The rise of the Chinese beauty industry is the biggest highlight in the Chinese cosmetics market in recent years.
Chinese ingredients, Chinese technology, and the increasingly mature and improved supply chain have provided a solid foundation for the development of the Chinese beauty industry. The rapid growth of Chinese e-commerce, as well as the emergence of social media, short videos, and live streaming, have created a more favorable competitive environment for the development of the Chinese beauty industry. The rising national confidence and cultural identity among the younger generation of Chinese consumers have also led to a more diverse demand for beauty products. With these favorable factors, the rise of the Chinese beauty industry is unstoppable.
At the recently concluded 28th China Beauty Expo (CBE), it was discovered that Chinese beauty brands took center stage, with over 60% of Chinese brands occupying prominent positions. The number of Chinese brands participating in the expo exceeded 6,000, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total number of brands, reaching a historic high. At the same time, the Chinese beauty industry is moving towards a more refined and scientific direction, with technology-driven and scientifically-based communication becoming the mainstream trend. The beauty market is becoming more dynamic, with many beauty brands entering various niche segments targeting new demographics, new demands, and new scenarios.
RNW, a core skincare brand under the Peley Group, is a representative example. In the thriving market of pore care, RNW has emerged as a leader, positioning itself as the pioneer in “Chinese research on pores.” At CBE, RNW unveiled its new brand positioning and released the industry’s first “Blackhead Scientific Management Guide,” seizing the opportunity in the pore care market.
From pore cleansing to pore research, RNW targets a 50 billion skincare niche market.
One of the founding fathers of modern marketing, Philip Kotler, once said, “Market segmentation is the process of identifying and serving specific groups of consumers.”
Recently, in the “2024 China Pore Care Market Trends Insight Report” jointly produced and released by RNW and CHAILEEDO, the industry gained insights into Chinese consumers’ pore issues, the pore care demands of the new generation, as well as the current market status and trends of pore care products.
“For the industry, this report has great reference value. Through the report, the industry will be able to have a clear understanding of the pore care consumer group, thereby providing targeted and high-quality products to consumers, and guiding the healthy and orderly development of this segmented field of pore care.” Such was the statement of a senior professional in the cosmetics industry regarding the release of the report.
Currently, Chinese consumers’ understanding of pore care is still not mature. The report, for the first time in the industry, presents a clear definition of pore care skincare products: “Pore problems mainly include excessive sebum production (greasy skin, sebum oxidation, etc.), pore clogging (blackheads, whiteheads, lipid filaments, acne, etc.), and pore deformities (enlarged, elongated, etc.). Skincare products that address issues such as blackhead removal, pore cleansing, acne prevention and treatment, oil control, and pore refinement all fall within the category of pore care skincare products.”
According to CHAILEEDO data, the market size of China’s pore care products in 2023 was 46.779 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.68% from 2019 to 2023. It is predicted that the market size will exceed 55 billion yuan by 2025, marking the first time that the potential of the current Chinese pore care market has been concretely presented with objective data in the cosmetics industry.
Behind the development of pore care into a market worth hundreds of billions lies the increasingly refined and scientific skincare demands of the young consumer group. The report reveals that young people often face various pore problems, including oily skin, blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and other issues caused by pore clogging. When their skin experiences pore problems, the majority of people prefer to use professional pore care products.
However, the key for brands to break through in the segmented skincare race lies in how to uncover the true needs behind consumer behavior and transform them into innovation in the blank market.
Taking RNW as an example, its core explosive product, the nose strip, pioneered the gentle removal of blackheads through the method of applying and peeling. It has accumulated sales of over 50 million boxes and consistently ranks first in the T-zone care category and the repurchase list on various platforms. It was also selected as a 2023 National Consumer Word-of-Mouth Innovative Case by People’s Daily Online and has won multiple industry awards.
Based on the huge market potential of pore care and the accumulation of the brand in this field, at the end of 2023, RNW established “pore research” as its direction for the next five-year plan and development. The brand positioning has also been upgraded from “effective basic skincare” to “Chinese pore research.”
CHAILEEDO has noticed that no brand had previously positioned itself in the pore care field. At the CBE event, Tao Xiaomeng, the General Manager of RNW, stated in an interview with CHAILEEDO, “In the future, RNW will continue to delve into the pore care field and extend its reach to the pore anti-aging field, comprehensively addressing consumers’ demands regarding pore problems.”
From an industry perspective, the brand upgrade of RNW undoubtedly holds significant strategic significance. By focusing on the segmented pore care race, RNW has differentiated itself from other efficacy brands in the market, thereby establishing a unique brand image in the minds of consumers.
