In the era of new efficacy, how to build the unique competitiveness of plant ingredients?
In the era of fluctuating traffic, how to strengthen the foundation of a brand?
In the era of the rise of Chinese ingredients, how to make Chinese cosmetics go global?
Recently, the 5th Dr. Plant Sunscreen Festival, themed “Hot and Fiery, Facing the Sun”, successfully concluded at the Dr. Plant Shunde Factory. Taking this opportunity, CHAILEEDO interviewed Dr. Plant’s founder and chairman, Xie Yong, to explore the growth secrets of this brand, which has already reached 30 years old.
Creating a Sunscreen “Model” with Alpine Plant Extracts
With the gradual increase in temperature, the sunscreen season has arrived in the cosmetics market. According to consumer research data from CHAILEEDO Intelligence, sunscreen cosmetics are the preferred choice for consumers, and the market size of sunscreen cosmetics reached 30.547 billion yuan in 2023, with the consumer market continuing to expand.
In Xie Yong’s view, as the sunscreen market expands, consumers’ demands for products have become more refined. They not only want significant sun protection but also desire safety, low irritation, and hypoallergenic properties in the products. This is one of the core demands of the current sunscreen market. Therefore, developing milder and more effective sunscreens has become a key focus in the research and development of Dr. Plant’s sunscreen products.
However, Xie Yong also mentioned that the competition in the traditional sunscreen market is quite intense, with many sunscreen ingredients being monopolized by the West. For Chinese sunscreen products to break through, it is necessary to establish independent research and development advantages in product formulations and even in the field of ingredients. For Dr. Plant, which has been deeply involved in plant ingredients for many years, alpine plant ingredients naturally become its first choice.
Take the recently launched waterproof and translucent whitening sunscreen lotion as an example. This product has both whitening and sun protection properties. It incorporates the plant sunscreen ingredient Hovenia dulcis extract, which contains various natural flavonoids that have strong absorption capabilities for medium-wave ultraviolet UV-B (275-320nm) and provide good auxiliary sun protection effects.
At the same time, the product combines four alpine plant extracts, including Dendrobium officinale, Ligustrum lucidum, Saussurea involucrata, and Cordyceps militaris, in a scientifically compatible manner to reduce water loss and increase skin moisture content. It is worth mentioning that the Saussurea involucrata extract contains abundant components such as syringin and chlorogenic acid, which also have excellent protective effects against UV damage. Additionally, the added niacinamide PC and ascorbyl glucoside (AA2G) can form a triple whitening barrier with the Saussurea involucrata extract, achieving both sun protection and whitening effects.
In addition, at the event, several new products were introduced, including waterproof and translucent sunscreen lotion, refreshing high-protection sunscreen spray, revitalizing sunscreen essence milk, and transparent repairing sunscreen lotion. These products cover various sunscreen needs with multiple effects and scenarios, such as outdoor activities, seasonal transitions, dry skin, and whitening.
It is worth mentioning that at the event, Dr. Plant partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Yunnan Academy of Forestry to announce the Purple Dendrobium Conservation Action and jointly signed the “Global Initiative for Protecting Purple Dendrobium.” They will continue to deepen their cooperation in the field of biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, Dr. Plant announced that all profits from sunscreen products in 2024 would be used for biodiversity conservation and research on Purple Dendrobium, fully practicing corporate responsibility.
As Xie Yong said, Dr. Plant is a Chinese ingredient brand rooted in Chinese alpine plants. It adheres to the business philosophy of respecting nature, advocating science, and giving back to society, with a responsibility to contribute to the ecological environment of alpine plants.
From the Forbidden City to the Palace of Versailles, from China to the world
Going global has been a hot trend in the Chinese cosmetics industry over the past two years. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the export value of Chinese beauty and personal care products reached 45.8 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%. Southeast Asia and Japan and South Korea have become the most important export destinations.
In fact, as early as 2019, Dr. Plant opened its first store in Osaka, Japan, and subsequently opened single-brand stores in multiple countries. It can be said that Dr. Plant is one of the few Chinese cosmetics brands that have opened single-brand stores overseas. However, Xie Yong also candidly admitted to CHAILEEDO that it is not easy for Chinese brands to go global despite the popularity.
According to Xie Yong, there are several challenges for Chinese brands in going global, the first of which is overcoming policy constraints under trade protectionism to establish a foothold in local markets. For example, when Dr. Plant entered the Indonesian market, they discovered that every overseas brand had to apply for quotas from the Ministry of Commerce, with each brand only allowed to declare a limited quantity per year. This has become an invisible barrier for brands to expand in the local market.
To overcome this, Dr. Plant’s approach is to establish a presence in the local market by setting up research and development centers and production factories. This helps to strengthen local consumers’ awareness of Chinese products. Xie Yong revealed that Dr. Plant is currently gathering more resources to solve local product issues using local production resources.
