Key Points of the Article
1. The unexpected popularity of the "Chinese makeup look" in Japan has become an opportunity for many brands to go international, with Japan also being a preferred destination for these brands. In addition, due to the large population base and similar consumption patterns to domestic markets, many brands choose Southeast Asia, launching products that cater to the local climate and consumer demands.
2. Besides relying on overseas e-commerce platforms, social media promotion is also an effective tool to connect with consumers. However, there are still differences between domestic and international markets, with some countries still focusing on in-store shopping. Brands need to optimize offline consumer experiences while also leveraging social media to build consumer interest, thus continuously expanding their consumer base.
3. With consideration of the characteristics of overseas consumers, brands use strong cultural attributes such as Chinese culture and IP collaborations to enhance the visual impact of their products. Designs that are highly topical and culturally characteristic make consumers take notice, and the novelty and aesthetic appeal spur many consumers to make purchases.
4. Oriental aesthetic design has not only led many overseas consumers to make purchases but also reflects the potential of Chinese aesthetics to become an international trend. While packaging and design have become powerful tools for brand recognition, the quality of the cosmetics products themselves is still crucial. Brands need to keep optimizing their products to fit local preferences in terms of colors and texture, making ongoing improvements to prevent a situation where packaging exceeds product quality, which could result in negative feedback.
Looking overseas, thanks to the increasingly close global connections, "Made in China" continues to draw consumers from around the world, with many Chinese brands eagerly going international. According to the "China Brand Going Global Whitepaper," the overall trend for Chinese brand export amounts is rising, with a year-on-year increase of 29.9% in 2021. Among them, Huaxizi, as a representative of the cosmetic industry's global brands, has covered over 100 countries and regions, achieving remarkable results. In this wave of globalization, many cosmetic brands are embarking on their own "journey to mine gold abroad."
Domestic brands are not only gaining momentum in the domestic cosmetics market but are also steadily going global "to make a living." Looking around the world, which brands have achieved excellent results overseas? Which countries have become "auspicious grounds" for cosmetics to go global? What kind of adjustments have brand owners made to their product design and marketing strategies to suit local conditions? Taking a closer look at the "Age of Great Navigation" for domestic beauty brands, Moojing Market Intelligence explores with you the intricacies of this journey.
The "China Brand Going Global Whitepaper" identifies Huaxizi as one of the representative brands of the beauty industry going global. As a pioneer of domestic cosmetics going abroad, Huaxizi has not only won overseas reputation for its quality but also realized cultural exportation through Oriental aesthetic design. In 2019, the "Chinese-style makeup" went unexpectedly viral on Japanese social media platforms. Japan's interest in Chinese-style makeup became an opportunity for Huaxizi to go global. In 2021, Huaxizi entered the Amazon Japan site, where its carved highlighter, as one of the brand's star products, ranked 15th in the Amazon highlighter category.
As the saying goes, "No social media, no marketing," Huaxizi's global reach is also inseparable from the support of social media platforms. In 2022, renowned beauty blogger Jeffree Star posted a video review of Huaxizi products titled "the world's most beautiful makeup," greatly raising brand exposure. The brand's gorgeously packaged products with intricate detail received acclaim from Jeffree Star, with many consumers in the comments section recommending the brand and providing feedback on product makeup effects. In August 2022, Huaxizi makeup products also appeared in the Japanese drama "Animals," bringing more Japanese consumers to recognize the Huaxizi brand.
Moreover, Huaxizi's distinctive Oriental aesthetic design resonates with the "Chinese style" held by overseas consumers. The brand's products featuring ethnic prints and carvings are particularly eye-catching. Huaxizi also uses ancient-style videos to introduce its products,allowing overseas consumers to perceive the brand's concept of drawing design inspiration from its cultural heritage, which is another key factor that has led to Huaxizi's popularity abroad.
The international success of the "Chinese makeup look" has become a favorable wind propelling Huaxizi's global expansion. Oriental aesthetic design has led many overseas consumers to purchase their products. Huaxizi's globalization has become a classic case of domestic brands moving towards high-end internationalization, also reflecting the potential of Chinese aesthetics to become a global trend. Packaging and design have become powerful tools for brands to reach out across borders, but brands still need to optimize products based on local colors and textures to prevent a situation where packaging overpowers the product, leading to negative feedback.
