Thailand: Lip Makeup Sees High Growth, with Hydration and Sun Protection as Core Functionalities

Thailand ranks second in Southeast Asia's online beauty and skincare market. Combined annual sales of beauty and personal care products across the country's two leading marketplaces reached nearly $1.4 billion in 2023, a 45% year-on-year increase. On one of those two marketplaces, sales built momentum from August 2023 onward and the fourth quarter alone accounted for over 40% of annual revenue. For a brand planning entry the launch calendar therefore matters as much as the assortment, and its range should be in market before demand starts to build in August.

Lip cosmetics. On one of the two leading marketplaces, their sales reached 36 million USD in 2023, up 110% year on year, which put them among the fastest-growing beauty and personal care sub-categories. Within the category, matte lipstick, lip balm and lip gloss are the most popular formats, with matte the clear preference among Thai consumers.

Because those are the properties Thai buyers chose. Lip balms that combine sun protection with moisturising properties became consumers' most popular choice in 2023, which suggests that buyers choose lip products for what they do as well as for how they look, and that copy which leads with colour rather than function may under-sell to them.

Function-led lip products, timed to the second half of the year. Lead the range with matte lipstick, since it is the stated preference, and make the hero claim functional, with sun protection and hydration together, because lip balms combining the two were consumers' most popular choice. Build inventory and marketing weight for the months from August onward, when sales on one leading marketplace gained momentum and the fourth quarter alone carried over 40% of annual revenue. Treat Thailand as a market in its own right, since it is the second-largest online beauty and skincare market in Southeast Asia.