C-Beauty Brands Accelerate Global Expansion with State Support, as K-Beauty Shifts Focus

Chinese cosmetics companies are significantly accelerating their global expansion, backed by a thriving domestic market and increasing institutional support from Beijing. This surge sees major C-beauty players establishing a strong presence in international markets, shifting the competitive market for beauty brands in Asia and beyond. This aggressive push comes as South Korean beauty brands, or K-beauty, are experiencing a decline in their long-standing dominance within the Chinese market, prompting them to explore new growth regions.

Chinese Beauty’s Global Offensive

Proya, China’s largest cosmetics firm, is making a significant move into the US brick-and-mortar retail sector. Following its initial online sales success, Proya is partnering with Ulta Beauty to introduce two of its skincare lines across approximately 400 stores and Ulta’s online platform starting in November. This expansion is part of Proya’s ambitious “Double-Ten” plan, aiming to become one of the world’s top ten cosmetics companies within the next decade. The company has also bolstered its offline network in Southeast Asia, including a major campaign with Guardian in Kuala Lumpur, and acquired a 51% stake in color cosmetics brand Flower Knows, which already operates in markets such as the US, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Other Chinese brands are also aggressively pursuing international growth. Florasis is using traditional Chinese aesthetics to enter premium markets in Japan and Europe, initially through online channels like Amazon, Shopee, and Lazada, before moving into upscale physical retail. Judydoll built its international customer base via Shopee and TikTok Shop, then accelerated its offline presence, including entry into about 12,000 FamilyMart stores in Japan, becoming the first Chinese color cosmetics brand in that country’s convenience-store channel. Perfect Diary, under Yatsen Holding, quickly became a leading online cosmetics brand across Southeast Asia via Shopee and has expanded its global platform through acquisitions of European brands Galénic and Eve Lom, with plans for further supply-chain integration and overseas market expansion.

Domestic Strength and Government Backing

The robust performance of the Chinese domestic cosmetics market is a key enabler for this international expansion. Chinese companies have developed economies of scale, brand recognition, and product expertise at home, providing a strong foundation for global ventures. Despite a broader economic slowdown, China’s cosmetics retail market showed significant growth, with sales reaching approximately $4.20 billion in July, a 6.8% year-on-year increase. Cumulative sales from January to July rose 6.3% to about $40.16 billion, significantly outpacing overall retail sales growth. This strong momentum has been highlighted by the Ministry of Commerce and the China National Commercial Information Center, classifying cosmetics as a consumption-upgrade product with strong demand.

The Chinese government is actively supporting the domestic cosmetics industry. The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) recently issued new regulations aimed at promoting innovation and high-quality development. These changes simplify licensing and registration processes for new products, including exemptions from certain toxicity tests and reduced requirements for submitting product documentation. Companies can now reuse existing test data when shifting production locations and choose their own efficacy assessment methods for certain claims, reducing regulatory hurdles and fostering a more agile environment for product development and market entry.

K-Beauty’s Strategic Re-evaluation

As Chinese beauty brands gain momentum, the long-standing influence of K-beauty in China is diminishing. South Korean cosmetics giants like Amorepacific (Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Innisfree) and LG Household & Health Care (The History of Whoo) once thrived on the Korean Wave and demand from Chinese tourists and daigou resellers, with China accounting for 53% of South Korea’s cosmetics exports in 2021. However, boycotts, reduced exposure to Korean pop culture, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on duty-free sales have significantly weakened K-beauty’s position. Chinese domestic brands, bolstered by social media marketing and patriotic consumption, have effectively filled this void.

This shift has prompted a strategic recalibration for South Korean firms. Amorepacific’s sales in Greater China fell 27% year-on-year in 2024, with its Americas sales surpassing China for the first time. Similarly, LG Household & Health Care’s North American sales surged 47.3% to approximately $147 million in the second quarter, exceeding its China revenue of about $126 million. Both companies are now focusing on profitability in their Chinese operations while diversifying their growth strategies across markets like the United States, Europe, and Japan. RetailNews Asia has observed similar moves by other regional players, as companies seek to de-risk their reliance on single markets and build more resilient global portfolios.