Four up-and-coming Chinese Cosmetics brands hot on the heels of Perfect Diary
With the success of Perfect Diary, a brand that has achieved rapid growth, many new color cosmetics brands have been popping up in China. We take a look at four of these new brands that have not limited themselves only to the Chinese market but have begun actively expanding overseas into Japan and the West.
In the Chinese cosmetics market, Perfect Diary stands superior over global brands in the online world. According to a Chinese industry research institute, Perfect Diary took the number one place for all sales from this year’s “618” shopping event, which was held on several platforms on June 18, outdoing formidable rivals. Recently the company has raised fresh funds and has grown to a market value of 4 billion dollars.
Florasis attains a higher July GMV than Perfect Diary
Threatening Perfect Diary’s position is Florasis, which was launched in 2017 by Zhejiang Yige Enterprise Management Group. Both brands were launched around the same time, but while Perfect Diary went on to become a big talking point, Florasis started off receiving much less attention. However, Florasis’s 2019 sales on Alibaba Group’s Tmall achieved over $218 million, and the brand currently has a rapidly growing presence.
According to local media, Florasis’s July GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) on Alibaba platforms was $28 million, a 165.5% boost from the same month in the previous year, and well in excess of Perfect Diary’s $22 million. Also, while only 13% of Perfect Diary’s items sold over 10,000 units in a month, for Florasis this figure was 34%.
Florasis’s branding is distinct in its emphasis on images of “traditional China”. For their brand ambassadors too, they’ve employed celebrities with a “retro” vibe, and their visual materials use colors and motifs associated with traditional Chinese paintings. At the same time, they’re also building a close relationship with China’s most influential male KOL (Key Opinion Leader) — Austin Li.
Not only did they employ him for a lipstick promotion in September last year, but they’ve also had Austin introduce Florasis products up to 45 times on live commerce between January and July this year. 40% of sales in Florasis’s flagship store in January and February ended up being thanks to Austin’s live commerce.
Florasis’s characteristic and elaborately designed goods, which feature natural beauty motifs actually engraved in the lipstick and colored powders, tend to catch plenty of attention, however, on social media, the usability of their lipstick is also being highly praised; drawing comments such as “I like how when applying it I feel its moistness and the warmth of the color” and “it doesn’t easily lose its color”.
Venus Marble expands even into Japan and Thailand
Recently there has been an increase in new brands that from the get-go have set their sights on expanding overseas and transforming into a global brand.
One of these is Venus Marble, a brand launched by American Weiman Cosmetics. The company was set up in Hong Kong in 2017 by founder Jianyi Chen, who had experience as an exchange student in the US. The brand is characterized by Western art-inspired designs, and its design director Yixun Chen has worked in the design teams of several famous brands that include Nike, Adidas, and Converse.
While the price range is low at between $8 and $22, the products exude a more high-end feel. Having been inspired by the trend of applying marble patterns in the background of Instagram pictures, they released a marble-patterned eyeshadow palette in August 2017. This proved a hit, and in just four months their GMV grew past $8.5 million. They ended up moving 1.4 million units in a year, and their 2018 sales exceeded $37.8 million.
With these results as a takeoff point, in 2019 they began selling in Japan and Thailand as well. Currently, overseas sales make up 10% of their overall sales. Their eyeshadow palette has especially received high praise on the web, with comments such as “the color is breathtakingly good” and “I love the amazing glittering lamé particles”. Counterfeits have already started appearing on the market in Thailand, and the company has alerted customers about these through their official Facebook account.
The company raised $1.4 million in June in a series A round of funding, and from here on they will likely further accelerate their expansion outside of China.
ZEESEA collaborates with the British Museum
ZEESEA, which was launched by Hangzhou Laifei Cosmetics in 2012, announced a series of products designed around novel concepts. Among them include an “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired eyeshadow which was produced in collaboration with the British Museum and a lipstick designed with Picasso motifs, and these have garnered attention in China. Even with the extra effort put into these products, they’ve stayed within a reasonable price range between $5 and $21.
On ZEESEA’s flagship Tmall store, their powder foundation series in collaboration with the British Museum has already sold over 6.68 million units overall. Its visual elements, such as carved seals that conjure up images of ancient Egypt, stand as distinctive, but the functionality is also proving favorable, with such comments being posted as “the powder is fine and the color natural-looking — it suits my skin well when I apply it” and “it makes my skin become so smooth”.
Millet Pepper takes on the West
A brand focused firmly on the Western market has also appeared — Millet Pepper, which was launched in 2018 by Meiya Cosmetics (Guangzhou).
In 2008, CEO Liang Guo established Guangzhou Baiku Electronics Technology, an e-commerce site agency. In 2014, the company was sold to L’Oréal for $70 million, and Guo served as Vice President of L’Oréal’s e-commerce business division. Based on this experience, he launched Millet Pepper and expanded primarily onto Tmall and JD.com.
The company started selling officially in September 2019, and even though their advertising campaign was minimal, in December of the same year their monthly sales were over $145,000. A contributor to this was the high sales per customer.
Guo, who had been seeing Chinese brands pop up one after another, realized that overall prices were on an upward trend and became determined to set his prices between the mid- to high range ($18 to $72). Along with instilling a look of luxury in all areas of design from the products to the packaging, Millet Pepper has also actively incorporated trendy elements that are popular among young people.
In overseas markets, they’re selling on their own global e-commerce site as well as through platforms such as Amazon in order to expand to 25 different countries and regions. The company has also focused efforts on marketing in Europe, employing Italy-based beauty influencer Maipu, whose YouTube video about Millet Pepper attracted over 24,000 views.
While the COVID-19 crisis continues around the world with no near end in sight, global brands are making fierce sales pitches in the recovering Chinese market. In spite of the circumstances, new and emerging brands in China have wasted no time in increasing their presence. For new brands that mainly sell online, the increased use of e-commerce during the pandemic is one reason they’ve been seeing good sales.
However, the future will no doubt see increasingly intense rivalry in the domestic Chinese market. The trend of new brands focusing on overseas from the get-go shows an intention not just to strengthen their brand’s power but also to diversify their revenue streams.
Text: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Team Roboteer
