“I am Amber Evans, the incoming Chair of NYSCC for 2023. I am delighted to co-host the inaugural US-China Symposium of Beauty Market Trends with the Chinese American Cosmetics Professional Association (CACPA) and CHAILEEDO at the iconic Rockefeller Plaza Conference Center in New York City.”
On December 11th at 8:30 AM Eastern Time, the first US-China Symposium of Beauty Market Trends officially commenced with Amber Evans delivering the opening speech. This event marks the first collaborative Symposium between the United States and China, the world’s largest first and second cosmetics markets respectively, since 2019. It also serves as the first international exchange in the cosmetics industry between the two countries since the official warming of Sino-American relations in November of this year.
As Wu Zhiqing, President of Uniasia Group and one of the Chinese company representatives attending the Symposium, stated, “As the two largest cosmetics markets in the world, it is meaningful to have mutual exchanges and learn from each other between China and the United States.”
Changes in China
At the beginning of the Symposium, Tom Branna, Chief Content Officer of Happi Magazine, the host of the event, cited the views of American analysts, stating that the recent successful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held in San Francisco marked the beginning of further improvements in Sino-American relations, with the consumer goods sector being the first to rebound.
From this perspective, American cosmetics companies are both puzzled and filled with anticipation for the rapidly developing Chinese market. On the other hand, the Chinese cosmetics industry also needs to understand the cutting-edge trends in the largest cosmetics market in the world, which is still the United States. This is one of the most important background factors for hosting the inaugural US-China Symposium of Beauty Market Trends.
During this Symposium, representatives from the Chinese cosmetics industry presented the current and future state of the Chinese cosmetics industry from various dimensions, including the characteristics of the Chinese market, trends in Chinese makeup, the current status and development of Chinese brands, the advantages and trends of cosmetics OEM in China, and the unique characteristics of offline distribution channels for cosmetics in China, which attracted significant attention from their American counterparts.
Among them, Cai Zhaoyang, co-founder of CHAILEEDO and representative of beauty media in China, believes that the Chinese cosmetics market will become the first market to surpass one trillion yuan by 2025 and surpass the United States to become the world’s largest cosmetics market. The Chinese cosmetics market currently exhibits five characteristics: rapid growth, rise of Chinese brands, diverse distribution channels, continued prevalence of live-streaming sales, and the popularity of strong-efficacy skincare products. There are also three noticeable trends: the rise of Chinese ingredients(it means that the ingredients and raw materials used in cosmetics are all made or found in China), brand technologization, and the globalization of Chinese brands.
Irene Lyu, Vice President, Yatsen Holding Limited, a representative of Chinese makeup companies and currently the only Chinese beauty company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, stated that there are three major consumer changes in the Chinese color cosmetic market. First, consumers are leaning towards rational consumption and shifting towards products with higher cost-effectiveness. Second, color cosmetics dominated by efficacy have ingredients as one of the key factors influencing consumer purchases. Third, the consumer population is aging, with the main age group of female population now five years older than in 2017. The total number of Chinese women is approximately 690 million, with half of them being the target customers for color cosmetics(ages 15 to 49). As of the end of August this year, Yatsen Holding Limited core brand Perfect Diary has served over 65 million users in China.
Dr. Pan Zhi, Global Chief Scientist, Guangzhou Uniasia Cosmetic Technology Co., Ltd., a representative of Chinese cosmetics companies in globalization, introduced that Uniasia Group has established three research and development centers in China, Australia, and the United States, focusing on the introduction of top research talents, training of core talents, and the construction of research teams, forming a high-quality research and development team led by doctors and supported by masters. She also emphasized the opportunities and challenges brought by regulations related to efficacy claims of Chinese cosmetics and the opening up of new raw materials for cosmetics.
Zhu Hong, General Manager of Guangzhou Cenkon Biochemical Products Co., Ltd., a representative of Chinese cosmetics OEM companies, stated that the US market has always been a market that Chinese companies have wanted to develop. Compared to other countries’ cosmetics OEMs, OEM in China have richer products, more flexible manufacturing capabilities, higher cost-effectiveness, as well as well-established supply chains, fast delivery, and full-process service capabilities.
