From Speed to Quality: Chinese Beauty Brands Return to Value Fundamentals and Embrace Long-Termism

Author: Joanna

“The advent of the brand era in China’s fragrance and cosmetics industry represents not only a historical opportunity but also a responsibility of our times.” At the “2025 China Fragrance and Cosmetics Brand Development Conference,” held on July 1, 2025, at Shanghai Oriental Beauty Valley, Yan Jiangying, Chairman of the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetic Industries, pointed out in his address that in the increasingly uncertain “VUCA era,” entrepreneurship has become the core driving force leading corporate development and promoting industrial innovation, as well as the sole coordinate for transforming uncertainty into certainty.

Yan Jiangying emphasized that, in the new era, China’s fragrance and cosmetics industry urgently needs to establish new standards across four key dimensions: First, continue to increase investment in R&D and innovation, strive for technological breakthroughs, and drive product quality upgrades with core technologies. Second, deeply cultivate Chinese aesthetics in cultural heritage, making every product a carrier of culture. Third, in terms of sustainable development, build a full-chain ESG practice path spanning scientific research, green production, and consumer participation. Fourth, in brand building, return to word-of-mouth reputation and long-termism, earning consumers’ lasting trust through sincerity and quality.

In 2024, the total retail sales of China’s cosmetics market reached RMB 1.0738 trillion. While domestic brands have steadily increased their market share, their continued absence from international brand rankings reveals deep-seated concerns about the industry’s brand-building capabilities. In an era dominated by traffic and algorithms, rapid brand growth does not necessarily equate to true strength. Only by returning to the essence of value can companies build a brand moat capable of withstanding economic cycles.

This process is no longer a solitary effort by individual brands, but rather a systemic upgrade of the entire industry ecosystem. Under policy guidance, a multi-stakeholder collaborative mechanism involving “government, industry, academia, research, capital, application, and media” is gradually being established. The release of China’s fragrance and cosmetics brand value assessment system marks the industry’s transition from ambiguous competition to clear value definition, and from short-term gaming to long-termism.

As Yan Jiangying stated, “Traffic is like water; it can carry a boat or capsize it. The enterprise is the boat: with a strong hull and tempered craftsmanship, it breaks through vast distances to achieve lasting renown. The brand is the rudder: steering with purpose builds reputation, cutting through waves to reach new heights. Amidst the race of countless vessels, steady steering ensures stability; only by establishing a solid brand foundation can one go far.” Amid the surging tide of the brand era, China’s fragrance and cosmetics industry is undergoing a profound transformation of value and trust from within.

Despite continuous breakthroughs in market share by Chinese brands, they frequently fall behind on international brand rankings. This contrast reveals an undeniable reality: while brand growth momentum may be strong, it does not necessarily equate to true strength. The surge of traffic and algorithms has gradually detached brands from their core value, causing some companies to lose their way amidst the “illusion of growth.”

Faced with this structural challenge, only by returning to the core essence of brand value can Chinese brands unlock the path to enduring vitality.

A brand is not a tool for growth, but the product of user trust. According to Gao Pei, General Manager of Brand Communications at P&G Greater China, user scale and premium pricing power are merely “indicators” of brand value. The foundation of a brand’s long-term value lies in building deep trust with consumers. This trust does not rely on short-term traffic games, but stems from the brand’s consistent long-term commitments and their fulfillment.

Gao Pei further stated that, in the current context, building trust increasingly relies on the organic integration of technology and culture. Science communication has become a new pivot for shaping brand value. It should proceed from the consumer’s perspective, gaining insights into their needs and usage scenarios, and then use clear, accessible language to explain how product ingredients and technological principles truly address users’ pain points.

For instance, integrating high-concentration core ingredients with the concept of ceramic restoration allows scientific principles to subtly permeate Eastern aesthetics; meanwhile, the “anti-glycation” concept precisely addresses consumers’ cognitive dissonance between their preference for sweets and skin health concerns. Only through the dual resonance of science and culture can we craft a warm and engaging communication narrative, thereby transforming technological prowess into tangible brand equity.

At the same time, the resurgence of brand value is inseparable from a commitment to differentiated positioning and cultural confidence. Chen Juanling, General Manager of Public Affairs at Shanghai Chando Group Co., Ltd., vividly pointed out: “There are no two identical leaves in the world, nor are there two exactly alike people; each individual is a unique existence. Brands, like ‘people,’ should possess their own distinct uniqueness rather than blindly imitating others.”

It is precisely cultural confidence and differentiated positioning that endow the brand with unique recognizability and a distinct spiritual core in a diversified competitive landscape.

Moreover, among all the forces driving brand building, technological innovation is undoubtedly a key driver in enhancing consumer stickiness and recognition. Relevant data shows that more than 60% of consumers are full of expectations for domestic beauty products with new technologies and new ingredients. Under this trend, technology is no longer a behind-the-scenes hero, but the core language of brand storytelling.

Gao Wenting, General Manager of the Biohyalux brand under Bloomage Biotechnology Corp., Ltd., further pointed out that brand value is essentially “the monetized expression of technological credibility.” A truly impactful brand cannot exist without robust R&D capabilities and a solid technological foundation.