Zeesea is also one of the brands that went global early on. Considering the makeup habits and aesthetics of overseas consumers, Zeesea chose Japan as its main battleground abroad, opting for simultaneous online and offline penetration. Zeesea has established online platforms such as Amazon while also actively entering offline cosmetics brand stores. In terms of products, Zeesea has formed independent product teams based on the preferences of consumers from different countries and skin types, and designs products oriented towards the needs of overseas consumers, making them better suited for local markets. Concerning product safety, all Zeesea products are certified by BOKEN, Japan's authoritative inspection institution, a move that not only assures overseas consumers about brand products but is also a necessary step towards high-end internationalization for the Zeesea brand. At present, several Zeesea eyeshadow palettes are among the top sellers on the Amazon Japan site, well-received by Japanese consumers.
For overseas consumers, product strength is one aspect, and brand stories and cultural values also influence their purchasing decisions. To make the brand image warmer and blend brand aesthetics with culture, Zeesea has launched co-branded series with several globally renowned IPs such as the British Museum and Picasso,which not only drive up product prices but also enrich the cultural content and enhance brand visibility overseas, strengthening a highly recognizable brand logo.
In the mask era, lip cosmetics seemed to have no place to be used Fully and also brought a significant impact to the lip cosmetics industry. According to Moojing Market Intelligence data, in 2022 the sales of lip cosmetics categories on the Tmall Taobao platform amounted to 12.72 billion RMB, a year-on-year decline of 28.5%. In the midst of this industry winter, Into You nevertheless attracted the favor of capital investors.
After completing a multi-million RMB angel round investment in June 2021, Into You also completed its Series A funding in November 2022,with Into You's Tmall Taobao platform sales reaching 748 million RMB in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 61.8%. Nowadays, the lip cosmetics track is increasingly crowded. In addition to classic lipsticks and lip glazes, concepts such as lip mud, lip cream, and lip powder are emerging one after another, and Into You's lip mud products introduced at the end of 2019 have been widely acclaimed.
The popularity of the lip mud products also hinges on Into You's insight into the pain point between makeup effect and texture; lip mud has filled the gap between matte lipstick and lip glaze, creating a matte makeup look while also ensuring spreadability and coverage. The collaboration between Into You's lip mud products and the pigment brand M. Graham further deepens its reputation for rich colors and good spreadability and leverages the attributes of pigments to communicate to consumers the versatility of using lip mud, not limited to the lips but also on cheeks, eyes, and other parts of the face. Image Source: Internet
The platform's substantial traffic and brand planting notes aid consumers in making decisions, attracting consumers to share spontaneously, continuously accumulating brand reputation, and thus forming a "B2K2C" marketing loop.[XXX 42] Due to Japan belonging to the same Asian cultural sphere, and J-style makeup to a certain extent influencing domestic consumers' aesthetic preferences, the cultures and aesthetics of the two countries are relatively close. Into you has chosen Japan as its first stop for expanding overseas. According to Amazon Japan data, Into you currently ranks fourth in the lipstick category. On the Xiaohongshu platform, many overseas Chinese share Into you's overseas offline counters and buying channels. [XXX 43] Image Source: Amazon Japan [XXX 44] Image Source: Xiaohongshu Platform @XIAOXIAO He [XXX 45] Flower Knows: Niche Trends Blow Towards Mass Consumption, Girly Style Favored by Japanese Consumers [XXX 46] ¶ [XXX 47] In the highly homogenized makeup race, many makeup brands generally have their own niche positioning and tone. Flower Knows is positioned in J-style girly fashion. Although its early audience was mainly from the pan-two-dimensional crowd, [XXX 48] Flower Knows has awakened the "girly heart" inside female consumers with its highly attractive and strong visual impact product design, and gradually turned niche demand into mass consumption. [XXX 49] The strong visual differentiation of brand design allowed it to stand out quickly among many brands, and a low unit price within a hundred yuan lowered the barrier for consumers to try it, while gift box packaging gave consumers a sense of unboxing ritual, optimizing the consumer experience. [XXX 50] Flower Knows’ distinctively girly-heart design inherently had social attributes and talkability, thereby prompting consumers to spontaneously share and drive brand visibility. In 2022, the brand's monthly average volume on social platforms (Douyin, Weibo, Xiaohongshu) was about 10,000, with female users still