What the future holds for the beauty industry <8 TRENDS>

The 26th China Beauty Expo concluded on May 14, 2021 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.  As a FMCG, up to date and accurate insights are particularly important.  Having experienced this year’s CBE, a trend gathering place and trend indicator for the beauty industry, 8 trends were discovered that is of great value.

01 New regulations catapults inspection

The new regulations published at the beginning of this year brought a lot of challenges to cosmetics enterprises. Cosmetics, specifically efficacy claims, and safety have become mandatory for inspection and testing, giving inspection and testing institutions greater demands. Some OEM/ODM enterprises have already begun to making arrangement in this field. CBE also set up an independent exhibition area for "Inspection and Testing" in Hall N6 for the first time, bringing together many professional inspection and testing institutions to showcase the latest inspection and testing technologies.

During the exhibition, NBC and BASF signed a strategic cooperation agreement, of which an important cooperation is on product testing. Bawei Biotechnology Corporation even brought its independent third-party testing agency – Youz Testing and setup its own pavilion within the pavilion. According to reports, its new industrial park has laid out more than 6,000 sqm of R&D and testing laboratories. OEM/ODM enterprises, the like of Tianjin SHINEMax and Guangdong Gaobao, all showcased cosmetics efficacy evaluation system as a key feature.

02 Technology, More Choices, Customization

In order to break out of the fierce competition in the cosmetics industry, enterprises R&D has been concentrating on how to apply the latest scientific technology and technical methods to their products. By incorporating science and technology, product innovation and commercial application transformation is accelerating.

Themed "Sense of Science and Technology", COSMAX brought a series of innovative products and exclusive patented technologies to the exhibition to display technology-enabled products. For example, X-teca patented technology used in skin care products, 3D embossing process of color cosmetics, etc.

Stratasys, an outstanding company in the field of 3D printing, is also helping the cosmetics industry, providing high-precision packaging form production at the R&D end, as well as providing consumers with personalized and customized packaging demands. Through the company's Stratasys J850 full-color multi-material 3D printer, various materials, textures and colors can be utilized.

At this year’s exhibition, machines that fully printed on powder box, fragrance bottle, etc. were exhibited, demonstrating the value of giving customers more creative freedom. It is reported that Supernine, a Hong Kong life and health management brand, has configured the first in-store 3D printing in its offline stores to meet the individual needs of customers from shapes to colors.

 

 

03 Traditional categories, more precise

The rapidly changing mask categories continue to differentiate on form and usage, even to the extreme. Beihao's exclusive black technology "nano-morphizes" platinum, adding platinum ingredients to the mask cloth and essence, even successfully passed the SGS certification.

NBC have since adopted electrospinning technology to develop bioactive nanofiber membranes, which can be made into various forms of dry membranes such as facial masks and eye masks.

The hair care category has also continued to get more specific. This year, more and more brands brought anti-aging and micro-ecological balance care concepts to the exhibition. Easycare launched a shampoo with a combination of bacillus and ingredients, which can effectively inhibit bacteria and dandruff while soothing the scalp. It is worth noting that although the market capacity of scalp care, fragrance and other sub-categories has not increased significantly recently, the supply end has gained enough attention. As the scalp care concept gradually gains popularity, OEM/ODM enterprises that reserve patents in advance will surely reap the first wave of market dividends.

04 Sustainability & Green Beauty

With (Clean Beauty) concept still being a hot topic, safety oriented vegan formula highlighter and lip gloss Besholor's loose powder is without talcum powder and plastic microspheres and its compact powder comes with the simplest formula.  "Minimalism" is especially meaningful under the current new regulations.

In terms of packaging, plastic reduction is also a hot trend, aiming at significantly increase the demand for using natural biodegradable materials, single materials, etc. SK chemicals launched a new chemical recycling program ECOTRIA CR series, which contains high-quality certified recycled materials, the same quality as traditional SK polyester, and can directly replace various existing applications.

 

05 KOL/millennials are the key

At present, millennials are more professional than ever through popular online communities, such as Xiaohongshu and Meixiu. Through absorbing online recommendation and promotion by experts, young consumers have become more professional in the field of cosmetics, and put forward more demands for product functionality, such as "light anti-aging", Post-95 anti-hair loss, etc.

The current young generation of consumers are already paying attention to skin care products at a younger age, some college students have already begun using anti-aging products. On the other hand, some post-90s even post 95s are aware of hair loss problems.

06 Pharmaceutical skincare

With consumption upgrades and rapid improvement in skincare awareness, consumers are paying more attention to healthy skin, especially for sensitive skin/anti-allergic skin. It is common for companies to utilize their own "pharmaceutical" experience.

Bayer launched its sensitive skincare brand Bellerain, aiming to create a "skin barrier, scientific intervention" to meet the diversified and multi-level skin care needs of the market. Lee Shin Biotech Cosmetics, a subsidiary of Taiho Group, employed their Bio-D3 targeted transdermal drug delivery system into the cosmetics industry.

07 Cross-border integration

With the rapid iteration of new products, cross-border integration has become a new trend, with common IP and product integration emerging endlessly. Taking advantage of the world-class cultural IP British Museum, Guangzhou Yueran launched ZEESE and its co-branded "Mysterious Egypt" series with sales exceeding 10 million.

Product categories are also constantly merging with IP. For example, crossover of makeup and skincare.  In addition, the scope of the cosmetics industry is also expanding, such as oral care products, feminine care products and pet care products.

 

08 Ins style, more interesting and fun

In the digital age, active social platform has allowed the cosmetics industry to continue to innovate in color and texture. The popularity of Ins style presents skincare, makeup in a more interesting and fun setting.

SHEENCOLOR Biotech Co., Ltd. launched two-color frequency conversion baking technology, using special paste powder conversion technology to create a 3D two-color high-gloss blush series with a zero-powder feeling and a French cream tart texture. Guangzhou Duoduo Cosmetics Co., Ltd. launched a jumping bounce powder, a touch of multi-color blending, so that novice makeup users can apply makeup with ease. Pang’s colorful facial masks changes the smear-type mask more diverse.   Skincare is not only a pursuit of efficacy, but also a touch of multi-color life on social media.

 

After years of development, China’s cosmetics industry is embarking on a new journey, whether it’s new regulations, newer technology, IP integration, category sub-division, China Beauty Expo has you covered.

For more trend and insights, category analysis, please follow the official WeChat account “ChinaBeautyExpoGlobal”.