Facial Mask in China Expects to Reach RMB 31,746 billion by 2021

Overview of China’s mask market

Active Chinese women consumers

The use of facial masks is simple and convenient, it became a very popular category among skin care products. You may know that Chinese women care a lot about their appearance, they are very attentive to skin problems. Many of female consumers are dropping 40% of their annual salary on high-end skincare products such as SK-II, Clé De Peau, and La Mer. As they say: “It’s not your fault if you are not pretty before you are 20 years old. After 20 years old, if you are still not, then it’s your own fault !” For modern women’s fast-paced lifestyles, facial masks are easier for them to use. With the development of society, environmental pollution is more and more serious, and the problem of skin aging is now more present among young ladies than it was for the previous generation. There is a mentality of “starting early” or the need to take care of their skin when they are still young, to be less worried when they get older. It is widespread that the use of masks is a benefit, “do not be lazy” say a lot of Chinese women, we can feel that the frequency of facial masks used will be higher in the near future.

Figures of China’s mask market

Driven by market demand, the mask market in China has rapidly expanded. In 2017, the total retail sales of the Chinese mask market reached 91 billion yuan, an increase of more than 10% year-on-year. We also notice that mask products have accounted for 10.0% of the skin care products market share. The annual increase in the share of masks in the market for skin care products is enough to prove that facial masks have become an increasingly active category in the skincare market. The mask market in China is relatively mature. in Industry Research Institute predicts that the mask market in China will show rapid growth in the next few years. It is estimated that by 2022, the mask retail market in China will exceed 30 billion yuan.

• Want to know about China Market – See Top Market Beauty Trends in China

The competition in this market

The mask market currently can be divided into two main categories: one is part of cosmetic brands, such as Olay, L’Oréal, Fancl, Herborist (a local brand), etc., which have a full range of products, and the other is a dedicated mask brand, such as One Leaf, My Beauty Diary, Wei Shui Quan, and other products. The pattern of the mask industry can be divided into five categories if they are priced on a single chip: luxury goods, high-quality products, standard products, inexpensive products, and low-priced products. Different brands choose to compete in different market segments based on their positioning and target population. For example:

• For the industry-leading brand MeiJi : its target population is mainly 25-30-year-old young women, positioning in the high-quality goods and standard products market.
• My beauty Diary: a popular brand in recent years, its target consumers are 18-24 years old young girls. The brand does not emphasize the essence of Liquids but more on refreshing, cooling, and cleaning results. Its product prices are mainly cheap and affordable.

The number 1 mask freak in China: Fang Bingbing

Fan Bingbing is a Chinese actress. After achieving success in her acting career, Fan also released albums, posed for magazine covers, and became a spokesperson for several commercial brands. She has important fame in China and even over the world and has been called a global fashion icon due to her frequent appearances on the red carpet, at movie premieres, and at fashion shows. She is known as a mask freak as she applies facial masks at least 2 times per day, reaching more than 700 masks per year. Whether she is taking the elevator, eating, or on the road, as long as she isn’t working, she basically applies a mask.

She said on her Weibo that, apart from working time, her dream is to apply masks for the rest of her time. She also claims that she has tried all the masks on the market, each time buying at least 30 to 50 pieces to try, you can imagine the huge number of masks she has… Besides being a celebrity, she can also be considered a KOL (key opinion leader). All the cosmetics and beauty products she used to share on Xiaohongshu App (a social media app for useful content sharing) became sold out.

How can you sell your products in China?

For all cosmetics products, if it shows great effects and is well promoted, they can become very popular on the market within few time.

Xiaohongshu (The one Fan Bingbing use)

It is a social media app where users (most women, but there is an increasing number of men) are very active, sharing tips, advice, products review, etc. It is also an e-commerce platform where brands can collaborate with the Company to set up their online shop in its platform. Using Chinese social media is the most efficient way to build your brand’s e-reputation and get leads. It is better than if you are just present in physical shops because there are often too many choices and consumers rely more on products which they have information about.

Leverage KOLs

Find the right persons to promote your products is a smart way to reach Chinese consumers. A lot of internet celebrities are followed by a lot of people and the “KOL effect” can be sometimes very powerful in China. There can easily influence the customer’s decisions because customers trust them. Every brand wants to collaborate with Chinese Kols or Influencers, they represent a good weapon for marketing in China.

E-commerce

E-commerce in China has reached a high level, actually, China is the world’s largest e-commerce market. If you come to China and you want to sell your products, you have to work with Chinese e- commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and Taobao. Chinese customers spent more than 40% of their daily life online, they make purchasing online. So if you want to reach them you have to set up your e-commerce platforms. Don’t miss it!!! We can help you to set up your Tmall or JD store.

You need to work on your reputation

Reputation means everything in China. If you have a bad reputation or some bad comments, trust you won’t sell anything in China. It’s very important to work on your brand image in order to increase your sale and get customers trustworthy. You can do that alone, you have to work with a PR agency that will erase all bad comments about your or your products, an agency able to take care of your image without any risk of bad publicity about you. We are the best PR agency in Shanghai, trust us and you won’t regret it.

GMA is specialized in digital marketing in China. We know well Chinese consumers and the market. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have an idea or a project to promote in China. Read also :

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