Gao Wenting deconstructs technical value into three tiers: First, the hard power of technology—ensured by scientific formulations and high-quality raw materials—serves as the prerequisite for a brand’s existence. Second, the sustainability and stability of technology determine whether a brand can consistently deliver practical value and reliable efficacy to consumers. Third, the capacity for continuous innovation and iteration acts as the driving force that enables brands to continually meet consumer expectations and refresh the user experience. Each technology-driven new product launch represents a deeper level of “companionship” with consumers.

“Brand building ultimately comes down to the cumulative impressions consumers form through their product experiences. Only innovative technologies that genuinely enhance user experience and deliver tangible efficacy can solidify brand assets that competitors cannot replicate,” emphasized Gao Wenting.

The construction of brand value has never been a solitary endeavor by a single enterprise; rather, it is a systematic project that encompasses the entire value chain and relies on the collaborative efforts of an industrial community.

As Yan Jiangying emphasized, to break free from the industry’s widespread predicament of “traffic-driven short-sightedness,” it is essential to promote coordinated collaboration across all sectors—government, industry, academia, research, capital, application, and media—to forge a unified force.

At the policy level, the 14th Five-Year Plan explicitly proposes to take the lead in cultivating a group of high-end brands in consumer goods sectors such as cosmetics. Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s Action Plan for Digital “Three Products” in the Consumer Goods Industry (2022–2025) prioritizes the cosmetics industry, sending clear policy signals by focusing on the three major tasks of “expanding product variety, improving product quality, and building brands.”

Riding the tailwinds of supportive policies, the release of China’s fragrance and cosmetics brand value assessment system has become a key milestone as the industry advances into a new “value-driven” phase.

In this regard, Yan Jiangying pointed out, “This is a significant achievement of the China Fragrance and Cosmetics Industry Association, resulting from nearly a year of efforts that encompassed multiple scientific stages, including discussion and deliberation, literature review, expert argumentation, thematic research, and pilot experiments.” This system provides a scientific and systematic standard for measuring brand value in China’s fragrance and cosmetics industry. It represents not only an upgrade in methodology but also an elevation of collective industry awareness, offering theoretical support and practical direction for Chinese fragrance and cosmetics brands to embark on a path of high-quality development.

It is worth noting that sustained policy support and the rapid evolution of the market environment are creating an unprecedented window of opportunity for brand building in the industry.

On one hand, the digital wave has profoundly reshaped the logic of cosmetics consumption and dissemination. New social platforms, represented by Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), have become key arenas where beauty brands integrate “product seeding,” marketing, and conversion. Young consumers are increasingly focused on product ingredients and efficacy, with their purchase decisions relying more heavily on emerging media such as short videos, image-and-text posts, and live-streaming e-commerce. In this context, brands need to accelerate refined operations on social platforms, combining KOL/influencer marketing with user-generated content (UGC) to enhance user engagement and loyalty. How to convert traffic and users into long-term assets has become an urgent question for brands to address.

Chen Juanling pointed out that in the wave of digitalization, full-user operation is an important asset for enterprises. Brand building should be user-centric; whether in refined digital operations or in the production processes of smart factories, users remain central throughout.

“From delivering high-quality products to carefully cultivating customer relationships, brands should view every user as a long-term, sustainable asset,” emphasized Chen Juanling.

Under this system, brands are no longer merely selling products; instead, they build comprehensive customer lifecycle management mechanisms through interaction, community operations, and personalized services. Every positive shopping experience and every successful conversion from product-recommendation live streams not only generates immediate sales data but also subtly disseminates the brand’s values, fostering user word-of-mouth and a sense of identification. Particularly in an era of fragmented information, the brand “moat” formed by user loyalty will possess greater penetrative power and stickiness.

On the other hand, domestic Chinese beauty brands are accelerating their global expansion. Data shows that China’s total cosmetics exports reached RMB 36.905 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 14.11%. With the continuous upgrading of cross-border e-commerce channels, an increasing number of brands are actively establishing a presence in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East. These regions, regarded as unsaturated “blue ocean” markets, have become new targets for the overseas expansion of Chinese brands. Leveraging robust supply chain capabilities and cost advantages, many brands are able to enter international markets with unit prices ranging from $1 to $9, engaging in “asymmetric competition” backed by solid manufacturing foundations.

Yet going global does not equate to success. Against the backdrop of rapid restructuring of global industrial chains, how can Chinese brands achieve international breakthroughs? The globalization of narratives is crucial.

“Chinese enterprises must adopt a global perspective, and Chinese products should also embrace a global outlook. If they align with the values of a community with a shared future for mankind, they will undoubtedly go further and broader,” said Wang Yong, founder and chairman of the China Brand Festival and chairman of the Brand Alliance.

From “Cost-Performance Advantage” to “Cognitive Barriers”: Going Global Is Far More Than Just Fighting a Price War. In the future, Chinese brands must clearly articulate their value in the international market, achieving unity between “localized cultural expression” and “global value recognition.”