China Beauty Expo: main trends of the 2014 edition

CBE features three major exhibition areas: Cosmetics China, dedicated to cosmetics, skin care products and perfumes, Cosmetech Shanghai, dedicated to equipment, packaging and ingredients, and Beauty Shanghai, dedicated to professionnal brands sold in beauty salons, spas and outlets specializing in nail and hair products. CBE is a unique opportunity to learn about new beauty trends in China.

The growing ambition of Chinese brands

This year’s edition was marked by the emergence of several very ambitious Chinese brands, most often created by Chinese suppliers and subcontractors who have upgraded their expertise in product design and market knowledge by working for major Asian and global brands.

This new generation of Chinese cosmetic brands are learning from the example of Herborist, the premium brand of Jahwa Group, the largest cosmetics company in China. Their strategy consists in promoting their products trough celebrities, investing and building up on the “made in China” and even “made better in China” claims. Eventually, we have seen about fifty emerging Chinese brands at the show.

The Asian participation

Besides Chinese brands many other Asian players participated in the show. Korean brands are the most aggressive in terms of packaging, branding and price positioning, while Japanese brands rely on sober, refined and elegant designs and claim their knowledge of the needs and expectations of Asian women.

Zoom Asia

Compared to Asian companies, relatively few European brands made it to Shanghai to challenge the Chinese market. Regulatory and administrative barriers, as well as market access costs may have discouraged them.

In order to facilitate the entry of new comers, Informa, the organizer of CBE imported the Zoom concept, which has been developed on the Beyond Beauty Paris show since 2003. Organised for the first time within the expo, Zoom Asia was dedicated to innovative fragrance and beauty brands from western countries whishing to tap into the Asian markets. They met with key Asian retail buyers and wholesalers in a dedicated space. ”We had approximately 100 potential agents and distributors for China who came to our booth during the three days of the show as well as lots of interest from direct buyers and from the local media. We would certainly recommend it as a great showcase for international companies looking to gain a foothold on the China market,” said Rocky Mammone, CEO of Majic Beauty.