Wen Min, founder of MeiDD Technology (Shenzhen) Co., LTD., a digital operator serving 35,000 cosmetics stores in China (note: Li Huihua, co-founder of CHAILEEDO, delivered the speech on behalf of Wen Min), provided a detailed overview of offline cosmetics stores in China using multiple sets of specific data. Unlike retail stores in the United States that rely more on color cosmetics, sales in Chinese offline stores are mainly focused on skincare, which contributes to 45.8% of store sales (if facial masks are included, it exceeds 50%). Makeup accounts for only 13.8%, ranking second, while daily necessities account for 5.2%. This is because the main consumer group in offline stores is married women who are also responsible for purchasing daily household items. From another perspective, categories such as makeup, home products, maternity and baby products, and beauty tools still have significant room for growth in offline stores as categories that can drive sales growth and increase gross profit.
During the Symposium, the speeches by Chinese company representatives sparked discussions among their American counterparts. One American emerging brand founder, whose products have entered the Chinese market, expressed strong interest in Chinese cosmetics stores but also raised concerns about how to avoid counterfeiting in the Chinese market.
This awkward question also indicates, from another perspective, that there are still some barriers and gaps between the Chinese and American cosmetics markets, and both sides need further understanding.
Changes in the World
So, what are the noteworthy changes in the American and global cosmetics markets? During this Symposium, Dr. Angelike Galdi, Global Vice President, Head of Technology Incubator Cosmetic formulation, L’Oreal USA, emphasized the revolutionary changes in the cosmetics industry brought about by beauty technology.
Angelike Galdi stated that new technological trends will open up new areas. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence, more convenient technologies, natural language processing, new methods for generating intelligent content and interaction, the market’s compound annual growth rate driven by these new technologies is expected to reach 34% by 2028. On the other hand, the trend of technology empowering new consumption is evident, such as household biology, household laboratory equipment, household smart and interconnected medical devices, wearable sensors, and continuous monitoring devices.
It is worth mentioning that Angelike Galdi mentioned that 62% of Chinese consumers have an interest in medical aesthetics, higher than the 49% in the United States. Among these groups, 70% are from Generation Z and millennials.
China is at the forefront of accepting beauty technology. She specifically mentioned that in April of this year, the Shanghai Medical Administration issued the first “On-site Personalized Service” cosmetics production license to SkinCeuticals store located in Pudong, Shanghai.
During the Q&A session, a research and development personnel from an American cosmetics company asked, “Why does L’Oréal attach so much importance to beauty technology?” Angelike Galdi replied, “Because young consumers prefer technology, they value personalization, and they like change and novelty.”
The pursuit of beauty technology and personalization is not only the demand of young consumers in the United States but also a common interest of young people worldwide, including China.
From this perspective, although the Chinese and American cosmetics markets have many differences in their development stage, consumer concepts, and consumption habits, cosmetics have already become a universal language in the world when looking at future trends.
The same market, the same future. It is precisely because of this that communication and cooperation between the global cosmetics industry are so important. As the co-organizers of this Symposium, whether it is NYSCC, CACPA, or CHAILEEDO, they are committed to long-term communication and cooperation between the American, Chinese, and international cosmetics industries.
It is reported that one of the co-organizers of this Symposium, the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, is an affiliated branch of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) and one of the oldest branches of the SCC. Currently, the New York chapter has 1,500 active members from three states in the eastern United States.
The SCC, established in 1945, is a nonprofit professional association for the cosmetics and personal care industry and is the only industry organization in North America dedicated to beauty and personal care. The association has 6,000 members, with 19 chapters throughout North America, and its cosmetic science education is well-known in North America. It is worth mentioning that in 1959, the SCC initiated the establishment of the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC).
Another major organizer, CACPA, was established in New York in December 2000. It is the most influential professional association for Chinese professionals in the American cosmetics industry and serves as the “home” organization for Chinese scientists in the American cosmetics industry. It currently has over 250 American members and some members from France, Japan, and China.
During this Symposium, L’Oréal, Yatsen Holding Limited, Uniasia Group, Guangzhou Cenkon Biochemical Products Co., Ltd., MeiDD Technology (Shenzhen) Co., LTD., and CHAILEEDO were awarded the Pioneer Award for Global Cosmetic Communication jointly presented by NYSCC and CACPA.
The influence of Chinese cosmetics going global, starting from the US-China Symposium of Beauty Market Trends, marked a new starting point.
