At that time, Korean cosmetics were popular in China, and now it is the turn of Chinese cosmetics to be popular in South Korea.
Data shows that in the first eight months of this year, China's cosmetics exports to South Korea increased by about 8% year-on-year.
A Korean beauty blogger also said: "I wear makeup now, and I can't do without a Chinese brand concealer." "Lip clay products such as Chinese makeup have also appeared in the dressing rooms of Korean celebrities.
In Japan, Chinese cosmetics are also very popular.
According to statistics from the Japan Imported Cosmetics Association, Japan's imports of makeup products from China in 2022 increased by nearly 44% from the previous year, with a total of 104.5 billion yen (about 08 million yuan), ranking third among countries importing cosmetics in Japan.
In the first half of this year, Japan's imports of makeup products from China increased by about 45% year-on-year to about 61.34 billion yen, jumping to the second place; Among them, the import value of eye cosmetics reached 51.<> billion yen, a year-on-year increase of more than <>%, ranking first in terms of growth.
Why is the popularity of domestic cosmetics skyrocketing?
Zhang Yi, chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, said in an interview with China News Service that this year is a turning point for cosmetics companies, and it has become an inevitable trend for domestic cosmetics to go overseas.
According to Zhang Yi's analysis, domestic beauty products are very popular in Japan and South Korea, on the one hand, because they have improved in technology research and development and creative design in recent years. Due to economic reasons, markets such as Japan and South Korea have also begun to pursue cost-effective products this year, and domestic cost-effective beauty products are naturally "out of the circle" in overseas markets.
On the other hand, Shopee, Lazada, SHEIN, and TikTok have expanded their territory to Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
In addition to the high cost performance, the improvement of the strength of Chinese makeup brands is also a major reason for their overseas popularity.
Japanese media reported that many consumers had a negative impression of Chinese cosmetics such as "poor quality". But recently, the quality of Chinese products has been improving, and it has quickly captured the "Generation Z" Japanese youth. In Japanese social media discussions, the "list of Chinese makeup brands carefully selected by beauty bloggers" has become a reference standard for many Japanese girls to buy cosmetics.
Compared with Japanese and Korean cosmetics, which have occupied a place in the domestic beauty market for a long time, what are the shortcomings faced by domestic beauty products after going overseas?
Zhang Yi believes that domestic beauty products have certain advantages in the product concept of pure natural plant extracts and Chinese herbal extracts, but the recognition in overseas markets is relatively low, and continuous and stable product research and development and brand marketing are still needed.
Why "30 years in Hedong, 30 years in Hexi"?
In stark contrast to the explosion of Chinese cosmetics in South Korea, Korean cosmetics are slowly "not fragrant" in China.
Korean cosmetics brands such as innisfree, Face Shop, and EDI House, which were familiar to people in the past, are now in the limelight significantly. According to reports, at the beginning of 2022, innisfree stores in the mainland market closed from more than 800 to only 140, and Etude House has long since completely closed all offline stores in the mainland market.
This phenomenon is directly related to the rise of domestic products. According to the report "2023 China Cosmetics Market Industry Development and Consumption Insights", in recent years, China's domestic cosmetics brands have grown rapidly in strength by virtue of the "national trend" and the parity route, and initially have the scale to compete with international brands. In 2023, more than seventy percent of consumers will express positive views on "national tide beauty", and more than three-thirds of them are willing to support "national fashion beauty" products.
In addition, according to the "White Paper on China's Cosmetics Industry" previously released by CIC Consulting, since 2022, there have been many domestic cosmetics with an annual revenue of more than 20 billion yuan, and the brand camp of more than 10 billion yuan has expanded.
The "30 years of Hedong, 30 years of Hexi" of cosmetics actually reflects the improvement of industrial capacity. Some South Korean media said that the technical capabilities of Chinese products have been greatly improved, and it is difficult for South Korea to occupy an advantage in the Chinese market. (Text/Li Xiaoyu, Hua Zhuoma)