#2 Unisex TrendWith Huge Potential

Just as men’s skin care consumption is gradually breaking the gender stereotype of traditional cosmetic consumption, many cosmetic brands for various reasons also began to abandon gender discrimination. Gender-neutral, and gender-free is becoming one of the important frontier trends of international cosmetics.

British cosmetic brand JECCA advocates that “Makeup Has No Gender”. The first gender-neutral cosmetic brand in the United States in 2018 covered all skin colors and genders, and South Korean first gender-free cosmetic brand LAKA in 2017 aimed at “bringing fun and real faces to everyone.” Japanese and Chinese markets are closely following this trend, developing new “gender-free” products and brands.

In the Chinese market, the consumption trend of men choosing unisex or women’s skin care brands not only changes the public's concept of masculinity, but also reveals the lack of high-end men’s skin care products in the market.
The demand for men’s skin care is increasingly subdivided and complex. Data shows that although most men still prefer brands for men only, nearly half of men are willing to use products of unisex or women’s brands.

The reasons why men use neutral or women’s brand are related to the products’ ingredients and formula, followed by gifts from female friends or partners, better user experience, and the cost performance. And one very important factor - men’s brands do not offer the specific function.

Men’s basic skin care products such as facial cleanser, toner and face cream have been recognized by most men, but the demand for high-end products such as sunscreen, eye cream and mask are not strong.

#3 Domestic Brands Exerting Strength With Impressive Performance

More and more international well-known brands, old domestic brands and cutting-edge Chinese brands have arrived at the “male” economy and established presence in men’s exquisite lifestyle products. In 2020, there were 11 financing cases in the field of men’s cosmetics and skin care, the highest compare to all previous years.

The new brand dearBOYfriend, who unveiled at CBE this year at the E7 Emerging Brands, stood out in the men’s skin care field.

According to QuestMobile, games are still a favorite category for young men. In view of the characteristics of this customer group, dearBOYfriend joined hands with LGD to launch game IP masks with a slogan that can be used when playing games. This kind of mask that caters to the daily needs of male consumers, fills the market for high-end skin care products and is becoming popular in the live streaming rooms of online celebrities.

The cutting-edge men’s cosmetics brand LANSERAL Blue Series, with 15 million RMB of financing last year, was also unveiled at this year’s CBE. Faced with differential characteristics of categories and markets, LANSERAL adopts the strategy of “filling in” rather than “replacing” to launch a four-in-one personal care products to meet specific scenarios such as business trip, travel, and fitness.

Many domestic brands which have been in development for many years also is paying more attention to this field.  GF, the first men’s skin care brand in the Chinese cosmetics market since 1992 came to CBE this year with the brand image of “Chinese technological expert in men’s skin care”, aimed at expanding to the middle and high-end men’s skin care market. It brought red and blue product lines, and launched a high-tech moisturizing and oil-control kit, including constant moisturizing and oil-control cleanser, essence water, and repair lotion, which fully meet the needs of various young consumers.

The GF Source-cleaned Oil-control Volcano Mud Cleanser also won the “2021 Meiyi Awards TOP Men’s Skin Care”.

Unveiled in 2016, Jin Shi adheres to the brand concept of specializing in men's oil control. This year, Jin Shi came to CBE with an efficient oil-control shampoo, balanced oil-control shower gel and many other products.

At present, men's skin care, as well as other types of men’s cosmetics market, is facing high growth and diversified demand with great potentials. In recent years, the market performance, which reflects the extraordinary performance of Chinese skin care brands, has won the favor and recognition of young male consumer groups, not less than foreign cosmetic brands.

The new Chinese men’s cosmetic brands have ushered in new development opportunities. For brands and products to improve user stickiness in the current and more diversified market environment, they need to improve their quality and pay more attention to the clear expression of values and aesthetic appreciation to form the resonance between brand concept and consumer needs.