Additionally, Xie Yong believes that Chinese brands still have a lot of room for improvement in storytelling compared to international brands. On one hand, there are natural cultural differences between Chinese brands and overseas markets. On the other hand, Chinese brands lack the accumulated time. It is worth mentioning that Dr. Plant is rooted in Chinese traditional herbal culture and relies on Chinese high-altitude plant resources. These will become powerful weapons for creating differentiation in competition.
“Actually, Chinese brands face significant challenges in going global, whether it’s price advantages or the acceptance level of natural products. We can only gradually change the habits of overseas consumers through a long period of time. It’s not easy, but Dr. Plant has found the brand concept of using high-altitude plant extracts for pure and beautiful skin, and the rest is perseverance,” said Xie Yong.
It is worth mentioning that Dr. Plant currently focuses on telling the story of Chinese cosmetics to the world in subtle ways. CHAILEEDO learned that to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, Dr. Plant has been designated as the skincare brand for the “From the Forbidden City to the Palace of Versailles: A Tribute to the Oriental Journey” event. Together with Xinhua Net, automobile manufacturer Shandong Longqi, and other renowned brands from China and France, they will embark on a journey to explore and discover, creating more opportunities for brand innovation and international cooperation and injecting more vitality into Sino-French friendship.
It is understood that this event is part of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism series of activities. Starting from Beijing on April 1st, the two-month journey will pass through cities in China and overseas, including Wuhan, Chengdu, Italy, Switzerland, and finally reach Paris, retracing the 1931 Oriental Journey. Throughout the event, Dr. Plant will serve as the official skincare provider, using the power of high-altitude plant extracts to care for the skin health of the travel team.
According to Xie Yong, this not only helps Dr. Plant gradually expand its brand influence but also helps Chinese brands establish brand awareness in the minds of overseas consumers. “We focus on high-altitude plants and start with the most easily accepted product, sunscreen, to tell foreign consumers that China also has excellent cosmetics and Chinese ingredients.”
Laying the foundation with channels, Dr. Plant builds the brand with ingredients
The above are just some of the milestones established by Dr. Plant in brand development. In 2023, Dr. Plant had already opened over 5,000 stores nationwide, with a retail turnover exceeding 4 billion yuan, ranking first among single-brand cosmetics stores. In addition, Dr. Plant’s Dendrobium skincare series also obtained Euromonitor’s certification as the top-selling Dendrobium skincare brand globally.
So, what will be Dr. Plant’s focus in 2024? Xie Yong’s answer is channels and ingredients.
Offline channels have always been the cornerstone of Dr. Plant’s brand development. Xie Yong told CHAILEEDO that offline channels provide customers with a better consumer experience, which has been Dr. Plant’s long-standing principle. At the same time, Dr. Plant has always believed that offline specialty stores are the most powerful channels for building the brand and the only channel for establishing the brand.
However, in the past two years, Dr. Plant has also noticed changes in consumer communication and consumption habits, with more focus shifting to online channels. Therefore, while maintaining the offline presence, Dr. Plant has also started to explore online live streaming channels. Nevertheless, Xie Yong still believes that the growth of online live streaming channels ultimately relies on the consumer trust and foundation built by Dr. Plant’s 5,000+ stores. Therefore, the construction and expansion of offline channels remain a top priority for Dr. Plant in 2024.
In terms of ingredients, Dr. Plant is continuously making breakthroughs. As early as ten years ago, Dr. Plant collaborated with the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and established the “Dr. Plant R&D Center” in partnership with them. They appointed Pei Shengji, a pioneer in Chinese ethnobotany, as the chief scientist. Today, the collaboration between Dr. Plant and the Kunming Institute of Botany has entered its second decade, and research and development have entered a new stage. According to Xie Yong, Dr. Plant is currently actively researching and developing new raw materials for cosmetics. In the near future, Dr. Plant will have fully self-developed cosmetic raw material products.
“The fundamental development of the cosmetics industry requires daring breakthroughs in raw materials.” Xie Yong stated that to develop traditional concepts, new methods and technologies are needed, and Dr. Plant’s research and development are delving into more specific directions, with the ultimate goal of molecular-level research on plant ingredient formulas. “It is challenging, even with a lower success rate than building a successful brand, but we still need to persist.”
Looking back at the 30-year journey of Dr. Plant, it is evident that they have consistently pursued a difficult yet correct path: based on the brand positioning of “high-altitude plants, pure and beautiful skin,” relying on offline channels, and resolutely following the path of independent research and development of Chinese ingredients. Currently, Dr. Plant is also becoming a role model for Chinese cosmetics brands venturing into the global market.