“Scientific Management Guide for Blackheads” Heavyweight Release, Continuous Emphasis on Scientific Communication
As we all know, multinational beauty conglomerates have strong research and development systems. They have also been early adopters in the field of communication, accumulating many experiences worth learning from in the industry. Specifically, multinational beauty conglomerates incorporate scientific communication as part of their research work, building a value chain for scientific communication from internal to external sources, actively promoting the delivery of scientific content to consumers.
In recent years, however, some Chinese beauty brands have also accelerated their layout and construction of brand scientific communication systems, enhancing interaction with consumers through sharing scientific content.
Taking RNW as an example, they fully recognize that the construction of scientific content should be based on the actual needs of consumers and presented in a more down-to-earth manner. Through consumer research, RNW has found that there are common misconceptions among consumers regarding blackhead cleansing, which has strengthened their determination to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge about blackhead management.
At CBE, RNW officially released the “Scientific Management Guide for Blackheads” (referred to as the “Guide”), focusing on in-depth exploration of blackhead issues in pore skincare.
Specifically, based on population insights and domestic and international relevant journal literature, the “Guide” provides a clear, comprehensive, and easily understandable solution to blackhead problems. It analyzes blackhead types, occurrence and development mechanisms, scientific management methods, and more, catering to consumers who are troubled by blackhead problems.
As shown in the “Guide,” people of all ages and genders face different types and degrees of pore problems. Among them, young people are more prone to facial skin oiliness, blackheads, and even acne due to increased sebum secretion, as well as factors such as poor diet, lifestyle habits, irregular sleep, and emotional stress. Understanding the causes of these problems and mastering scientific skincare methods is crucial.
In the scientific management plan for blackheads, the “Guide” provides targeted product solutions based on the characteristics of blackhead occurrence and development. For example, in daily cleansing, facial cleansers and makeup removers can be used, while long-term oil control can be achieved through the use of oil control toners, lotions, essences, etc.
CHAILEEDO has learned that this is the first pore care guidebook released by RNW, making it the first brand in the industry to provide a professional guide to solving blackhead problems for Chinese people. By popularizing knowledge about blackhead cleansing, it helps consumers establish a scientific skincare perspective for blackhead care, lowers the learning threshold for consumers in blackhead management, and allows consumers to avoid mistakes in blackhead removal. At the same time, the release of the “Guide” will also promote the scientific communication of blackhead management, leading to a more scientific and transparent future for pore and blackhead management.
In addition, RNW has also released educational short videos on scientific blackhead removal, using simple and understandable language and vivid visuals to educate consumers on how to scientifically manage blackheads, fully leveraging the advantages of video dissemination and interaction. Furthermore, RNW has established multiple skincare education columns on its media accounts, such as “Research and Innovation Journal” documenting the brand’s leaps in product development and technological innovation, “Expert Talks” inviting skincare experts to popularize skincare knowledge, and “Skincare Observation” where the RNW research and development team unveils product development and educates on the correct use of products. Through diverse scientific content disseminated through various media channels, the aim is to eliminate the information barriers between consumers and scientific skincare and guide consumers to establish a scientific skincare mindset.
It is evident that RNW is emphasizing scientific communication both on the user side and in the industry. The release of the “2024 China Pore Care Market Trends Insight Report” and the “Scientific Management Guide for Blackheads” provides reference and inspiration for the industry, while also offering consumers more scientific and effective guidance for pore care. This signifies a milestone progress for RNW in the field of pore care for Chinese people and indicates that this race has entered a more scientific and professional stage.
RNW creates self-developed raw materials “chips” to build a “hardcore” product barrier.
Products are the most direct manifestation of brand concepts. After proposing the brand positioning of “Chinese Pore Research,” RNW upgraded its product line and iteratively innovated its products.
Firstly, RNW made significant adjustments to its product line, dividing it into two major series: Pore Research and Pragmatic Utilitarianism. This not only enriched RNW’s product matrix but also better catered to consumers’ differentiated needs in pore care and basic skincare.
“The reshaping of the upgraded product line will make RNW more focused on the product side, and the product serialization will also make it more convenient for consumers to choose according to their own needs,” explained Tao Xiaomeng at the CBE event. “RNW will also specifically create a precise patch series consisting of nose strips and related adhesive products, strengthening category segmentation, making the products more precise and efficient in their effects, and truly meeting the essential needs of consumers and satisfying their individual and contextualized demands.”
Secondly, RNW achieved iterative innovation in different product lines. In the field of Pore Research, RNW successively launched new products such as dual-color clay masks, airy shampoo, oil-control essence milk, and leave-in hair milk. In the area of Pragmatic Utilitarianism, they introduced post-sun partial masks, bare face cream for the body, eye cream, and body lotion spray.
