1. Chinese Brands Among Top Essence Brands to Grow Fast
As of August, the top 30 best-selling essence brands in 2021 with rapid growth rates above 200%
1 2
are mostly Asian brands, with the exception of U.S. brands Murad and Obagi. While traditional big
names including SK-II, Estee Lauder, Olay and Lancome continue to occupy the top 4 positions in
China's online market, it is worthwhile to examine factors that contribute to the hyper growing
Chinese local brands, including Biophytogenesis, Lan and PMPM.
2021 refers to the period of January ~ August 2021.
1
Growth rates are calculated by comparing individual brand revenue between January ~ August 2021 to
2
that of January ~ August 2020 on Tmall and Taobao platforms
Fast-Growing Brands Among Top 30 Essence Brands in 2021 on Tmall/Taobao
Rank in
2021
Brand Brand Origin
Jan ~ Aug 2021
Essence Revenue
Jan ~ Aug 2020
Essence Revenue
YoY Revenue
Growth
9 QuadHA CN 281M 70M 301.8%
10 Proya CN 271M 79M 240.8%
19 Biophytogenesis CN 113M 4M 2548.90%
22 Dr.Wu TW 93M 29M 215.32%
24 Obagi US 67M 21M 214.96%
27 Lan CN 60M 5M 1057.86%
29 Murad US 57M 17M 229.49%
30 PMPM CN 54M 3M 1627.94%
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Campbell Lin in Shanghai, MeasureCommerce
September 30, 2021
3-Minute Beauty Trends
Chinese Brandswith 1,000%+
Hypergrowth in Essence Market
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Data Source: MeasureCommerce Data Dashboard
2. Growth Momentum 1:
Skin Nurturing with Oil in Essence
The concept of 以油养肤 or "skin nurturing with oil"
was first introduced to the Chinese market in the
cleanser category, in particular makeup removers.
Consumers started to learn and realise the benefit of
using oil-based products in their daily skincare
routines. Similarly, Chinese brands Lan and PMPM,
ranked 27th and 30th in the essence category in 2021,
record ToT growth rates over 1,000% for their oil
type essence products. Lan continues to use its all-
natural plant-based oil formulation from its cleansing
oil in the essence product, which includes cactus seed
oil, hog plum oil, etc, and emphasises that oil-based
essence is a "more efficient" choice for skincare.
On the other hand, PMPM's best-selling essence has been its rose black tea essential oil, which
emphasises on a blend of rose essence + black team enzyme essence + 3rd generation squalene
essence, good for antioxidation and repairing. In addition, its 4:1 oil to water ratio is claimed to make
water-like essential oil more suitable for extremely fragile skins.
Growth Momentum 2:
Enhanced Product Formulation
For the first 8 months of 2021, Chinese brand Biophytogenesis (百植
萃) has recorded a 25-fold increase in revenue compared to the same
period last year. While livestreaming with Li Jiaqi (one of the top
influencers in China) during big promotion periods contributes to its
rapid growth, the brand has been enhancing product concepts and
formulation targeting specific skin types and skin problems since late
last year.
By incorporating olive extracts into the essence formulation,
Biophytogensis upgraded its "little green bottle" essence in
December 2020 to tackle dry sensitive skin related issues. The
brand has also consistently campaigns the "little green bottle"
along with the brand's other essences, B5 moisturising essence and VCE repair essence as combos
for combined multifunctional skincare effects.
PMPM Rose Black Tea
Essential Oil
Lan Time Miracle
Renewal Oil
Biophytogenesis Essence Combo
3. Growth Momentum 3:
US Brands Adopt "Morning C Night A"
The two American brands Murad and Obagi have seen significant revenue growth recently and
commonly adopted the trendy combination skincare routine in China "morning C night A" (learn
more in the earlier article) into their product promotion.
On one hand, Obagi's best-selling essence has been the professional-C serum (containing vitamin C)
which is marketed with the brand's retinol (A醇 or "A-tinol" in Chinese) cream as part of the
"morning C night A" routine. On the other hand, Murad's best-seller is the retinol youth renewal
serum, which is also featured in the "morning C night A" best couple combination along with the
brand's vita-C glycolic brightening serum.
Important to Remember
In addition to enhanced functional ingredients and improved formulae to accommodate various skin
types, local Chinese brands are also increasingly coming up with new trend keywords and phrases to
engagement consumer attention, from "morning C night A" to "dual anti-aging" and "skin nurturing
with oil". Some global brands have also incorporated localised concepts into their product
promotions in China, to increase brand awareness in the market.
Obagi's Morning C Night A Promotion on
Weibo with professional-C serum and
retinol cream
Murad's Recommended Morning C Night
A combination on Tmall
