Scent Leads China's Body Care and Rivals Efficacy in Hair

Introduction#

Fragrance has moved from a secondary product attribute to the main purchase driver in China's personal care market. In MAT2025, the moving annual total covered by Moojing's H1 2025 report, scent accounted for 50.2% of all consumer evaluation buzz in body care, more than five times the next dimension, hydrating and moisturizing, at 10.0%. In hair care, fragrance took 36.8% of e-commerce consumer focus, less than two percentage points behind functional efficacy.

Online sales of fragrance-retaining body care products reached CN¥ 12.64 billion in MAT2025, up 61.8% year on year (YoY) from CN¥ 7.81 billion, and online sales of fragrance-retaining hair care products reached CN¥ 9.37 billion, up 38.5% YoY. Both sub-segments are growing at roughly twice the rate of their parent categories, and we believe this reflects a lasting change in what Chinese consumers look for when they buy personal care products.

Why Scent Now Rivals Efficacy#

The rise of fragrance to near-parity with efficacy in hair care reflects a wider change in what personal care means to Chinese consumers. Asked why scent matters in their hair care choices, 46.8% of respondents cited relaxation as the main reason, followed by image management at 28.9% and lifestyle rituals at 24.3%. This suggests that consumers buy hair care partly as a self-care ritual and treat fragrance as the clearest sign of that ritual's quality.

Social media discussion of "scent" in hair care reached 5.0 million posts in MAT2025, up 25.7% YoY, and in MAT2025 scent-related discussion on major Chinese social platforms exceeded discussion of ingredients, texture and quantity combined.

In body care the shift is stronger still. Scent leads product evaluation buzz by a wide margin, while hydrating and moisturizing, historically the main consideration in body care, takes just 10.0% and cleansing power, the most basic functional claim, only 1.6%.

Hair Care: Fragrance-retaining Products Grow 38.5% to CN¥ 9.37 Billion#

Sales of fragrance-retaining hair care products grew from CN¥ 6.76 billion in MAT2024 to CN¥ 9.37 billion in MAT2025, an increase of CN¥ 2.61 billion and growth of 38.5% YoY, while the overall hair care market grew 17.9% over the same period.

The product formats taking this growth span the category. Shampoos and conditioners positioned on long-lasting fragrance have become mainstream, and hair mists and leave-in fragrance products, which were niche formats in earlier years, are being adopted quickly. The formulation approach most common among high-performing products is the three-note composite fragrance structure of top, middle and base notes, taken from fine perfumery and applied to everyday hair care. It lets brands tell a more sophisticated fragrance story and claim longevity credibly, since the base notes persist long after application.

Brands in this sub-segment increasingly use the language of fine fragrance, such as "emotional soothing," "scent journey" and "fragrance wardrobe." This framing tells consumers that they are buying a sensory experience as well as a cleansing product, and it supports a price premium over commodity alternatives.

Body Care: Fragrance-retaining Products Reach CN¥ 12.64 Billion at +61.8% Growth#

Body care is commercially the larger fragrance opportunity. Sales of fragrance-retaining body care products grew from CN¥ 7.81 billion to CN¥ 12.64 billion, an increase of CN¥ 4.83 billion in a single year, and at 61.8% YoY this growth is well ahead of the 27.0% growth of the overall body care market. Shower gels and body lotions positioned on scent retention account for most of this sub-segment's sales, while shower oils and body care oils are growing quickly from smaller bases.

Fragrance in this segment is more than a marketing claim added to existing formulations. Brands in fragrance-retaining body care are reformulating with new fixatives, encapsulation technologies and higher concentrations of fragrance oil to extend scent longevity, and the consumer expectation that body care should work as a wearable fragrance throughout the day is raising the technical standard for the whole category.

Fragrance Family Dynamics: Mainstream vs. Emerging#

Within the fragrance-retaining segment, consumer preferences are moving in two directions at once. Traditional floral fragrances such as cherry blossom, rose and camellia still hold the largest absolute share, and in body care floral fragrances account for CN¥ 7.11 billion in sales, up 22.0% YoY, which makes them the anchor of mainstream consumer preference.

The fastest growth, however, is in emerging fragrance families. In body care, oriental fragrances grew 137.1% YoY to CN¥ 0.54 billion, gourmand fragrances grew 109.9% to CN¥ 0.44 billion woody fragrances grew 63.9% to CN¥ 1.07 billion, and aromatic fragrances, a larger family, grew 36.6% to CN¥ 2.90 billion. We believe these families are benefiting from Chinese consumers' growing familiarity with fine perfumery, whose influence is extending into daily personal care.

Hair care follows the same pattern with a sharper tilt toward emerging notes, as fig, lime and green tea, which barely registered in earlier years, are growing at rates above 300%.

For brands, this points to a fragrance portfolio in two tiers. Mainstream floral and fruity offerings reach the broadest consumer base, while premium positioning and the highest growth rates sit in oriental, woody and gourmand families. Brands that establish credible positions in these emerging families early, while there are still few competitors, can build the associations that will shape how consumers see these segments as they grow.

Oil-based Hair Care Grows Alongside Fragrance#

A closely related trend shows how fragrance and functional innovation can reinforce each other. Oil-based hair care, which covers scalp essential oils, hair oils and serum oils, has grown quickly, with social media topic volume rising to 46,000 posts, an increase of 861.8% YoY. Sales of scalp oil reached CN¥ 1.64 billion, up 66.8% YoY, while sales of hair care oil reached CN¥ 3.84 billion, up 11.2% YoY.

Oil-based hair care products carry stronger and more persistent fragrance than water-based formulations, because the oil itself acts as a fixative and extends scent longevity. Brands that enter oil-based hair care with strong fragrance positioning can therefore credibly deliver the fragrance retention that consumers increasingly expect. The French brand René Furterer has shown the premium potential of scalp oils, with products at an average price of CN¥ 570.

The Competitive Implications#

The shift toward fragrance has changed competition in the category in three ways.

First, investment in fragrance is now a basic requirement. Brands without a credible fragrance story, or with generic scents, will find it increasingly hard to justify prices above commodity levels, particularly in body care, where strong efficacy cannot make up for weak fragrance.

Second, expertise in fine fragrance has become a competitive advantage for players from outside traditional personal care. Maison Margiela's Lazy Weekend Body Lotion Shower Gel Gift Set and Rituals' Amsterdam Body Care Fragrance Gift Set are examples of brands bringing olfactory credibility to personal care gifting and charging the premium prices that come with it. Traditional personal care players without a fine fragrance heritage will need to buy that expertise through acquisitions and partnerships or build it in-house.

Third, the social media vocabulary of fragrance has become a distinct content format. Consumers sharing fragrance reviews on Douyin and Xiaohongshu use the note structure and longevity language of fine fragrance, discussing "dry-down," "projection" and "sillage" when they talk about shower gel and body lotion, and brands that can produce content in this language convincingly reach the most engaged part of the personal care audience.

Conclusion#

The fragrance-retaining sub-segments in hair and body care, both growing at about twice the rate of their parent categories, reflect consumers who buy personal care as a sensory and emotional experience. We believe brands that have invested in fragrance as a core capability are best placed to take the growth, while those that have not have a limited period in which to build distinct positions before consumer preferences settle further.

For the full category analysis, download the H1 2025 China Personal Care Market Report.