Miranda Kerr launches organic beauty brand KORA on Tmall

As China’s desire for organic, healthy products gains momentum, international beauty brands are seeking to take advantage of a new approach to well-being.

Last week, founder and supermodel Miranda Kerr launched Australian luxury skincare brand KORA Organics’ first Tmall store in China via live-stream from her Hollywood home. The event attracted more than 223,000 live viewers, with KORA Organics offering exclusive giveaways for spectators.

“From my experience over the years, I have come to believe in and appreciate a holistic approach to overall wellness, and the connection of the mind, body and skin,” Kerr says.

This kind of health-focused lifestyle philosophy is soaring in popularity among Chinese consumers, with last weekend’s Tmall Beauty Summit reporting that premium health and fitness products are more popular than ever with young Chinese women.

“The appetite for natural and organic products in China continues to grow, and skincare is no exception” says Maggie Zhou, managing director of Alibaba Group Australia and New Zealand.

With a growing awareness of health and well-being in China, Tmall Global is hoping to capitalise on luxury international brands seeking to enter the market. Tmall Global helps international brands like KORA Organics sell directly to Chinese consumers. For more than 80 per cent of brands on the site, these virtual flagship stores were their first foray into the Chinese market.

“KORA Organics is a proudly-owned Australian brand whose certified organic and natural products speak directly to the growing demand from many Chinese consumers for clean and green Australian products” Zhou says.

Korean beauty brand Innisfree has long been popular with Chinese consumers, marketing its innovative all natural, organic products from Jeju island. K-Beauty has struggled in China over the past year, with consumers turning to Japanese beauty when searching for high-quality products. However, according to L2’s Digital IQ Index: Beauty China 2018, Innisfree still ranked seventh among Chinese consumers, in large part due to the social media marketing of the brand’s all natural cosmetics and ‘green philosophy’.

In line with this trend, KORA Organics is promoting certified organic and natural products, formulated with herbal extracts, essential oils, and vitamins. KORA’s products are certified by the international body COSMOS-standard AISBL/Ecocert, which guarantees the absence of toxins, synthetic pesticides or chemicals. In Australia and the United States, KORA Organics is stocked in more than 200 Sephora stores, and by the end of 2018, the brand hopes to be in place in over 2,500 stores across 25 countries.

For now, KORA Organics will be entering China exclusively through Tmall, hoping to reach a growing base of Chinese consumers seeking healthy and organic skincare products before everyone else does.