What Indonesian Consumers Want for Their Skincare and Cosmetic Products?

Published in

Inv Asia

5 min readNov 4, 2019

Various products of cosmetics. Photo credit: tulipmag.com

Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, Director General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Textile of Indonesia, stated in public that he was very confident in achieving an annual growth rate of 9% [1] in beauty and personal care industry in Indonesia in 2019. Behind the rapid growth, there are multiple factors: favorable policy, changes in consumer behaviors and emerging of platforms.

Indonesia’s Beauty and Personal Care Industry Worth $ 7 Billion by 2023

‘Globaldata’, the world-leading data analysis company, [2] estimates that the market size of beauty and personal care in Indonesia will reach IDR 10.51 trillion (about US$7 billion) in 2023, from IDR 7.3 trillion (about US $5 billion) last year.

In the whole beauty and personal care industry, skincare will keep occupying the highest market share and will lead the race by 9.6% GAGR.

Thanks to a biological diversity in both land and sea, Indonesia has abundant natural ingredients for skincare products, such as aloe, marine collagen, and essential oil.

Utama Spice Face Serum. Photo Credit: http://asia7-5.blog.caixin.com/

Plenty of Opportunities in Different Segments

People are gradually getting rid of the stereotype that beauty and skincare products are only for women.

More brands are targeting skincare products for men- including facial cleanser, moisturizer, anti-aging serums etc.

Advertisement for Men’s skincare. Photo Credit: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/

People across Indonesia are willing to spend more in personal care. Big brands such as Unilever are down to rural township areas and witness a rapid growth. For middle and high-income populations living in cities, they are upgrading to international high-end brands as well to increase their quality of life,

What do Indonesian consumers want?

Pursue the sense of flawless and whiteness- exquisite at the pixel level

Considering the high temperature, humidity and urban pollution in Indonesia, sunscreen products with good protection and coverage tend to be always popular.

Although Indonesia is in an area with strong sun exposure, consumers have not given up their pursuit of whitening. Korean make-up is highly praised for the whiteness and healthy luster of skin.

COSRX product, Sunny Snail Tone Up Cream collaborating with Sunny Dahye, Beauty Influencer from South Korea. Photo Credit: journal.sociolla.com

2. Products highlighting eyebrows and face

In addition to the popular Korean make-ups, the American style make-ups that highlight eyebrows and contouring face are also popular among Indonesian female consumers. The Kardashian family is the object of imitation.

Kylie Jenner, one of Kardashian Family launched a cosmetic brand called Kylie Cosmetics. Photo credit: popbuzz.com

3. Products understanding millennials consumers

Brands who understand social media win over millennial consumers.

When the young generations share a post on social media, it is more than posting- it is about sharing their values, sense of belongings and expressing themselves.

For brands who can combine their brand images with qualities such as diversity, empowerment and confidence, more Indonesian customers are willing to speak for them on social media.

BLP, a beauty brand founded by local star makeup artists in Indonesia, defines itself as a brand that can be used by EVERY Indonesian girl. Through affordable prices and popular items, BLP makes itself a “must-buy” product for every “National Girls”.

4. Products fitting the unique lifestyle behind religious

For Muslim consumers, the products they can choose are mainly Muslim certified cosmetics. Muslim law has the rule of which chemical ingredients can be used (do not contain fat, alcohol, etc.)

Wardah is the first Muslim certified cosmetics company in Indonesia. Wardah is investing to become a young, social-media-friendly and fashionable brand. They build a relationship with consumers by sponsoring fashion shows, social media campaigns for Mother’s Day, and providing skincare advice during Eid al Fitr.

There are also international brands fighting for Muslim markets. It is competitive to offer products that serve their needs, respect their religion and lifestyle as well as embrace their identities.

Wardah advertisement for Exclusive Flawless Cover Cushion. Photo Credit: www.wardahbeauty.com

Sociolla: Combination of social and e-commerce

Social Bella is a beauty platform providing consumers with brand information, reviews and online shopping for beauty and skincare products.

Social Bella offers two types of platforms for consumers to choose from.

The first is the official brand platform—Sociolla.

There are 197 brands in Sociolla, some are exclusive at Sociolla. For example, local Lipstick Brand BLP beauty- which set a record of more than 4,000 Lipsticks sold in two hours with a series of marketing activities on Instagram.

The second type is the marketplace platform—Beautylink, accessible for third-party merchants to sell products.

There are 480 brands on the Beautylink platform, including well-known ones such as The Body Shop, Jo Malone and Clinique. The existence of Beautylink is mainly to enrich SKUs because the Indonesian government stipulates that local agents are required to obtain import licenses and dealer licenses to become official distributors.

The latest released SO.CO is a combination platform of content and e-commerce, which enables consumers to act as multiple roles in a platform.

With a platform where users create a profile and create content, SO.CO will have a better understanding of users and provide more personalized and accurate recommendations.