dominating on Weibo and Douyin platforms, accounting for over 85%. [XXX 51] Image Source: Moojing Market Intelligence [XXX 52] Through the various series of Flower Knows products, it is not hard to see [XXX 53] the brand's "product IP" marketing strategy, [XXX 54] dissecting the current young people's IP consumption mentality and then launching different types of girly series for various community groups, such as the teddy bear series, unicorn series, etc. In addition, by enriching product content with a wide range of series peripherals, such as stickers, note pads, etc., the brand is embedded into consumers' lives, and there is even a phenomenon where consumers buy products for peripherals. [XXX 55] Image Source: Flower Knows Flagship Store [XXX 56] Flower Knows Brand's 2022 Tmall Taobao Sales Amount to 220 Million Yuan, a Year-on-Year Increase of 63.9%, While Achieving Outstanding Results, Also Stepping on the Long Road to Going Overseas. Girly style originated from Japan and South Korea, so it makes perfect sense for Flower Knows Brand to choose Japan as the first stop for going overseas, [XXX 57] Flower Knows Brand mainly adopts the approach of online KOL seeding promotion + offline physical store experience to reach local consumers. [XXX 58] Flower Knows Brand has entered many offline brand collection stores in Japan, such as LoFt, Plaza, Tokyu Hands, with a coverage rate exceeding 90%. In Japan's Shibuya, advertisement buses, and subways, Flower Knows also actively places advertisements to expand its visibility in Japan. In 2021, Flower Knows officially announced Miyawaki Sakura as the Asian brand ambassador, partly because of her local fame in Japan, and partly because she belonged to IZONE girl group, which also had a certain popularity in Korea and China at that time. The tri-country label of China, Japan, and Korea matched the international goals of Flower Knows. [XXX 59] Image Source: Xiaohongshu Platform @Orange Haruka, Weibo Platform @FlowerKnows [XXX 60] Hezhuang, FELVI: Domestic Reaction Lukewarm, But Making Waves Overseas [XXX 61] ¶ [XXX 62] Among many brands going overseas, we have also found some that have blazed a different trail—Hezhuang and FELVI. [XXX 63] Hezhuang Brand's 2022 Tmall Taobao platform sales amounted to 11.578 million yuan, showing a clear downward trend overall. Looking at the products, the girly lip mud sells well in the domestic market, with the split warehouse design being a major highlight. The separate design of the paste and the lip brush makes the amount taken more controllable, and the silicone brush head is easier to clean. From the sales perspective, Hezhuang does not seem to have made a big splash in the domestic market. In 2021, Hezhuang Brand went overseas to Japan and [XXX 64] became famous in Japan with the "Old Shanghai Retro Style 42-Color Mahjong Eyeshadow," its mahjong design with a strong cultural feature and novelty instantly caught the Japanese consumers' eyes, leading many to purchase it. [XXX 65] Image Source: Moojing Market Intelligence [XXX 66] Unlike the domestic market, the Japanese market's media mainly focuses on offline, with most purchases occurring offline and online shopping platforms serving more of an auxiliary role. [XXX 67] Hezhuang Brand's Japanese official website is very well built, with strong visual impact, enriching the brand image while also increasing the online conversion rate. [XXX 68] Image Source: Hezhuang Brand Japanese Official Website [XXX 69] FELVI Brand's 2022 Tmall Taobao platform sales amounted to 13.747 million yuan, also showing a clear downward trend overall. The 15-color travel eyeshadow palette is one of the signature products in China, with products named after cities blending the concept of the city with eyeshadow colors. [XXX 70] Similar to Hezhuang Brand, although the domestic market reaction is average, [XXX 71] FELVI Brand was focused on the Southeast Asian market from the beginning, according to Moojing Oversea data, FELVI Brand’s 2022 Lazada Indonesia site sales amounted to 13.117 million yuan. [XXX 72] In product design, it also fully considers the climate characteristics and makeup needs of Southeast Asia, with products focusing on oil control, waterproof, and sweat-proof functions. Since the majority of Southeast Asia consists of developing countries, based on the average consumption level locally, FELVI Brand adopts a friendly price strategy, generally controlling prices within the range of 2-5 US dollars, and its high cost-performance makes its audience wider. [XXX 73] Image Source: Moojing Market Intelligence [XXX 74] Summary [XXX 75] ¶ [XXX 76] Combining the path of many brands going overseas, strong cultural attributes and visual impact become key factors in opening brand visibility. [XXX 77] In terms of products, the color and texture need to be adjusted according to local aesthetics, climate characteristics, and consumption habits. Besides products, overseas consumers also pay more attention to brand stories, cultural values, and brands with rich cultural connotations and warmth are more conducive to improving consumer stickiness.
