Kaola.com, the second-largest cross-border e-commerce platform in China, officially launched a batch of self-operated brands covering multiple categories, including cosmetics, clothing, food, etc, for female consumers.

In 2021Q1, online cosmetic market in China achieved great sales. New domestic brands and big international brands all performed well, while functional skincare brands continued to catch on. Top live streamers’ endorsement and International Women’s Day promotion contributed to these brands’ excellent performance in this period.

China’s retail market is a highly active and diverse market with great competition and potential. In recent years, offline retail channels and online retail channels are gradually integrating, which leads to the industry upgrade. New retail forms, such as CBEC and community group buying, have emerged and developed well in the complicated environment, bringing players new opportunities and challenges. This article describes a whole picture of this complicated industry. Brands that want to enter this China’s market will find this article informative and worth reading.

Anti-aging has recently become female consumers’ top1 demand in the skincare sector and one of the most popular sectors for investors. There are some highlights worth noting in this booming sector: - Big high-end brands still dominate this sector, such as lamer, Lancome, CPB, etc. Consumers do prefer international brands while purchasing anti-aging skincare products. - Beauty devices are becoming more popular as an anti-aging tool. - More consumers are embracing medical beauty because of its stronger efficacy.

The claim “cosmeceutical药妆”is strictly forbidden in China since 2019. However, cosmeceutical can still be sold in China as general cosmetics. In the meantime, functional skincare, a claim that is similar to cosmeceutical, has been strongly trending recently.

ChemLinked participated in the China Cosmetic Innovation Exhibition in Hangzhou. Here are some highlights and insights: 1.Tmall Global launched its imported beauty brands nurturing plan, INS Beauty, in 2020, and this plan will continue in 2021; 2.Pinduoduo plans to upgrade its brand position by applying three strategies: supporting high-quality product lines, nurturing small brands, and developing differentiated hot products. 3.WeChat has built a comprehensive eco-system covering both public and private traffic domains for brands. 4.Douyin (Chinese version of Tik Tok) has upgraded to a content e-commerce platform. It launches the “Brand Flagship Store” function and encourages brand to engage in self-running live-streaming in 2021. 5.Kuaishou released the "Business Full Cycle Bonus Plan" in 2021 to support brands.

Keywords: IPO, financial data, animal testing, CBD ban

In 2021, investors are still passionate about new consumer brands. In January, a total of 26 brands successfully secured financing. The most popular industry was food & drink, followed by beauty &personal care and mother & baby industries. Some trendy sectors, such as functional food, baijiu, and oral beauty, are worthy of players’ attention.