Korean makeup giants have entered the game of pure_beauty, can they save the decline?

The new outlet that Korean makeup desperately needs has arrived, and the outlet for pure beauty has arrived.

Before you know it, Korean makeup is no longer attractive to Chinese consumers. The mediocre Korean affordable beauty has been abandoned by mature Chinese consumers. Only a few high-end skin care brands such as Whoo and Sulwhasoo are left in China. The market is relatively firm.

Data shows that in 2021, the share of Korean makeup in the Chinese market will only be 3.6%, and Korean makeup is no longer a symbol of the trend. The fundamental reason for this result is nothing more than that consumers think that the quality of Korean cosmetics products is not strong, the brand power is not strong, the research and development is light, and the products do not have outstanding advantages in terms of ingredients.

Looking back at the peak period of Korean makeup, it has brought many new consumer trends to the Chinese beauty market, such as BB creams, air cushion creams and other categories. However, in recent years, when Chinese consumers have changed their consumption awareness and concepts, Korean makeup has not changed. The most obvious thing is that when Chinese consumers began to switch to the ingredient party, Korean makeup did not catch the trend and lacked iterative innovative products in terms of ingredient efficacy.

At the crossroads, Korean makeup urgently needs to reshape a new image for consumers. Today, the strong wind of pure beauty that has emerged in the European and American markets has entered the Korean makeup circle. Korean makeup giants LG Life and Health and Amore Pacific have successively announced the launch of the first pure beauty product line for their brands.

Dream Makeup, Feiseran Debut Pure Beauty Product Line

LG Life and Health has launched a purist makeup brand, freshian, which was launched in China in July. Fiseran is built by the technical team of the LG Life and Health Research Institute, combined with the cutting-edge technology of the R&D team, insists not to use any animal raw materials directly or indirectly in the production process, refuses animal experiments, and insists on using additive-free safe formulas , to bring consumers trustworthy pure beauty products and provide a high-standard pure beauty experience.

Another giant, Amorepacific’s brand, Dream Makeup, also recently announced the launch of its first pure beauty product line, the Wisdom Muscle Active Series.

It is reported that the Zhicui Muscle Series does not add risky ingredients and contains more than 90% natural ingredients. The first batch of 4 new products is launched. Among them, the brand-new Dream Makeup Balance Water Emulsion is added with the unique "black yeast" essence found in Jeju Island by Amorepacific Research Institute, the ganoderma lucidum of Gangwon-do, Korea extracted by microfiltration, and the whole Centella asiatica extract, combined with the five major hyaluronic acids*, which can quickly Soothes irritated skin, improves temporary redness, and maintains skin balance. The series is currently available in China.

Strictly speaking, the launch of the pure beauty product line by Mengzhuang this time is not the first time Amorepacific has been involved in this track. In 2202, Amorepacific took a small stake in Milk Makeup, an American pure beauty brand, which was also one of the reform strategies that Amorepacific sought for new growth points.

In the past two years, new concepts such as pure beauty and bio-organic have become popular in the Chinese market. At present, in addition to Shiseido, Procter & Gamble, L'Oreal, Kose, Unilever and other giants, Korean beauty giants will also accelerate their entry into the track of pure beauty.

What is clear is that this "revolution" brought about by pure beauty has swept the entire international cosmetics industry.

So, can Korean makeup catch the trend of pure beauty?

Relevant data predicts that the global pure beauty market is expected to reach US$11.56 billion in 2027, with a compound growth rate of 12.07% from 2020 to 2027. In addition to the aforementioned Shiseido, L'Oreal and other major European, Japanese and Korean giants entering the market, local Chinese companies are also taking advantage of the situation.

In recent years, a number of pure beauty brands have emerged in the domestic market, covering skin care and make-up. From the perspective of market performance, Drunk Elephant, Farmacy and Milk Makeup belong to the top brands of pure beauty makeup. Among the domestic brands, MCL Huaxikou, LAN Lan and Dewy Lab are the best performers. Other brands have relatively average sales.

This also means that there is still a lot of room for growth in the domestic pure beauty market.

According to the Brand Essence Market Research market research report, Asia is the fastest growing region and the main driver of the pure beauty market.

While the clean beauty trend in Asia started late, it is gaining momentum.

However, at present, there is no standard definition and specification for pure beauty, which generally covers elements such as natural, green, no additives, transparent ingredients, and sustainability.

These are not simple concepts for brands, which means higher R&D strength and stricter quality control. So, is this a threshold for Korean makeup that is accustomed to fast fashion light research and development.

As a leading company in the Korean cosmetics OEM/ODM industry, COSMAX has publicly stated that "pure beauty" will become the focus of color cosmetics research and development. At present, in addition to the Korean makeup giants in the layout of the pure beauty track, other Korean pure beauty brands such as Cosrx, Abib, etc. have also entered the Chinese market through Tmall Global.