The outstanding market performance of RNW’s many new products confirms the correctness of their market layout and brand upgrade strategy. RNW’s airy shampoo won the 2024 Mei Yi BEAUTY Hair Care TOP Award and has been selling well on various platforms. The dual-color clay mask entered the best-selling mask list on Douyin Mall within two months and won three annual product innovation awards within half a year of its launch. This clearly demonstrates its excellent product strength.
Behind the product line and product upgrades of RNW lies the research and development capabilities of its parent company, Peley Group, which has unique strengths in the beauty industry. To deeply connect with consumers and create products that better meet user demands, Peley Group has established an “internal circulation + external openness” innovative research and development system. This system facilitates efficient communication and collaboration between customer research, product design, application development, product evaluation, and product claims. The “external openness” means partnering with external universities, hospitals, research institutions, and technology companies to collaborate on research and innovation projects, jointly creating technological achievements.
It is reported that Peley Group has established comprehensive research and development systems in Shanghai and Suzhou, building a research and development team with over a hundred professionals. Their expertise covers formula and process development, innovative raw material development, packaging development, skin physiology and toxicology research, efficacy and safety evaluation, sensory and consumer research, quality analysis, scientific communication, technical regulations, intellectual property rights, and more. This empowers RNW in product and technology research and development as well as brand building.
Supported by this research and development system, Peley has independently developed multiple cosmetics technologies. Currently, three self-developed raw materials, Qingji Tea Extract, SkinFiton, and Micro-Lipid, have been used in RNW’s related products.
In RNW’s view, the quality and efficacy of cosmetics depend on the raw materials. Only by independently developing raw materials “chips” can cosmetic products be upgraded and iterated. RNW’s emphasis on self-developed raw materials is evident from the theme of the CBE exhibition booth, “RNW Research and Creation with ‘Core’ Ingredients.”
For example, the self-developed raw material Qingji Tea Extract was developed for oily and acne-prone skin. The research team selected natural and organic white tea from Yunnan and used specialized research on golden flower fungus and yeast to achieve a 120-hour symbiotic fermentation. This process transformed the active ingredients in the tea leaves into substances that are more easily absorbed and utilized by the skin. The Mult-T targeted extraction process was then employed to obtain higher purity. Qingji Tea Extract can reduce sebum production, unclog pores, and regulate sebum metabolism, effectively addressing pore blockage issues at the source. It is worth noting that this technology has been patented and applied in oil-control essence milk and cold cream makeup remover, becoming the core technology of RNW’s Pore Research series.
SkinFiton was developed specifically to meet the needs of sensitive skin that is easily irritated by environmental stress. It improves the tolerance and recovery ability of sensitive skin and represents a technology for sensitive skin adaptation. It has been used in RNW’s high-moisturizing cream and wet compress lotion.
Micro-Lipid targets the problems of dryness, easy breakage, and color fading caused by damaged hair scales and hollow hair cores resulting from perming and dyeing. It has been applied in RNW’s upcoming hair care oil spray.
It is through scientific technological innovation and breakthroughs that RNW has successfully developed multiple self-developedraw materials, which serve as the foundation for their upgraded and innovative product line. These raw materials, such as Qingji Tea Extract, SkinFiton, and Micro-Lipid, are carefully developed and formulated to address specific skin concerns and provide effective solutions.
RNW’s approach to product development and brand building is supported by the research and development capabilities of its parent company, Peley Group. Peley Group has established a comprehensive R&D system with a team of over a hundred professionals specializing in various aspects of cosmetics development. This system enables efficient collaboration and communication within the company and fosters partnerships with external institutions and organizations for research and innovation projects.
By focusing on self-developed raw materials, RNW aims to enhance the quality and efficacy of their cosmetic products. These raw materials are like “chips” that contribute to the upgrading and iteration of their product offerings. RNW’s emphasis on self-developed raw materials is evident in their booth theme at the CBE exhibition, highlighting their commitment to research and creation with “core” ingredients.
Each self-developed raw material has its unique properties and benefits. For example, Qingji Tea Extract is derived from natural and organic white tea through a specialized fermentation process. It has the ability to reduce sebum production, unclog pores, and regulate sebum metabolism, making it suitable for oily and acne-prone skin. SkinFiton, on the other hand, improves the tolerance and recovery ability of sensitive skin, addressing the needs of those easily irritated by environmental stress. Micro-Lipid targets hair damage caused by perming and dyeing, helping to restore moisture and strength to damaged hair.
Through their commitment to scientific technological innovation and the development of self-developed raw materials, RNW aims to provide high-quality products that cater to the specific needs of their consumers.
