoyong from the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. They conducted systematic research on skin informatics, human skin physiology, skin absorption kinetics, anti-aging science, skin tissue cell engineering, and other areas, focusing on the application of herbal health and beauty cosmetics. They conducted forward-looking research on the in-depth application of Chinese characteristic plants in skincare products.
In addition to cooperation in raw material development and basic scientific research, Q-MAS established a cooperation relationship with the Guangdong Pharmaceutical University to further enhance its leading advantage in the development of efficacy-based cosmetics, such as whitening, spot removal, and wrinkle reduction. They conducted cooperation in cosmetic safety testing and in-depth collaboration in skin basic scientific research, functional cosmetic research such as whitening and wrinkle reduction, and the development of cosmetic efficacy ingredients.
In terms of precision skincare, Q-MAS collaborated with Professor Song Yanbin from Southern Medical University to establish the “Cellular Gene Skincare Research Center” to conduct research on skin genetic targets for problematic skin. They made innovative discoveries in the fields of anti-aging, whitening, repair, and acne treatment, which were successfully applied to the screening of efficacy raw materials and customized formulas.
It is worth mentioning that Q-MAS’s collaboration in product development is not limited to domestic partnerships. In the fields of cosmetic development and basic scientific research, many overseas companies have more advanced theoretical models and cutting-edge development perspectives. The global perspective in research and development is also an important reason why Q-MAS can successfully break through in the era of new efficacy.
It is reported that in terms of international cooperation, Q-MAS chose to collaborate with C&T from South Korea to establish a technical team. By sharing international first-hand information and leveraging the strong formula innovation capabilities of both parties, they achieved diversified and innovative development across multiple categories. In addition, Q-MAS has also formed a strategic partnership with Japanese company Houfeng Co., Ltd., which provides concept design, formula suggestions, and guidance for Q-MAS’s new product development. Q-MAS also has deep cooperation with high-end efficacy skincare laboratories in France and Switzerland.
According to information obtained by CHAILEEDO, up to now, Q-MAS has established three laboratories covering an area of over 2,000 square meters, including two basic application laboratories and one innovative application laboratory. They have more than 50 full-time R&D personnel, including two with doctoral degrees and five with master’s degrees. Among the 20 formulation engineers, 10 are senior formulation experts, many of whom have overseas work backgrounds and rich experience and mature cases in facial cleansers, toners, creams, masks, and efficacy-based products.
From the establishment of their own formulation team to the deepening of basic scientific research through academia-industry cooperation, and then to global collaboration to broaden their perspectives, Q-MAS has built a solid “moat” covering industry, academia, and research. This has laid a solid foundation for Q-MAS to become a leading cosmetics research and manufacturing base in the country.
Creating a “Original Hot Product Manufacturing Machine”
In the current market driven by consumer traffic, consumers love to buy hot products, and companies need hot products. However, many factories do not know how to create a hot product.
Q-MAS Group founder Zhao Kun once said in a media interview that he believes product development is a strategic thinking process. “Creating original hot cosmetics requires six key points: high demand, high quality, high aesthetic appeal, high cost-effectiveness, high experience, and originality.”
Creating a truly effective flagship product is not just about having an idea, a raw material, or data. It requires a robust and tightly integrated research and development, creative, and manufacturing system. Q-MAS, driven by a pursuit of long-term value and persistent action, is steadfastly and effectively building such a system.
CHAILEEDO has noticed that when Q-MAS sets out to create hot products, the first step is to establish a solid foundation for the factory, which includes the production hardware. Only with high standards and high-capacity production facilities can they undertake the production of high-quality explosive products. Currently, Q-MAS has an 80,000-square-meter production facility that meets GMPC standards, including finished goods warehouses, emulsion centers, and skincare product manufacturing centers.
Furthermore, the multidimensional research and development support mentioned earlier, such as the Cellular Efficacy Skincare Laboratory, industry-academia collaboration bases, and cosmetic safety testing laboratories, provide Q-MAS with a continuous stream of new “ideas.” Q-MAS also informed CHAILEEDO that the Cellular Efficacy Skincare Laboratory will give rise to more high-efficiency and high-safety flagship products in the future.
As of now, Q-MAS has accumulated over 30 independently developed patent certificates and built an extensive library of nearly 10,000 mature formulas, covering almost all categories, including facial care, eye care, body care, prenatal skincare, baby skincare, and basic makeup.
Of course, Q-MAS is continuously upgrading its existing formulas to adapt to the ever-changing market demands. The Pro-Xylane Cream mentioned earlier is an example of an iterated flagship product. With the support of the Cellular Efficacy Skincare Laboratory, the continuously improving formula system ensures that the “explosive products” created by Q-MAS have long-lasting vitality rather than being short-lived.
In the era of new efficacy, consumers have higher expectations for the effectiveness of cosmetics. Only companies with comprehensive research and development and production capabilities can stand out. From raw materials to formulas, from cutting-edge development to production implementation, from international to domestic markets, Q-MAS is solidifying the foundation for developing, creating, and manufacturing “explosive products” and working with brands to create more effective flagship products.
